The Unexpected Lever

AI becomes useful when it helps you focus, not when it adds more noise.

Zak Cherif, Head of Product Marketing at KeyShot, joins Jarod Greene to discuss how he is navigating a shift toward product-led growth while maintaining consistent messaging across a complex sales motion. He explains the challenge of supporting multiple sellers, industries, and use cases without losing clarity.

Zak explains how AI assists his team in enriching data, validating ideal customer profiles (ICPs), and generating better messaging options without increasing headcount. He also emphasizes the importance of collaborating with diverse sales teams and highlights that understanding how people work is just as critical as the messaging itself.

This episode provides a practical perspective on how product marketers can leverage AI to simplify complexity and maintain a customer-first approach as they scale.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How to validate ICP faster – Use AI to improve targeting with better data
• Why sellers need different support – Adapt content to how each seller works
• How to stay customer first – Keep decisions grounded in real customer needs

Things to listen for:
(00:00) Introduction

(01:35) Staying customer first in product marketing

(02:22) Shifting toward product-led growth

(03:06) A surprising AI use case in fantasy football

(04:32) When AI became mission-critical

(05:00) Using AI for data enrichment and ICP clarity

(06:00) Scaling messaging across many permutations

(07:38) Finding the right problems for AI to solve

(09:26) AI tools for working faster with limited resources

(10:38) Supporting different sales styles with content

(12:41) Balancing consistency with sales autonomy

(14:25) Practical advice for getting started with AI

(15:34) Building AI features that support creativity, not replace it

​​Most AI strategies fail because they start with the tool instead of the problem.

Martin Gomez, COO and Co-Founder of Wing, joins Jarod Greene to share how his team built a global workforce powered by both people and AI. He explains how Wing evolved from a vision of digital assistants into a system that helps companies extend their teams and get real work done.

Martin walks through how they use AI to increase productivity, improve customer experience, and anticipate needs before they surface. He also shares why many AI products fall short and how leaders can avoid building solutions that no one truly needs.

This episode offers a grounded view on where AI delivers value today and how to apply it in ways that actually move the business forward.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Anticipate stakeholder needs with predictive plans - use past data to identify possible future requirements of a customer
• Concentrate on niche industry solutions - identify your skills and solve deep hurdles in that field
• Implement a curated response process for complaints - automating quick solutions for minor dissatisfaction

Things to listen for:
(00:00) Introduction

(00:51) What Wing does and why it matters now

(01:51) Using AI for personal performance and nutrition

(03:24) Wing’s early vision for AI and digital assistants

(05:20) How GPT accelerated productivity and workflows

(07:21) AI as augmentation, not replacement

(09:14) Implementing AI across a global workforce

(10:48) Anticipating customer needs with AI systems

(12:43) Why customer education drives AI success

(15:58) Advice for leaders starting their AI journey

(19:13) Lightning round and final thoughts

Speed is no longer a luxury for revenue teams; it’s a survival requirement.

In this episode of The Unexpected Lever, Jarod Greene is joined by Jamie Walsh, Founder of GTM Factories, to pull back the curtain on how legacy incumbents can outmaneuver nimble startups. Jamie reveals the internal framework he used to dismantle a traditional 15-month product launch cycle and replace it with a high-velocity 90-day sprint.

Beyond the strategy, you'll hear the 'messy' side of AI implementation: the discipline required to stop tool-hopping every week and the importance of giving your team grace to experiment with agents. 

Whether you’re a product marketer tired of long roadmaps or a sales leader looking for automated competitive intelligence that actually works, Jamie’s 'always-on' systems provide the blueprint for the 2026 GTM engine.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Ship faster with shorter cycles - learn how to condense 15-month launches into 90 days
• Build always-on intelligence systems - use automation for competitive tracking and customer insights
• Avoid the tool switching trap - stick with a core platform for two quarters to see actual results 

Things to listen for:
(00:00) Introduction 

(00:56) Why incumbents must move faster

(02:14) Using AI for health goals and daily motivation 

(04:13) The danger of tool rabbit holes

(05:33) A 5-year vision for cognitive risk management and compliance 

(09:37) Reducing long launch cycles to a 90-day sprint 

(12:19) Giving your employees grace to experiment

(13:48) Simple ways to start your AI journey today 

(16:43) Why discovery calls are still an art and not a science 

(14:57) AI as a magic wand for frameworks

(16:29) Must-listen podcasts and books on AI

(17:48) Connecting with Jamie

AI in sales is moving fast. Most teams are not.

In this episode of The Unexpected Lever, Jarod Greene sits down with Chad Sly, Vice President of Sales at Braintrust, to talk about what AI adoption actually looks like inside revenue teams. From using AI as a thinking partner for deep account research to diagnosing stalled deals,  they dig into why most AI rollouts fail, how old implementation playbooks break in a high-velocity AI world, and why adoption is a human challenge, not a training issue. Chad also breaks down practical wins, like automating admin work and improving pipeline hygiene, and the risks of treating AI as just another sales tool.

If you lead sellers or carry a quota yourself, this is a grounded look at how to move faster with AI without losing the human edge that closes deals.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• AI as a thinking partner – use AI to pressure test ideas and sharpen deal strategy
• Adoption is a leadership challenge – change management matters more than training
• Automate admin, elevate sellers – offload CRM updates and research to focus on selling

Things to listen for:
(00:00) Introduction

(01:23) Most unexpected personal and professional uses of AI

(02:26) AI for deep account research and financial analysis

(04:30) Chad’s AI origin story and mindset shift

(06:21) Where teams start with AI: Efficiency and admin work

(07:29) Biggest barriers to AI adoption and implementation

(09:00) Top-down mandates vs. bottom-up AI experimentation

(11:10) Early AI wins with mini GPTs for account research

(12:09) Where AI still falls short in sales communication

(13:45) Advice for skeptics and how to get started with AI

(17:09) The sales process AI should automate next

(18:15) Resources, hype, and where to connect with Chad

Sellers confuse AI as a tool that will replace them, but they fail to see that it is raising the standard.

In this episode of The Unexpected Lever, Jarod Greene sits down with Darren Brady, Vice President of Strategic Accounts at Corporate Visions, to discuss how AI is reshaping buyer expectations. With more data at every seller’s fingertips, buyers assume you know their business before the first call.

Darren explains why the appetite for human interaction is actually growing, what true personalization looks like now, and how sellers can meet higher expectations without losing authenticity.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why AI increases buyer expectations – access to data means no excuse for generic outreach
• Personalization is the demand – surface insights that reflect the customer’s business
• Human connection still wins – AI supports preparation, not relationships

Things to listen for:
(00:00) Introduction

(01:09) The unexpected way AI was used to build a full business plan

(03:00) Darren’s AI origin story and the first scalable use case he saw

(04:21) Turning AI into a team-wide business case engine

(05:38) Why AI is raising the bar for seller business acumen

(07:54) When buyers use AI to reshape your business case

(09:30) The evolution of enablement in an AI-driven world

(11:44) The rise of the GTM engineer and AI skill enablement

(13:30) AI wins that scaled across teams

(17:37) AI missteps, broken automations, and rebuilding trust

(20:30) Build, buy, or wait? Navigating AI decisions in uncertain times

(23:13) Practical advice for getting started with AI today

(27:22) Pricing automation, revenue resources, and where to connect

AI can help you deliver better quality, but it depends on how you use it.

In this episode of The Unexpected Lever, Jarod Greene sits down with Seth Marrs, Chief Strategy Officer at Sandler, to cut through the AI hype and focus on what actually moves revenue.

Seth shares why starting with value changes everything, how most teams are sequencing AI incorrectly, and why the real advantage is not speed, but quality.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why value must come before tools – start with the outcome, then apply AI
• What hasn’t changed in go-to-market – strategy still drives results
• Where AI truly creates advantage – quality beats efficiency every time

Things to listen for:
(00:00) Introduction

(01:06) Why sellers spend more time preparing than selling

(01:47) Why AI matters right now for GTM teams

(02:48) Everyday AI use cases that build real fluency

(05:14) AI adoption is actually gaining traction

(08:59) Starting with business value, then applying AI with purpose

(10:55) AI is now delivering quality, not just efficiency

(11:52) Turning sales conversations into insights

(12:42) When AI becomes a shiny object instead of a growth lever

(14:54) Practical advice for operators ready to solve real problems

(15:26) Proving ROI in enablement and why AI is a true partner

AI promises speed and leverage, but trust is still the missing piece.

In this episode of The Unexpected Lever, Jarod Greene is joined by Bill Balnave, Head of Customer Success at Mezmo. Bill has led post-sale, solutions, and customer teams through real AI adoption under real constraints.

Bill shares how necessity forced action, why trust slows teams down, and how leaders should rethink AI as part of their workforce.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why trust breaks AI adoption – Teams hesitate when answers feel unproven
• Where AI creates leverage – Speed comes from removing manual context switching
• Why ownership matters for agents – Unclear roles lead to noise instead of impact

Things to listen for:
(00:00) Introduction
(00:55) How Mezmo helps teams make sense of data

(01:43) The most unexpected ways Bill uses AI

(02:27) What pushed AI from interest to action

(04:52) Why teams struggle to trust AI answers

(09:49) Rethinking AI agents as part of the team

(13:59) The risk of delaying AI adoption

Is high velocity sales really automatable in the age of AI?

In this episode, we discuss how sales teams are using AI without breaking what makes selling work. Jarod Greene sits down with Terence Falk, VP of Sales at 8am, to talk about pipeline generation, qualification, and the risks of over automating human work. Terence shares how his team uses AI to remove friction from research, routing, and prep while keeping judgment, communication, and emotional awareness firmly in the hands of sellers. 

You will hear why quality beats scale, where AI actually earns its keep, and why great sellers remain hard to replace. 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How AI fits into real sales workflows - Use tools to clear friction, not to run the sale
• Why small improvements beat full automation - Quality gains compound faster than blanket scale
• Which skills keep sellers relevant - Judgment, curiosity, and live conversations still decide outcomes

Things to listen for:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:38) Using AI without replacing sellers

(03:09) Trading scale for higher quality leads

(05:32) Where small AI wins actually add value

(07:24) AI for real time sales enablement

(08:47) The limits of AI in sales and law

(11:33) AI speeds things up but does not own quality

(14:49) How sales and marketing change with AI

Sales and ops leaders are pressured to adopt AI, but struggle to turn the noise into revenue-driving decisions.In this episode of The Unexpected Lever, Jarod Greene is joined by Scott Peyser, Senior Vice President of Operations at CBTS. Scott brings more than 20 years of experience leading sales operations, forecasting, and go to market strategy across global organizations.

Scott shares how leaders should think about AI in practical terms, where insight turns into action, and how to avoid overcomplicating adoption.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why focus matters in AI – Solving one problem beats chasing every use case
How insight becomes action – Data only works when it changes decisions
Where small wins add up – Early results build trust across teams

Things to listen for:
(00:00) Introduction
(01:16) What CBTS does and why it matters
(02:17) Unexpected AI use case
(03:37) The trigger moment for AI adoption
(06:46) Building AI adoption across teams
(10:19) Experimenting with AI while managing risk
(14:39) Advice for leaders getting started with AI
(16:07) Where AI is headed for sales planning and forecasting

AI is no longer an experiment happening on the sidelines of sales. It’s showing up in workflows, conversations, decisions, and forecasts, and teams are figuring it out in real time.

Season 2 of The Unexpected Lever explores how sales leaders and technical teams are actually working alongside AI. Not the hype, not the theory, but the honest stories of what’s working, what’s not, and where human judgment still matters most.

Join us for real conversations with the people navigating AI inside sales teams. You’ll hear what they’re learning, what they’re rethinking, and how small shifts are changing how teams work and win together.