The Unexpected Lever

The Unexpected Lever Trailer Bonus Episode 1 Season 1

The Impact of AI on Sales Engineering

The Impact of AI on Sales EngineeringThe Impact of AI on Sales Engineering

00:00
How is AI transforming the role of sales engineers, and what does this mean for the future of B2B revenue streams?

In this episode, Matt Darrow, CEO and Co-founder of Vivun, and Joseph Miller, Co-founder and Chief Data Scientist at Vivun,  share how AI will affect sales engineering teams. They explore concepts like the integration of top-down and bottom-up approaches and how AI technologies are fundamentally altering the nature of labor in B2B sales. You’ll also learn the critical skills sales engineers need to have to stay competitive in an increasingly AI-driven market.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
  1. The Evolution of AI: Joe takes us back to the fundamentals, explaining the top-down and bottom-up strategies that have helped AI evolve over the decades.
  2. The Impact on Labor and Productivity: GenAI disruption is different from previous technological advancements, meaning they can’t be mitigated by retraining alone.
  3. The Future of Sales Engineering: Sales Engineers will have to adapt to new AI tools, leveraging them for automation and strategic advantage.

Things to listen for:

(00:00) The evolution of AI

(01:14) Merging top-down and bottom-up approaches  

(04:22) We underestimate the advancements in AI technology  

(06:51) AI's impact on the future of work and labor disruption  

(13:55) How partial automation is shaping the future workforce   

(18:42) Usability challenges in the early stages of AI integration  

(20:08) Revolutionizing sales engineering with AI in solution design  

(22:27) Essential skills for sales engineers to adapt to AI

(25:48) Automating tactical work with AI to free up time for innovation


What is The Unexpected Lever?

The secret sauce to your sales success? It's what happens before the sale. It's the pre-sales. And it's more than demo automation. It's the work that goes on to connect technology and people in a really thoughtful way. If you want strong revenue, high retention, and shorter sales cycles, pre-work centered around the human that makes the dream work, but you already know that.

The Unexpected Lever is your partner in growing revenue by doing what you already do best—combining your technical skills with your strategic insights. Brought to you by Vivun, this show highlights the people and peers behind the brands who understand what it takes to grow revenue. You're not just preparing for the sale—you're unlocking potential.

Join us as we share stories of sales engineers who make a difference, their challenges, their successes, and the human connections that drive us all, one solution at a time.