I had a presentation last week that didn’t go like I wanted it to. Not because the content was bad – the concepts are solid and the program works and usually helps a lot of people in the room. But because I was in a room where people had decided that if I wasn’t talking about AI in every sentence, I wasn’t worth listening to.
Twenty minutes into a two-hour program, two people literally told me they were tuning me out because I wasn’t incorporating AI into everything I was discussing. Never mind that the program was about fundamental sales principles, sales organization methodology, and sales strategy. Never mind that they’d booked me knowing exactly what I was teaching. Never mind that their own self-analysis scores showed they had serious fundamental problems to address.
They wanted AI. Everything AI. AI as the answer to every question, the solution to every problem, the future of every business function.
And here’s what made it even crazier: Last year, I worked with a different group where the leader banned me from talking about AI at all. AI was the boogeyman. The thing that was going to destroy jobs, eliminate human connection, and ruin everything good about business.
Both approaches are wrong. And if you’re in either camp, you’re losing real money and real competitive advantage.
The AI-Is-Everything Crowd
By now, you probably know how I think. AI is a powerful tool. I use it constantly. Claude and Perplexity have revolutionized how I do research, prepare for client meetings, and develop content. I’ve written about how salespeople should use AI to research prospects, competitors, and their own companies. I’m not anti-AI. I think AI is a productivity tool, a force multiplier, and a field-leveler between small companies and big ones.
But AI isn’t magic. And it’s not a substitute for knowing what you’re doing.
The group I presented to last week had fundamental sales problems. I’d opened the session with a diagnostic assessment – a simple 9-question health check that scores companies on their sales fundamentals out of 45 points. The best score in the room was 29. The worst was 16. To put that in perspective, anything below 30 indicates significant gaps in sales process, accountability, training, pipeline management, and basic business development discipline.
These companies needed to fix fundamentals. But they didn’t want to hear about fundamentals. They wanted to hear about AI.
No amount of AI is going to fix those problems. AI can make a good sales process more efficient. It can’t create a sales process where none exists. It can help salespeople research faster. It can’t teach them how to ask good questions or conduct thorough Investigation. It can automate follow-up sequences. It can’t build genuine customer relationships.
But they didn’t want to hear that, because AI is hip and trendy. Because talking about AI makes them feel like they’re on the cutting edge. Because it’s more comfortable to focus on shiny new tools than to confront the reality that their basics are broken. And because talking about the basics meant they would have had to make themselves vulnerable.
Here’s the truth – if your sales fundamentals are weak, AI will just help you fail faster and at greater scale. You’ll send more bad emails. You’ll research more prospects you’re not equipped to serve. You’ll automate more processes that don’t work.
Unless your business is actually building AI, developing AI-driven technology, or constructing data centers for AI infrastructure (one guy in the room was building data centers – and he was one of the most engaged participants), AI should not be everything. It should be a tool that enhances what you’re already doing well.
The AI-Is-The-Boogeyman Crowd
On the other end of the spectrum are the leaders who won’t let anyone mention AI. Who think it’s a fad. Who believe that “real salespeople” don’t need technology. Who are convinced that AI is going to eliminate the human element from business relationships.
This is just as wrong, and just as costly.
AI has already changed how buyers research vendors, how they make decisions, and what they expect from salespeople. Your prospects are using AI to research you before they ever take your call. They’re using it to compare alternatives, analyze reviews, and pull together information from multiple sources.
If your salespeople aren’t using the same tools, they’re operating at an information disadvantage. They’re going into calls less prepared than their buyers. They’re competing against salespeople who are leveraging AI to research more thoroughly, prepare more effectively, and operate more efficiently.
Ignoring AI because you’re philosophically opposed to it or scared of it is like refusing to use email in 2005 because you preferred phone calls. The technology isn’t going away. Your competitors are using it. Your buyers are using it. Refusing to engage with it doesn’t make you principled – it makes you obsolete.
There’s a Middle Ground, But Navigating It is Hard
Both extremes miss the real issue. AI is a tool. Not a strategy. Not a replacement for fundamentals. Not optional.
A tool. Just like my favorite 3/8” drive ratchet in my garage. I reach for it all the time, but it’s my knowledge and hands that guide it.
The right question isn’t “How do we make everything about AI?” or “How do we avoid AI entirely?” The right question is “Where does AI genuinely enhance what we’re already doing well?”
For sales, that means:
- Using AI to research prospects before calls so salespeople show up informed and relevant
- Using AI to track competitors and market trends so salespeople understand the landscape
- Using AI to analyze your own company’s online presence so you know what buyers are seeing
- Using AI to draft initial outreach that salespeople then customize and personalize
- Using AI to help salespeople prepare better questions based on what they’ve learned about a prospect
What it doesn’t mean:
- Replacing genuine discovery conversations with AI-generated scripts
- Automating relationship-building
- Using AI to blast out generic messages at scale
- Letting AI make strategic decisions about which accounts to pursue
- Assuming AI can fix fundamental problems with sales process, training, or accountability
The fundamentals still matter. Probably more than ever, because AI has raised the bar for what “adequate” looks like. A salesperson using AI poorly is competing against a salesperson using AI well. The one using it well has better research, better preparation, more relevant outreach, and more efficient processes.
But you still need to know how to sell. You still need to understand the Buyer’s Journey. You still need to conduct thorough Investigation. You still need to build genuine relationships.
AI amplifies what you’re already doing. If you’re doing the right things, AI makes you more effective. If you’re doing the wrong things, AI makes you more efficiently wrong.
Why the Middle Ground Is Hard
I think both extremes exist because the middle ground is uncomfortable. It requires nuance. It requires actually understanding both the fundamentals and the tools. It requires making judgment calls about where AI adds value and where it doesn’t.
It’s easier to declare “AI is everything!” and outsource your thinking to the shiny new tool. It’s easier to declare “AI is nothing!” and dismiss the whole thing as a fad.
What’s harder – but necessary – is saying: “AI is a powerful tool that we need to incorporate thoughtfully into solid fundamentals that we’re already executing well.”
That requires admitting you may have fundamentals to fix. It requires learning new tools. It requires constant evaluation of what’s working and what isn’t. It requires intellectual humility about both traditional approaches and new technologies.
Most people don’t want to do that work. They want simple answers. “Use AI for everything” is simple. “Ignore AI completely” is simple.
“Use AI strategically to enhance solid fundamentals” is complicated. But it’s the only approach that actually works.
What This Means for You
If you’re in the “AI is everything” camp, step back. Ask yourself: Are my fundamentals solid? Do my salespeople know how to conduct discovery? Do we have a real sales process? Do we hold people accountable? Do we train consistently?
If the answer to any of those questions is no, fix that first. Then use AI to make those solid fundamentals more efficient.
If you’re in the “AI is the boogeyman” camp, wake up. Your competitors are using these tools. Your buyers are using these tools. You’re operating at a disadvantage, and that disadvantage is growing every day.
Start small. Have your salespeople use AI to research prospects before calls. Use it to monitor competitors. Use it to understand your own online reputation. Learn what it can do well and what it can’t.
And if you’re trying to navigate the middle ground, keep going. It’s hard. It’s nuanced. It requires constant adjustment. But it’s the only sustainable approach to operating in a market where AI exists and fundamentals still matter.
That’s not sexy. That’s not simple. That’s not a soundbite that fits on a LinkedIn post.
But it’s what actually works.
