Insights
Most Sales Teams Buy an AI Tool Before They Know What Job It's Supposed to Do
Practical AI starts with a defined sales job, not a product demo. Finish one sentence before you buy: who, what job, and how you'll know it worked.
By Kevin Brown ·
Most sales teams buy an AI tool before they know what job it's supposed to do.
The demo looks useful. Someone on the leadership team says, "We need to be doing more with AI." Licenses get purchased, and managers are asked to get their teams using it.
Then everyone has to figure out where it fits.
I think the better starting point is to get specific about the work.
Take account research. What does a rep need to know before reaching out? Where does that information live? How long does it take to find? And how does it change the conversation they have with a prospect?
Those answers give you something to evaluate a tool against.
The same applies to coaching. "Use AI to help managers coach" leaves a lot undefined. Helping a manager review the last three customer conversations and identify one behavior to work on in tomorrow's 1:1 is a job you can design around.
Now you can decide what information AI needs, what the manager should review, and whether the result improves the coaching conversation.
Before buying anything, finish this sentence:
"We need to help [person] do [specific job] better, and we'll know it's working when [observable result]."
If the team struggles to fill that in, spend more time understanding the work.
A clear job makes the technology decision easier. It also gives the person using it a reason to care.