I stepped into a new role with deeply technical stakeholders, and I’d freeze on calls. Prospects don’t have black-and-white objections — they have ambiguous problems with no obvious next question. All the value selling in the world doesn’t mean anything if you can’t articulate the value.
I defaulted to looping in an SE for anything outside my depth. Deals slipped by months. If only I knew what they knew.
I tried scripting calls with ChatGPT. But prospects never behave scripted, and I was so focused on the next question I wasn’t actually listening. Gong and Chorus told me what I’d done wrong — after the call. When you’re selling something complex, where do you even begin to learn? Without domain knowledge, you’re only as effective as your questions. But without the domain knowledge, how do you even know what questions to ask?
AI isn’t here to replace AEs. It’s here to augment them — the way autopilot augments pilots and lane assist augments drivers. Buyers’ expectations have risen because the floor has risen. The job isn’t asking good questions anymore. It’s walking into every call as the expert your prospect trusts.
Speak like you belong, because you do.
It’s time to raise the floor. It’s time for Veracity.
