Episodes

  • Personalization at Scale Isn’t Dead—You’re Doing It Wrong
    Oct 15 2025

    Most sales teams don’t have an email problem—they have a relevance problem. Spray-and-pray activity chases quota while buyers tune out anything that doesn’t speak to their world. We bring on Brandon Bornancin, founder and CEO of Seamless AI, to unpack a simple but powerful fix: combine persona, industry, and trend to deliver outreach that earns attention, and use AI to get to version one faster without removing the human touch.

    We walk through a practical system you can deploy this week. Start by obsessing over personas: goals, KPIs, constraints, and dream outcomes. Add an industry lens to reflect real differences between SaaS, manufacturing, finance, and healthcare. Layer current trends—labor markets, tech stack shifts, budget cycles—to show you understand what’s changing right now. Then put AI to work: build rich profiles from job postings and public data, enrich accounts with signals like job changes and funding, and generate first-draft emails and call scripts with tight prompts that skip fluff and get to the point. Keep a human in the loop to edit for tone and truth, and use discovery that blends open-ended questions with multiple-choice options to surface priorities quickly.

    Brandon shares how Seamless AI helps teams move “data to deals,” automating the invisible work—list building, enrichment, and drafting—so reps can focus on high-value conversations. We dig into why scale doesn’t mean full automation, how to avoid AI’s telltale patterns by swapping models and editing, and the skills that now matter most: curiosity, strategic thinking, and empathy. If you’re tired of 0.02% reply rates and want a playbook for high-quality meetings, this conversation lays out the path: persona-first, industry-aware, trend-informed, and AI-accelerated.

    Enjoyed the conversation? Follow, share with a teammate who needs a new outbound playbook, and leave a quick review with your biggest takeaway. Your feedback helps us bring more tactical, high-signal conversations to your feed.

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    46 mins
  • Why Sales Automation Just Leveled Up: Inside OpenAI’s AgentKit
    Oct 8 2025

    Stop asking AI for answers and start letting it act. We break down how OpenAI’s Agent Kit flips sales from reactive prompts to proactive, multi-step workflows that coordinate CRM, email, calendar, and call intelligence like an orchestra under a single baton. I walk through what launched, why it’s different from traditional automation, and how a visual Agent Builder, Chat Kit for human-in-the-loop feedback, and built-in evals make it practical for frontline reps—not just ops and engineering—to build production-ready agents in minutes.

    We get specific with three high-impact use cases you can clone: an inbound orchestrator that checks Salesforce, enriches with public insights, drafts a reply, and summarizes in Slack; a deal health sentry that monitors engagement, multithreading, and silence windows, then escalates with context; and a proposal producer that pulls your last call, maps to your statement-of-work template, asks clarifying questions, and outputs a Google Doc v1. Along the way, I share a story from my early career about finding conversion “quiet pockets” and how the same insight now takes thirty minutes to automate end-to-end.

    There are guardrails: keep the human touch for tone and senior outreach, expect occasional connector changes, and invest time upfront to define quality. But the upside is real and immediate—sellers who learn agents can 2–3x output and build compounding advantage. If you’ve ever felt buried in follow-ups, prep, and proposals, this is your way out through orchestration, not hustle theater. Subscribe, share this with your team, and tell me the first workflow you’ll automate. And if you want hands-on help, join our AI certification and leave with working agents and a repeatable playbook.

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    18 mins
  • AI Proficiency in Sales: Stop Dabbling, Start Deploying Digital Teammates
    Oct 1 2025

    Most sellers say they “use AI,” but the real question is: is AI actually running your sales workflow? We pull back the curtain on what true AI proficiency looks like, why dabbling won’t keep you competitive, and how to jump from basic prompts to digital teammates that own the work. This isn’t a tool tour—it’s a working blueprint for transforming prospecting, research, coaching, and follow-through so you win more deals with less manual drag.

    We map the five levels of AI proficiency, from ad hoc user to multiplier, with crisp examples you can copy today. You’ll hear how a “New Account Research” teammate can scrape signals and context before you even open your CRM, how a pricing-objection specialist can produce competitor-aware responses in seconds, and how manager-trained GPTs can review call transcripts and give targeted coaching using your actual playbook. Then we zoom out and show what happens at the agent level: calendar-triggered prep, Slack clarifications, automated recaps, and draft SOWs that land in your docs without you lifting a finger. The numbers are real—a 47% productivity lift, roughly 12 hours a week back—translating into more selling time, better personalization, and cleaner pipelines.

    If you’re at level one, we lay out a fast track to level three: convert your best prompts into assistants, feed them product and persona context, and standardize outputs so quality is consistent. Leaders get a roadmap to become multipliers by setting a GenAI backlog, prioritizing high-impact workflows, and rolling out shared assistants across the team. Hiring is already shifting; candidates who can show live AI workflows will outrun those who “know ChatGPT.”

    If this guide helps, subscribe, share it with a teammate, and leave a review so more sellers find it. Want to level up faster? Explore the AI certification for sellers and frontline leaders, and test-drive the MeetJourney assistants tailored for sales teams.

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    26 mins
  • The Non-Linear Buyer Journey: How Top Performers Adapt and Win
    Sep 24 2025

    Your champion just went silent. That 90% deal just died — and it wasn't killed by the person you were talking to. It was derailed by stakeholders you never knew existed.

    Host Jake Dunlap sits down with Gal Agha, CEO of Aligned, to break down why traditional sales methodologies like MEDPIC are failing in today's complex buying environment. With clients cutting sales cycles by 30% and increasing win rates by 15%, Gal reveals what he calls "buying process as a service."

    What You'll Learn:

    • Why MEDPIC is built for 1950s buyers, not today's complex stakeholder groups
    • How to use AI for scenario planning and competitive intelligence
    • The difference between hierarchy and "powerarchy" in modern deals
    • Why 95% of buying happens without you — and how to influence it
    • Tactical frameworks for accommodating vetted, educated, and self-service buyers

    Key Takeaway: The future belongs to sellers who deliver "buying process as a service" — becoming an extension of the buyer's team rather than an obstacle to navigate.

    Check out:

    • The Innovative Seller: https://a.co/d/cbh8hM3
    • JourneyAI: https://meetjourney.ai

    Subscribe: New episodes every week on your favorite podcast platform. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts to help us reach more sales professionals.

    Remember: AI won't replace sellers — sellers who know how to use AI will replace those who don't.

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    46 mins
  • Steal This AI Prompt And 10x Your Sales In 30 Days
    Sep 17 2025


    Most sales reps are still doing the bare minimum before a call check LinkedIn, skim a website, then hope for the best. Winners? They’re using AI to prep in under 5 minutes, crush first impressions, and dominate quota.

    💡 In this episode, Jake breaks down the exact AI-powered playbook top sellers are using right now:
    🔥 Step 1: Use AI to find lookalike leads (and filter out bad fits) 🕵️‍♂️
    🔥 Step 2: Personalize outreach with the Triangle Method + pattern disruption 📩
    🔥 Step 3: Show up prepared with AI-powered research & killer discovery questions 🧠
    🔥 Step 4: Drive momentum with AI-generated recaps + creative follow-ups 🎥

    👀 This isn’t theory, it’s what elite sellers are already doing:

    ✨ Running account research with custom GPTs
    ✨ Crafting hyper-relevant outreach in minutes, not hours
    ✨ Closing more deals by standing out in a sea of generic sellers

    💥 Key takeaway: AI isn’t replacing sellers, it’s replacing unprepared sellers. If you’re still winging calls, you’re already behind.

    👉 Watch now to learn how to 10x your pipeline, quota, and win rate with AI.

    👉 JourneyAI: https://meetjourney.ai

    👉 Custom GPTs: https://skaled.com/services/sales-gpt...

    ✉️ Subscribe to our newsletter: https://www.innovativeseller.com/ai-p...

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    18 mins
  • Stop Using Outdated Playbooks Like MEDDIC & BANT
    Sep 10 2025

    We explore how the sales landscape is transforming with AI, requiring leaders to rewire their problem-solving approaches and update outdated methodologies with more effective frameworks like the Four C's.

    • Commitment to technology and AI proficiency is crucial for sales leaders to understand what's possible
    • Most revenue leaders have outsourced knowledge of tech capabilities to overwhelmed RevOps teams
    • The 80-15-5 principle helps leaders balance immediate business needs with future-focused development
    • Current go-to-market strategies must evolve beyond outdated frameworks like Predictable Revenue
    • Today's outbound approach should focus on meaningful conversations, not just activity metrics
    • Customized sales journeys need to recognize different buyer types using the VEX framework
    • The "magic email" technique helps identify buyer knowledge level 48 hours before first calls
    • Companies are artificially slowing down sales cycles by treating all buyers the same
    • MedPick should be used as a deal evaluation framework, not a sales methodology
    • INTENT framework (Next steps, Teams, Education level, Numerical priority, Time to impact) addresses modern buying realities
    • When implementing new technology, focus on solving top revenue bottlenecks and creating power users


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    46 mins
  • Breaking the Pattern: Why 90% of Sales Messages Fail
    Sep 3 2025

    Chris reveals why your sales outreach isn't getting results: the shocking truth is that the bar for effective sales communication has never been lower. While most sellers obsess over volume and automation, they're missing what truly captures attention: pattern disruption.

    Studying the world's most persuasive communicators led Chris to develop "eloquence formulas" – strategic combinations of literary devices that make your messages impossible to ignore. Your brain filters out 90% of the patterns it encounters daily, which explains why most sales messages go unnoticed. The key to breaking through isn't just being different – it's being eloquently different.

    Dive into powerful rhetorical devices like anaphora (repeating words at successive beginnings), sententia (universal truths), and the rule of three that have influenced audiences throughout history. These aren't just academic concepts; they're practical tools that transform forgettable outreach into compelling communication. Watch as Chris demonstrates how to turn a generic email into three distinctive, high-impact messages using his formula approach.

    The conversation also explores how to leverage AI tools effectively by creating custom projects loaded with buyer persona details and prompting for specific literary frameworks. Unlike basic AI users who simply ask for generic outputs, sophisticated communicators push these tools to explore thousands of rhetorical devices and test combinations for maximum impact.

    What separates mediocre sellers from exceptional ones isn't just persistence – it's having a bold point of view. Too many sales professionals hide behind permission-based language instead of confidently presenting insights and solutions. Ready to elevate your sales communication? Start breaking patterns, embrace eloquence, and watch your response rates soar.

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    27 mins
  • How OpenAI's Sales Reps Actually Use AI to Close Deals
    Aug 20 2025

    Connor from OpenAI shares how revenue teams are leveraging generative AI to transform their sales processes and achieve meaningful business outcomes beyond the initial experimentation phase. He outlines a clear pattern among successful organizations: democratizing technology access, investing in AI education, and measuring impact through improved business metrics rather than just time savings.

    • Three myths slow AI adoption: needing a massive project, assuming availability equals adoption, and waiting for AI to mature
    • Deep research capabilities fundamentally change how sales teams prepare, turning hours of work into minutes
    • Sales leaders create personalized "user guides" for team members to help AI tailor coaching approaches
    • Projects and custom GPTs serve as "homes" for deal information, enabling better handoffs and customer experiences
    • Successful executives sponsor AI initiatives, demonstrate personal usage, and recognize AI champions
    • Most powerful implementations progress from individual impact to team impact to organizational transformation
    • Future of AI includes "agentic orchestration" where AI becomes the always-on assistant for all work activities
    • Frontline sellers will need increased technical aptitude as AI becomes more integrated into sales processes

    Start using AI today rather than waiting for perfect understanding—dedicate time to learn this technology as it represents the future of sales. Try one use case at a time and share what you're learning with your team.


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    46 mins