The Unexpected Lever

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

What is The Unexpected Lever?

The secret sauce to your sales success? It’s what happens before the sale. It’s the planning, the strategy, the leadership. And it’s more than demo automation. It’s the thoughtful work that connects people, processes, and performance. If you want strong revenue, high retention, and shorter sales cycles, the pre-work—centered around the human—still makes the dream work. But you already know that.

The Unexpected Lever is your partner in growing revenue by doing what great sales leaders do best. Combining vision with execution. Brought to you by Vivun, this show highlights the people and peers behind the brands who understand what it takes to build and lead high-performing sales teams. You’re not just preparing for the sale—you’re unlocking potential.

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