Growth Insights for CEOs

AI Is Already Improving B2B Sales Performance. Here’s the Framework to Make It Work for You
Executive Takeaways
- AI is already delivering measurable results in B2B sales — this is not hype.
- Mapping AI capabilities to your prioritized sales performance challenges is the right place to start.
- Achieving significant ROI requires a diagnosis of your current sales environment, a pilot with defined success metrics, and a plan for deployment and scale.
- The window to establish a competitive advantage in sales by using AI is open — but not indefinitely.
Recent Posts

Eight Steps to Increase Revenue from Your Existing Customers
Wed, Dec 11, 2024 — There are two ways to grow your business. The first is by acquiring new customers. The second is retaining your current customers and increasing their ongoing revenue stream. Many companies focus their strategic marketing initiatives on finding new markets, new customers, and new applications for their current product offerings. While this focus is essential, many companies lose sight of their best growth opportunities … their current customers. Current customers allow you to grow your revenue without the increased costs associated with new client acquisition activities.

Creating a Strategic Mindset Within Your Sales Organization
Tue, Dec 3, 2024 — By cultivating a strategic mindset within your sales organization, you can drive customer-centric selling practices, create long-term value for the company and its customers, and position your organization for a sustained competitive advantage and growth. A strategic mindset helps align the sales team's activities and priorities with the company's long-term vision, mission, and objectives. This alignment ensures that the sales efforts contribute to the overall success and growth of the organization.

Maximizing Returns with AI-Enabled Selling – A Strategic Blueprint
Mon, Oct 14, 2024 — In the first two blogs of this three-part series, we introduced the concept of AI-enabled selling, the need for an integrated strategy, and a framework for mapping the myriad technologies available to the needs of the sales organization. We learned that the adoption of AI-enabled selling—the sophisticated merger of AI technologies with traditional sales processes—has become instrumental in transforming organizational sales approaches. With this foundation in place, we are in a better position to discuss the payback and chart a path forward that aligns with a company’s highest priorities.
Stay up-to-date with the latest from Chief Outsiders

Navigating the AI-Enabled Selling Software Landscape
Thu, Oct 3, 2024 — There was a time not so long ago when the tools-of-the-trade for a salesperson were a Rolodex, a landline phone, and a pair of comfortable shoes. Not anymore. Rolodexes of relationships have been replaced by LinkedIn connections, landline phones by synchronized communication streams, and comfortable shoes by online meetings and note takers, all powered by artificial intelligence.

20 AI-Powered Strategies to Supercharge Your SaaS Sales
Wed, Oct 2, 2024 — AI (artificial intelligence) is taking the entire technology sector by storm. And all SaaS vendors are adding AI functionality to their product offerings to stay competitive, as FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) syndrome takes hold. The same is happening in the SaaS industry; smart tools can help your sales and marketing team make better and faster decisions, plan, and craft a better customer service approach. As a SaaS CEO, CSO, or CMO, these solutions will open a whole new set of opportunities for growth, oversight, and measurement that can help you be a more prepared and better-informed leader.

What is AI-Enabled Selling and Why is it Important?
Tue, Sep 24, 2024 — Salesforce’s “State of Sales” report surveyed 5,500 sales professionals earlier this year. Two findings caught my attention. First, sales reps spend only 30% of their time selling during an average week. Second, 81% of sales teams said they are investing in AI. Of those using AI, 41% believe that they have “fully implemented AI.” The remaining 59% range from having no strategy at all, to tinkering with tools.

99 and Counting Backwards
Tue, Jul 2, 2024 — Out for a walk on a cool May morning, I saw a pickup truck pull alongside. It was Ray from up the street. “Are you around May 31st?” he asked. “I’m having a 99th birthday party.” That’s funny, I thought, Ray can’t be much over 70. “Yep, this one is my 99th. Last year’s party was my 100th. Figured there’s no way I’d ever live to be 100, and I really wanted to have a 100th birthday party. So I did!

What to Do When Your Sales Team Isn’t Delivering – Advice for CEOs
Tue, Jun 11, 2024 — It’s one of the most challenging questions you’ll ever have to ask as a business leader – “why isn’t my sales team delivering the results we need?” Putting a microscope on your team sometimes yields some unpleasant truths, but this exercise is critical when revenue numbers are lacking and the sales pipeline is drying up. Changes need to be made. But before addressing the problem, you need to identify the root causes.

Quarterly Business Reviews: A CXO guide to Best Practices
Thu, May 16, 2024 — Most companies run regular QBRs (Quarterly Business Reviews). Getting into QBR practice its benefits, like getting your broader team buy-in on your sales and marketing team issues, creating a sense of urgency on important cross-team action items, building a learning culture within your team, sharing new product initiatives in advance, collect and measure customer feedback (or NPS) regularly. Not to mention you get valuable team face time, undistracted by daily sales activities.