In this episode of the Value Coffee Talk Podcast, Thomas Pisello interviews Matt Dixon, a renowned sales performance author (The Challenger Sale, The Jolt Effect and Activator Advantage), analyst and consultant. The pair discuss the evolution of sales challenges over the past decade, particularly in the context of AI and virtual selling.

Matt introduces his latest work, the Activator Advantage, which focuses on adapting sales strategies for professional services. He outlines the characteristics of successful sales profiles, particularly the Activator, who builds strong client relationships through proactive engagement and idea sharing.

The conversation also touches on the importance of understanding client needs beyond just business transactions, emphasizing the role of personal value in maintaining client loyalty.

Takeaways

• Sales challenges have worsened with the rise of AI.
• Buyers are more informed and further along in their journey.
• The size of buying committees has increased significantly.
• No decision losses are a major issue for salespeople.
• AI can enhance productivity but also lead to spam.
• The Activator Advantage focuses on service organizations.
• Activators build networks and proactively engage clients.
• Debaters can exhaust clients with constant challenges.
• Personal value is crucial for client loyalty.
• Sales strategies must adapt to changing client expectations.

Sound bites

• "Activators are super connectors."
• "They are always bringing new ideas to clients."
• "Personal value creates lasting stickiness."

In this episode of the Value Coffee Talk podcast, host Thomas Pisello and guest Mike Muhlfelder, veteran CRO and sales performance coach, discuss the current challenges in B2B sales, particularly in light of economic uncertainty and the rise of AI. The pair unfold two fundamentals - proper value-centric qualification and discovery processes can lead to an incredible increase in success.

Takeaways

• Quota miss is expected to be higher this year.
• AI is a game changer for sales and business.
• Qualification is crucial for closing deals.
• Understanding the urgency of change is key.
• Budget discussions should focus on urgency, not just numbers.
• Discovery processes need to be improved for better outcomes.
• Sales professionals must balance discovery and demo expectations.
• Sales should be treated as a lifelong profession.
• Understanding the economics of your product is essential.
• Effective sales require continuous learning and adaptation.

Sound bites

• "Quota miss is going to be higher."
• "You need a trigger for customer change."
• "It's always about the money."

In this episode of the Value Coffee Talk podcast, hosts Thomas Pisello and veteran value leader Shane Finlay dive into the evolving landscape of value engineering and consulting. They discuss the shift from large value teams and the “business case factory” approach to a more streamlined, software-enabled capability, and the role of AI in transforming value consultants into not just orchestrators and enablers, but composers.

Tune in to explore how AI is rapidly reshaping value-based growth programs, and the evolving role of AI-powered value consultants, sellers, success reps and sales engineers.

• Value teams are shifting from the “business case factory” (Player) to software-enabled Composers and lifecycle Orchestrators, with AI multiplying impact across GTM.
• Smaller teams + smarter tools: Equip sellers, SEs, and CS with guided discovery, ROI, and value storytelling — not just pre-sale business cases.
• AI as a force multiplier: Private LLMs + value playbooks + past cases = faster, tailored briefs, cleaner CRM hygiene, and real-time discovery prompts.
• Human-in-the-loop stays essential: AI drafts; value pros validate KPIs, benchmarks, and executive narratives to maintain trust and accuracy.
• Adoption is a program, not a launch: Drive usage via simple, monthly “one new use case” enablement (lunch-and-learns), track usage, and reinforce wins.

• “We’re moving from factory to symphony — AI doesn’t replace value pros; it amplifies them.”
• “Enable the field, not just the deal: value must show up in every touch — discovery, demo, onboarding, renewal.”
• “AI is the co-pilot; the value consultant is the pilot — keep the human in the loop to make the case credible.”