Two PreSales in a Pod

Your buyers already researched you. Your competitors. Your product. And probably generated a shortlist with AI before the first meeting even started.

In this episode, we’re joined by Stephen Morse (30+ year SE leader, founder of the SC Leadership Institute, executive coach, and former Salesforce global SE leader) to unpack what leadership looks like in an AI-first world.

We dig into:

• Why SEs need to shift from “stable state managers” to wartime strategists
• How AI is amplifying the value of emotional intelligence, empathy, and human connection
• Why buyers still need confidence and belief before making big decisions
• The danger of automating away the human moments that actually matter
• How modern SE leaders can balance decisiveness, pressure, and compassion
• Why the future of presales belongs to people who know when to leverage AI, and when to slow down and be intentional

We also dive into Steven’s upcoming leadership book, decades of lessons from scaling global SE organizations, and why this may be the most important moment yet for the presales profession.

Buyers aren’t showing up to your first call “curious” anymore, they’re showing up pre-researched, pre-ranked, and powered by AI.

In this episode, we’re joined by John Brunswick (former Distinguished SE at Salesforce, founder of StoryPath.ai, and author of Burn the Deck) to break down what AI is changing in the buyer/seller dynamic.

We dig into:

• Why AI gives buyers “superpowers” (and what that means for your first meeting)
• Why traditional product demos can feel like the worst first date ever
• How story becomes the envelope for your value, and helps you regain control
• Practical ways to add framing, “from/to” summaries, and pallet-cleansing medium shifts to keep buyers engaged

If you want your next discovery + demo to actually earn the second meeting, this one’s a must.

In this episode, James Kaikis (Co-Founder, PreSales Collective; Founder, GTM Shift) joins Adam + Todd to unpack the rise of Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs) and what it signals for the future of presales: a world where proof beats polish, and the teams that win are the ones who can show it working—fast.

We get into:

• What an FDE actually is (and why it’s not as “new” as it sounds)

• The real driver behind the trend: the burden of proof and collapsing trust

• Why the “harbor cruise” demo needs an upgrade

• How AI is accelerating skepticism (and why “see it to believe it” is the new default)

• A practical approach for leaders: start with jobs-to-be-done + small experiments, not a massive org redesign

The presales job market is evolving—leadership roles are competitive, and entry-level SE opportunities are tighter than ever. But there’s good news: hiring is picking up again. So… how do you stand out and land your next role?

We’re joined by Yuji Higashi, Co-Founder of PreSales Collective and Better Career, to break down:

• The current state of the presales hiring landscape
• Why first-time SE roles are harder to land—and what to do about it
• How to differentiate yourself and make the move you’ve been waiting for

Whether you're actively job hunting or just keeping your eye on the market, this episode is packed with real talk, success stories, and tactical advice.

AI isn’t just another tool—it’s becoming a career-defining skill. In this episode, Zach Lawryk, Head of Solutions Engineering at OpenAI, joins us to talk about why AI fluency is essential for presales professionals.

We dive into how AI can streamline workflows, accelerate onboarding, and even reshape how we think about demos. Zach also shares practical ways to integrate AI into your daily life—both at work and beyond.

Sheevaun Thatcher, a seasoned sales enablement leader with a presales background, joins us to discuss how aligning presales and enablement functions can empower sales teams and organizations at large.

Susan Beal, Chief Customer Officer at Blue Yonder, joins us to discuss why presales teams need to think "beyond the sale" and work closely with CS to drive account growth, expansion, and ultimately a better client experience.

2PIAP is back!!! After a 6-month break, your favourite presales podcast is back and ready to dive head first back into the world of presales and all things GTM.

Adam is back and joined by Todd Janzen. We’ll be joined by some world class thought leaders and visionaries in GTM space. Come join us as we catch up on what we've been up to, share some hilarious presales stories, and discuss the latest in demo automation and GTM trends.

John Simpson joins us to share his wealth of experience in building teams from scratch otherwise known as 'bootstrapping' the build.

There's a right way, a wrong way and it's likely you'll sit somewhere in between, but with John's experience and the chat from Mark Green, Adam Freeman and Mark McKinlay there's sure some interesting discussions on the topic.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnsimpso/

Come connect with us on LinkedIn!

Networking helps your internal team, but as Ron Whitson points out in this episode, it's building that outside your business that ultimately leads to the healthy growth of ideas for you and your team.

Thanks Ron, for coming to share your wealth of knowledge and for offering connections at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronwhitsonse