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5 Reasons VCs Want You to Use the best CRM / AI Sales Technology for Startup Success
Venture Capitalists weren’t born in the Matrix but sometimes it can feel that way if you’re a startup looking for capital.

They will invest in startups that have the right idea and key people to solve a big hairy problem with a large amount of potential revenue or users, needed for a successful VC exit. Whether its in the Metaverse or Matrix all VC’s want one thing.

Startups must scale very quickly to be successful.

Developing a scalable sales tech stack takes time and requires a very flexible and rapidly scalable CRM platform to manage all the sales tech data pipes. Startups must focus on keeping things as simple as possible for end users but still give them the right actions to do at the right time. This can be expensive for startups since they are often forced to pivot as they learn what is working or not. By building flexible and scalable tech systems from the beginning their odds of succeeding improve dramatically.

Entrepreneurs must consider what a VC or Investor maybe looking at when evaluating their company for a potential investment – at least from “What are they Going to Sell” perspective.

With that in mind. This is what VCs are looking for when evaluating your startup sales tech stack:

5 Reasons Why VCs Want You to use CRM / Sales Technology
1. Improved Revenue: A high-quality CRM properly implemented can help a Startup manage its sales pipeline more efficiently, resulting in improved sales and revenue. This helps boost the startup’s valuation and obviously more attractive to investors.
2. Superior Customer Engagement: A CRM can help a startup improve its customer experience by providing insights into customers behavior, preference and needs. This can help the startup develop better products and services, resulting in increased customer loyalty and higher revenue.
3. Operational Efficiency: A high-quality CRM can help a startup streamline its sales and marketing processes, resulting in improved operational efficiency. This can lead to cost saving and increases profitability, which can make the startup more attractive to investors.
4. Data Insights: A CRM can provide valuable data insights that can help a startup make more informed business decisions. This can help the startup develop more effective strategies, leading to improved revenue and profitability.
5. Scalability: A top CRM can help a startup scale its sales and marketing efforts more effectively and quickly. This can help the startup expand its customer base and grow its revenue, which can make it more attractive to investors.
Investors want startups to succeed or fail fast!

Their investment window is dependent on some of their investments growing quickly and that is where they need to focus, while others will fail and need to get off the books/harvest patents.

Many VCs prefer that you use Salesforce as it is the number one selling CRM.

They know they can get people to configure and implement the system, most sales people are familiar with it and it’s enterprise grade so scaling isn’t a big concern. It ticks a big funding box.

Next – whether a VC prefers a startup with Salesforce CRM or no CRM would depend on several factors. In general, if a startup already has a Salesforce CRM, it often indicates that they already have a well defined sales process and are using data to inform their decision-making. This makes their evaluation easier as they can see actual numbers vs. a hockey stick graph.

However, the absence of a CRM doesn’t always mean a startup is less attractive. VC’s maybe willing to invest in early stages of development – especially if a clear value proposition is backed by a clear sales process tracked to achieve rapid growth. Often VC’s have favorite CRM implementation partners that can quickly come in and set things up because they have a repeatable process in place.

One other way VC’s use CRM’s is to look at the numbers every day. Leading CRM AI packages (Such as Sentia) show VC’s every one of their investments in a simple dashboard showing daily sales, outbound activities and tracking to quota. They don’t have to call the CEO, they see it in real time. Most VCs like this because it reduces surprises and uncertainty.

Ultimately, whether a startup has a Salesforce CRM or no CRM it’s only one factor that VCs consider when evaluating potential investment opportunities. The most important factors are the startups overall business plan, the problem they plan to solve, quality of chosen team, potential for growth and profitability, and often most importantly how does your startup fit in the VC investment strategy and ten-year plan.
December 13, 2023
Top 10 New Applications of AI in Sales tech ’23
2023 will go down as the year of AI in business school history books. Rarely has a new technology evolved so quickly, gained wide spread use nor stirred as much concern as Artificial Intelligence. Regardless of where people stand on the use of AI (see 1984 “The Terminator“) it is already well entrenched in the business world and its use is only going to expand.

In this regard I’m going to focus on the top ten applications of AI in Sales systems so far. Sales tech stacks are usually the first ones impacted in any business organization because it is the most visible profit (or loss center). There is zero doubt that AI is rapidly transforming the sales landscape. We’re seeing the introduction of so many innovative applications that enhance efficiency, improve customer experiences, and boost sales performance its hard to know where to start, nor completely understand what is coming.

With that being said I’m going to put a stake in the proverbial ground and start with what I think are the top 10 things I see AI doing right now that are dramatically affecting sales systems:

2023’s Top 10 new applications of AI in sales tech:
1. AI-powered Sales Coaching and Training: Coaching tools can analyze every sales conversation or interaction, identify areas for improvement, and provide real-time feedback for sales reps. This AI augmented and personalized approach helps reps refine their communication skills, build stronger relationships with potential customers, and close more deals. It does this without a manager, trainer or supervisor needing to spend “time” with a sales rep. It can be self sourced and used when the rep wants it or by a manager to see how a rep is performing without having to have those “difficult conversations” where a customer calls and says XYZ is terrible, you need to get rid of them! It is no longer a she said, he said as it is all recorded.
2. AI-driven Predictive Sales Forecasting: AI algorithms analyze historical sales data, market trends, and customer behavior to predict future sales performance with greater accuracy (this assumes clean data!). This enables sales teams to make informed decisions about resource allocation, target customer segments, and sales strategies. As always the better the data that is input (Sales Reps are notorious for not using their CRMs) the more likely AI can improve predictive forecasting.
3. AI-enabled Lead Qualification and Prioritization: AI models assess leads based on various factors, such as firmographic data, website behavior, and engagement patterns, to identify the most promising leads. This helps sales reps focus their efforts on the most qualified leads, increasing their chances of closing deals.
4. AI-powered Sales Content Generation and Personalization: AI tools can generate personalized sales and marketing content, such as email templates, social media posts, and sales pitches, tailored to the specific needs and interests of each buyer persona/prospect. This personalized approach can increase engagement and conversion rates.
5. AI-driven Conversational Sales Chatbots: AI chatbots can engage in real-time conversations with potential customers, answering questions, providing product information, and scheduling demos. This 24/7 availability and personalized interaction can enhance customer experience and capture leads early in the sales cycle.
6. AI-powered Sales Incentive Compensation and Optimization: AI algorithms can analyze sales data and performance metrics to determine optimal incentive compensation plans that motivate reps and drive sales growth.
7. AI-enabled Sales Territory Planning and Optimization: AI models can analyze market data, customer demographics, and sales performance to identify optimal sales territories that maximize revenue potential.
8. AI-powered Sales Prospecting and Discovery: AI tools can identify and prioritize potential customers based on various factors, such as firmographic data, website behavior, and social media engagement, helping sales reps uncover new opportunities.
9. AI-driven Sales Opportunity Management and Deal Coaching: AI can analyze sales opportunities, identify buyer intent, potential risks and roadblocks, and provide real-time coaching to sales reps to increase their chances of closing deals.
10. AI-powered Sales Workflow Automation: AI tools can automate repetitive sales tasks, such as data entry, email follow-ups, and scheduling appointments, freeing up reps to focus on more strategic activities.
The key element to all ten of these AI use case applications is “CAN.” Every single one of these requires a blended AI experience to make it work. None of these can successfully operate without human interaction either in the development, use or tweaking of them. In fact AI is so new in most of these applications that if you don’t have a trained human available to constantly watch, improve and tweak any of these AI’s on a regular basis I would be very concerned about deploying them.

With that in mind we need to focus on the number one tool that most sales reps both hate and must use on a fairly regular basis, CRM (Salesforce says 26% daily usage for CRMs). CRMs or Customer Relationship Management software is an $80Billion dollar business but the failure rates are surprisingly high. I wondered if AI could solve this problem and turned to CRM experts for the answer.

I spoke with renowned CRM expert and best selling Author Mike Hudlow (see “How not to F*CK up a CRM system“) on these top ten AI solutions and asked him – What is the biggest problem with CRM systems right now?

Mike said: “”Human Change Management” is the key reason systems fail. But, unfortunately there are many reasons that this can occur. The reality is that people like to blame the technical system itself but any modern CRM system is capable of improving a companies CRM process/workflow. The challenge for any program/product/project manager, CIO, CTO, CMO or person in charge of the CRM to make it both welcomed and desired. Sounds scary human doesn’t it? A CRM can and will be resisted by: 1) those that don’t trust it, think its needed and/or believe that others will steal their own personal IP, 2) those divisions within a company that think it is too expensive, 3) People or teams that believe that the system will replace another system to which they are attached (career or emotionally ), 3) or people that actually or perceptually believe it creates more work, and 4) leaders that feel it infringes upon their own autonomy.”

My second question to Michael was can any of these top ten AI enhancements solve those problems?

Mike replied: “At the end of the day an AI supplemental tool can improve many of these as it makes the native CRM tool “bend” to their own style and will make them more comfortable with the AI’s ability to bridge the gap, bend to their own style, and allow them to let the CRM system they don’t feel comfortable with be more “human” and meet their own specific needs”

I then turned to AI Visionary and Sales Process Expert David Forder for an AI perspective on CRMs and AI. My question was simple yet nuanced. Can AI solve the biggest problems in CRM i.e., no sales rep wants to use it?

David replied: “The biggest issue that CRMs face is a lack of user adoption. 74% of customer facing staff refuse to use their CRM every single day. Yet companies spend billions of dollars on it! Adding AI into the mix has the potential to make this even worse! Unless any AI integration improves the underlying complexity of using a CRM and makes them simpler and more effective it will definitely make it worse not better! This has to be the focus of AI.”

I then asked Mr. Forder – how do you make it simpler? Get sellers using it?

David’s reply: “The key to making the CRM simpler is to ignore what will appeal to C-Suite i.e. ignore the focus on data heavy screens, reports and dashboards and re-engineer the CRM to meet the needs of the bulk of the users – those customer facing teams. Design the CRM to meet their daily needs, so they want to use it as it does the work for them. If you do this they will embrace their CRM and it can then work effectively for C-Suite as the data will actually be in the system! That’s our focus at Sentia AI! Have your CRM do most of the work for them, tell them what to do next and watch usage rates explode!”

Both Mike’s and David’s battle scars, extensive CRM implementations, sales experience and knowledge made me think I should interview both of them and get their thoughts on video for everyone to learn from. So we’re going to do it and here is the link:

How Not to F*CK Up your CRM with AI

This may turn into two video segments as the topic is so timely, important and I found that the breadth and depth of their CRM and AI system implementation experience was quite simply amazing!

These gentlemen have their finger on the pulse of sales, AI & CRM implementation success. It will be a great how to “fix it” roundtable.

Please join us on November 29th for an in-dept on how not to F*CK up A CRM system with AI!

David is an investor and executive director at Sentia AI – The Intelligence Engine, a next generation AI sales enablement technology company and Salesforce partner. Dave’s passion for helping people with their AI, sales, marketing, business strategy, startup growth and strategic planning has taken him across the globe and spans numerous industries. You can follow him on Twitter LinkedIn or on Sentia Says.
December 7, 2023
What is this MEDDPIC thing?
I was asked by one of my team last week for a simple explanation of MEDDPIC so thought why not share.

Widely seen as a replacement to BANT , MEDDPIC is ‘de rigueur’ at the moment in sales organizations largte & small.

MEDDPIC is a sales methodology that stands for

Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, Paper Process, Identify Pain, and Champion.

It’s a sales methodology that is based on qualification for complex, enterprise, business to business sales. (MEDDPIC is a variation of MEDDIC that has evolved to include a P that stands for Process).

The MEDDPIC sales methodology was developed by Jack Napoli, a former sales executive at Salesforce, in the mid-2000s. Napoli developed the methodology based on his own experience in sales, and he has since written and spoken extensively about its effectiveness. The methodology has been adopted by many sales organizations and is often used as a framework for sales training and coaching.

Here’s a brief explanation of each component:
1. Metrics: This refers to the key performance indicators (KPIs) or metrics that your customers use to measure their success. Understanding these metrics is important because it can help you tailor your sales pitch to show how your product or service can help them achieve their goals.
2. Economic Buyer: This is the person in the customer organization who has the authority to make purchasing decisions. Identifying the economic buyer is important because it helps you understand who you need to focus on convincing to make the sale.
3. Decision Criteria: This refers to the factors that the customer uses to evaluate potential solutions. Understanding the decision criteria can help you tailor your sales pitch to address the customer’s specific needs.
4. Decision Process: This refers to the steps that the customer goes through when making a purchasing decision. Understanding the decision process can help you anticipate potential roadblocks and plan your sales strategy accordingly.
5. Paper Process: This refers to the internal processes that the customer uses to approve purchases. Understanding the paper process can help you navigate the bureaucracy and paperwork involved in making a sale.
6. Identify Pain: This refers to the specific pain points or challenges that the customer is facing. Understanding the customer’s pain points can help you tailor your sales pitch to show how your product or service can help solve their problems.
7. Champion: This refers to a person within the customer organization who is enthusiastic about your product or service and can help you navigate the decision-making process. Identifying a champion can be helpful in gaining traction and building momentum for your sale.
Overall, the MEDDPIC methodology is designed to help salespeople understand their customers’ needs and tailor their sales approach to address those needs.

However, like any other system, the MEDDPIC sales system has its limitations, some of which are:
1. Subjectivity: The analysis of sales opportunities using the MEDDPIC system relies heavily on the salesperson’s interpretation of the available information, which may be subjective and prone to errors.
2. Complexity: The MEDDPIC system can be complex to implement and use, particularly for sales teams that are not familiar with the methodology. This can lead to resistance or misunderstandings from salespeople, reducing its effectiveness.
3. Lack of flexibility: The MEDDPIC system is a rigid framework that may not be adaptable to certain sales situations, such as unique or niche industries, products, or markets.
4. Incomplete information: The system requires a lot of information to work effectively, but sometimes, the information available is not sufficient, which can lead to incomplete analysis and inaccurate conclusions.
5. Time-consuming: The MEDDPIC system requires a lot of time and effort to complete, particularly for salespeople who are juggling multiple sales opportunities and have limited time to dedicate to each one.
There are several other sales systems and methodologies that sales professionals can use to analyze and prioritize sales opportunities. Some of the most common ones include:
1. BANT: BANT stands for Budget, Authority, Need, and Timeline. This methodology helps sales professionals determine if a prospect is a qualified lead by assessing if they have the budget, authority, need, and timeline to make a purchase.
2. SPIN Selling: SPIN Selling stands for Situation, Problem, Implication, and Need-Payoff. It is a consultative sales methodology that focuses on identifying the customer’s situation, problems, and implications of those problems, and finally, offering a solution that meets the customer’s needs.
3. Challenger Sales: This methodology focuses on challenging the customer’s assumptions and offering unique insights to help them rethink their approach to a problem. It involves building relationships with customers, teaching them something new, tailoring solutions to their specific needs, and taking control of the sales conversation.
4. Solution Selling: This methodology involves identifying a customer’s needs and pain points and offering them a comprehensive solution that solves their problem. It involves understanding the customer’s business and needs, building a relationship with them, and presenting a customized solution that meets their unique requirements.
5. Value Selling: Value Selling is a methodology that focuses on demonstrating the value of a product or service to the customer, rather than just its features and benefits. It involves understanding the customer’s business and needs, positioning the product as a solution that offers value, and showing how it can help the customer achieve their goals.
Each system has its own strengths and weaknesses, and sales professionals may use one or a combination of these systems depending on their industry, market, and specific sales goals.

Back to MEDDPIC, it provides a structured approach to identifying and qualifying sales opportunities, which can help sales teams focus their efforts on the opportunities that have the greatest potential to close.

It takes into account various factors that can impact the sales process, such as the decision-making process, the economic buyer, and the decision criteria. By analyzing these factors, sales professionals can gain a better understanding of the customer’s needs and tailor their approach accordingly.

Ultimately, whether the MEDDPIC system is worthwhile or not will depend on a variety of factors, such as the size of the sales team, the industry, the type of product or service being sold, and the sales goals. Sales professionals should carefully evaluate the system and determine if it aligns with their needs and objectives before deciding to adopt it.
November 25, 2023
AI & Sales Process – Maximize Your Outcomes!

As a sales professional, one of the key skills that can make or break your success is how to manage and execute effective sales processes for B2B selling. In this post, I want to share some insights and best practices that have helped me grow my business and build strong relationships with my clients.

Firstly, it’s important to understand the different stages of a typical B2B sales cycle, which usually involves:

– Identifying and qualifying potential customers or prospects

– Establishing rapport and trust through communication and research

– Presenting and demonstrating your product or service features and benefits

– Overcoming objections and closing the deal

– Providing after-sales support and feedback to ensure customer satisfaction and loyalty

Secondly, it’s crucial to tailor your sales approach according to each stage of the cycle and the specific needs and preferences of your target market.

For example, you might need to use different types of communication channels, such as email, phone, video conferencing, or social media, depending on how you connect with your prospects. You also might have to adjust your tone, language, and content based on their level of interest, familiarity, or readiness to buy.

Thirdly, it’s valuable to leverage data and analytics to optimize your sales performance and improve your decision-making.

For instance, you can use tools like CRM software, marketing automation platforms, or lead generation services to track and manage your leads, opportunities, and deals. You can also analyze the feedback and results of your sales activities using metrics such as conversion rates, response times, closing ratios, or customer lifetime value.

By following these insights and best practices, you can increase your chances of success in B2B selling and create more value for yourself and your customers.

So how can AI assist with this?

AI can help B2B selling processes in various ways, such as:

– Automating and streamlining repetitive or time-consuming tasks, such as data entry, lead scoring, or email follow-up. This can save you time and effort and allow you to focus on more strategic or creative aspects of your sales.

– Enhancing and personalizing your communication with prospects and customers by using natural language processing and generative models. For example, you can use AI to generate customized messages, emails, or scripts that adapt to the context, tone, and style of each interaction. This can help you build rapport, trust, and credibility with your audience.

– Improving and optimizing your decision-making by using machine learning and deep learning models. For example, you can use AI to analyze customer data, behavior, or feedback and provide insights that can inform your sales strategy, pricing, or offer. You can also use AI to predict customer needs, preferences, or behaviors and tailor your products or services accordingly.

– Innovating and creating new value by using artificial intelligence and robotics process automation. For example, you can use AI to design, prototype, or test new features or solutions that can differentiate your product or service from the competition. You can also use AI to generate content, such as blogs, articles, or videos, that can showcase your expertise and authority in your industry.

November 25, 2023
Demystifying AI: Shared Tenancy vs. New Siloed LLMs – Why Understanding Matters to You!

G’day readers! Today, let’s delve into the world of artificial intelligence and unravel the complexities of shared tenancy models versus what I like to call siloed LLMs. As a thought leader in this space, I’m keen to shed light on why grasping these distinctions is crucial, especially considering the concerns I have about many SaaS companies seemingly not taking these matters as seriously as they should and offering solutions that are not truly mitigating the risks.

The AI Landscape: A Bird’s Eye View

Artificial Intelligence has become the driving force behind innovation, transforming the way businesses operate and make decisions. Within this AI landscape, most companies that offer AI, utilize APIs to shared “Large Language Models” (LLMs). I see a distinct issue with this and would like to explore the alternative approach that has emerged – siloed LLMs and other AI models.

The Shared Tenancy Conundrum:

Shared tenancy models involve multiple organizations sharing a common AI model fed with data from their respective enterprise systems. It’s like a shared workspace for AI, where diverse data mingles in pursuit of collective insights. However, despite this, concerns arise, particularly in the context of data security and obvious patterns emerging.

Why I Stand as a Thought Leader:

As a thought leader in the AI domain, my concerns echo through the corridors of innovation. I’ve observed a trend among many SaaS companies claiming to have tackled the challenges associated with shared tenancy models via the use of anonymizing data and using encryption. However, the reality often falls short of the assurances, leaving organizations vulnerable to potential risks. For example, if a model is asked by several staff members to draft a response to an email, the AI could potentially discover patterns in the content of all the emails being piped through the AI model (from staff in that organization) and then deduce from there, even though specifics on individuals has been redacted.

Data Security: A House of Cards?

Shared tenancy models walk a fine line when it comes to data security. While encryption layers are touted as safeguards, the intermingling of data from different organizations raises red flags. My qualms stem from the fact that, in practice, not all companies are as fortified against breaches as they profess to be. The shared nature of these models poses a risk – a breach in one organization’s data could ripple across the shared space, affecting others in the consortium.

Customization Woes: One Size Fits None:

A shared model, by its nature, tends to be a jack of all trades, master of none. My concerns deepen when considering the limited room for customization. Organizations, each with unique objectives, find themselves constrained by a model that might not align seamlessly with their specific needs. This lack of adaptability can stifle innovation and hinder the full potential of AI for individual organizations. A powerful integration of AI would mean the appropriate use of multiple different AI models or even better, a series of trained models that are tailored to the organization.

Siloed LLMs: An Oasis of Security and Customization:

Contrastingly, siloed LLMs stand as a beacon of security and tailored precision. As a thought leader in this space, I champion the cause of siloed models within secure containers for individual organizations. The benefits are clear – enhanced data security and the freedom to fine-tune the AI model according to the distinct requirements of each organization, coupled with the use of “Vector” storage, will dramatically improve the benefits of AI in a given use case.

Why Understanding Matters to You:

Now, why should you care about this AI showdown? As businesses increasingly integrate AI into their operations, your data security and the adaptability of the AI tools at your disposal matter. If you’re relying on a shared tenancy model, it’s vital to scrutinize the assurances provided by your AI service provider. I implore you to question whether your organization’s valuable data is truly shielded from potential breaches, and if the promised customization aligns with your unique goals. This may be hard to ascertain from your vendors, especially when their marketing and comms touts “Trust” but falls short on the delivery.

My Final Thoughts:

In the fast and ever-evolving landscape of AI, understanding the nuances between shared tenancy models and siloed LLMs is not just an academic exercise – it’s a practical necessity. My concerns about the nonchalant approach of many vendors are a call to action. As you navigate the AI terrain, consider the path that aligns best with your organization’s security and customization needs. In this journey of demystifying AI, your informed choices pave the way for a more robust, secure, and tailored AI experience.

If you would like to talk to an AI professional, please feel free to reach out to me (or the team at Sentia AI) so we can discuss your current and potential future state with AI.
[email protected]

November 23, 2023
Artificial Intelligence Doesn’t Hallucinate – It’s Just Being Human!
Let me explain.

One of the most obvious outcomes from the covid pandemic & the turbulent political environment over past few years is a recognition that we all tend to cling to our opinions and beliefs very, very tightly.

“I just know it” is often said; sometimes in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

But where does this certainty come from and just how sturdy is that foundation?

There is a word for this phenomena.

The Dunning-Kruger effect is a cognitive bias where people with limited competence in a specific domain overestimate their abilities. It occurs because they lack self-awareness and cannot accurately assess their own skills. Essentially, they think they know more than they do.

The initial study by David Dunning and Justin Kruger in 1999 focused on logical reasoning, grammar, and social skills. It revealed how people often misjudge their abilities due to a lack of metacognition (the ability to analyze one’s own thoughts).

Fact is, our thoughts and opinions are actually related closely to our memory.

Typically our opinions, our beliefs and our sense of self comes from,
1. Cognitive biases: These relates to systematic errors in thinking that affect how people process and interpret information; and they certainly influence their beliefs and decisions. Many cognitive biases are related to memory, such as confirmation bias, which is the tendency to seek out and remember information that confirms one’s existing opinions, or hindsight bias, which is the tendency to remember past events as more predictable or consistent with one’s current views than they actually were.
2. Emotional memory: This is the memory for events that are emotionally arousing or significant. Emotional memory is enhanced by the release of stress hormones that act on the amygdala, a brain region involved in processing emotions and fear. Emotional memory can affect opinions by making them more vivid, persistent, and more influential on behavior. However, emotional memory can also be inaccurate or intrusive, leading to false or distorted recollections of events that may affect opinions.
3. Narrative memory: This is memory for autobiographical events that are organized into coherent stories that give meaning and context to one’s life. Narrative memory is influenced by one’s concept of self, goals, values, and culture. Narrative memory can affect opinions greatly by shaping one’s identity, worldview, and sense of purpose. However, narrative memory can also be selective, reconstructive, and influenced by external sources, leading to inconsistencies or gaps in one’s personal history that may affect opinions.
So, if our opinions are linked inexorably to our memories. How good is yours?

Perceiving oneself as having a great memory is critical to every individual’s confidence, well-being, and daily functioning.
- When we trust our memory, we approach tasks with confidence, whether it’s recalling information needed to do your job, approaching an exam or remembering important dates.
- Feeling that our memory is reliable boosts our overall self-esteem and encourages us to take on challenges.
- Memory enhances social interactions. Remembering names, details, and shared experiences makes us more likable and relatable.
- Workplace: Professionals rely on memory for productivity. From meetings to deadlines, memory competence contributes to success.
- Reducing anxiety: Fear of memory lapses can cause stress. Feeling confident in our memory alleviates anxiety.
- Nostalgia: A vivid memory lets us relive cherished moments, fostering positive emotions.
- And, a good memory accelerates learning. We build on past knowledge, adapt, and innovate.
This all leads us to want to over-estimate just how great our memory is.

I know that we all want to feel that our own memory is an amazing recording device; accurately taking note of the details of everything that we have experienced, read, visited and heard about. But the unfortunate fact is that it is not!

Elizabeth Loftus, one of the World’s leading experts on human memory, says, “If memory is the bedrock of the self … it is built on shifting sands.”

No-one has done more than psychologist Loftus (from the University of California, Irvine,) to expose the fallibility of human memory. In the 1990s, amid growing panic over claims of satanic abuse rings, the psychologist showed how easy it is for people to develop false memories of events that never ever happened.

All it took was being asked repeatedly to imagine them. At the time, unfortunately, this was a common psychotherapy technique to recover supposedly ‘repressed memories’.

Over the past three decades, Loftus, has become well-known for her work as an expert witness in legal cases. Her ongoing research on the fallibility of eyewitness testimony has taken on fresh importance in an era of fake news, the Me-Too movement and digital image manipulation. (1)

Elizabeth Loftus has found ordinary memory to be so malleable that she can easily prompt volunteers to “remember nonexistent broken glass and tape recorders; to think of a clean-shaven man as having a mustache, of straight hair as curly, of hammers as screwdrivers, to place a barn in a bucolic scene that contained no buildings at all, to believe in characters who never existed and events that never happened.”

“We now have a new paradigm of memory,” notes Loftus, “where memories are understood as a creative blending of fact and fiction, where images are alchemized by experience and emotion into memories.” (2)

So, we have established that our opinions, the facts we just KNOW, the statements we make, the feelings we believe, in fact most of our day-to-day activity relies heavily on memory.

So how chilling is it that this memory of ours is so malleable, that it changes over time, that it can be easily re-made by suggestion, and is so tenuous.

I guess you could say that a lot of the things we truly ‘believe’ could well be hallucinations of sorts?

Much like AI’s sometimes do.

AI ‘hallucination’ refers to a phenomenon where large language models (LLMs), such as OpenAI’s GPT-4, Bard AI or Google’s Palm, can generate outputs that contain false or misleading information presented as fact.

These outputs are sometimes nonsensical or altogether inaccurate and may not align with real data or events at all. Sounds human to me.

These are often reported on and discussed as a major hurdle to the use of artificial intelligence – but just how different is this really to asking a business colleague for help and assuming they actually know what they are talking about?

Or perhaps relying on your own memory to solve a problem assuming that your memory must obviously be correct?

If human memory and knowledge is as fallible as the ‘facts’ suggest, I feel that we may be giving AIs a bad rap! It may be that they are far more human than we would like to admit!

Food for thought?

[1] Memory special: Can you trust your memories? | New Scientist

[2] It’s Magical, It’s Malleable, It’s… Memory | Psychology Today
November 22, 2023
Think You Know Your Buyer?

Today’s consumer is increasingly accustomed to a digital world that offers intuitive interfaces, around-the-clock availability, real-time fulfillment, personalized treatment and zero errors. They are more connected, distracted, short on time and accustomed to instant answers — but let’s not look at this as characteristics of an age group, but rather the direction in which today’s modern customers are evolving.

Known as the “Generational Customer” they are not defined necessarily by age but by their changing expectations.

This evolutionary shift in buying behavior is also transforming how today’s enterprise must align its’ processes to engage with the expectations of these individuals. These are aggressively becoming the traits in the modern buyer. Exposed to the relatively simple purchasing processes in the B2C (Business to Consumer) world, they are now expecting the same sort of experience with B2B (Business to Business) suppliers.

And enterprises are failing to recognize this shift.

Buyers are increasingly more tech savvy and comfortable engaging with sellers via multiple channels such as phone calls, email, text and social media. They demand that businesses know about them from their very first interaction and want the people they buy from to be as available to them as other people they know.

They are informed and content-driven, demanding more self-service capabilities for product research, trial, and purchase. Buyers are demanding to get information in any way they want, and they want it fast. Enterprise businesses may assume that their buyers don’t want or need to engage with them as often during the buying process, however this notion is not correct.

An overwhelming majority of buyers want to hear from and meet with sellers and they want to hear from them early in the buying process. (RAIN Group)

Companies today must transform digitally as they have to compete in a world in which both end consumers and business customers expect products and services to meet their needs, on demand, across channels — and they want engagement with sellers exactly when they’re ready for it.

All of these trends are leading to more complex sales activities that require a new breed of sales professional armed with the right skills, processes and tools to maximize their sales outcomes.

There has been a significant shift toward subscription-based business models that are redefining how sellers add value and manage customer relationships in today’s rapid business environments.

However, investing in the right skills through strategies such as better hiring decisions and staff development will only get sales leaders so far in building the new breed of sales professional required to combat these trends.

Recruitment of this new breed of sales professional is also a challenge that is becoming more acute as they are also this Generational Customer type themselves and will tend to seek and change roles routinely in search of diverse experiences and rewards.

As a result, enterprises will become more and more dependent on developing and applying effective sales processes and tools that mimic the practices of their best performing sales professionals to unlock the potential from their existing sales force.

Think you know your buyer? How businesses adapt in response to this changing landscape may vary but the modern buyer expects these changes, and they expect them now.

Meeting these expectations is critical because the prevalence of these generational customers is only going to become more significant over time.

Currently Founder & CEO at Sentia, over the past 30 years, David Forder has taken on various challenging positions including three separate leadership roles in multi billion businesses and driven these companies to deliver enormous growth and improvement. Having run organizations across Australia, Asia and the USA, he has an impressive track record of working across multiple cultures and throughout a diverse set of industries including the chemical and coatings, retail, building & construction, aerospace/defense and general industrial businesses.

September 22, 2023
Get More From Salesforce.com For Free!
With a large proportion of US businesses now firmly entrenched in the salesforce.com camp with regard to CRM, I thought I would suggest a few ways that salesforce users can get more from their system without necessarily needing to spend more cash.

If you have a salesforce.com CRM in your business, or if you are just looking at it now you will have an allocated Salesforce Account Executive.

You may not have had much contact with them after you purchased your CRM; that being said it is their job to ensure that you are satisfied with the platform. They are rewarded when you happily renew or expand the number of seats you purchased. This gives them a great incentive to help you with any issues or challenges that you may be having.

So, if you want to fully leverage the advantages your CRM will provide then make them your new best friend!

Working with your Salesforce account manager can be a win-win.

So, to the next question I am often asked.
1. Who are they and how do I find them.
This is fairly simple to determine if you are a salesforce administrator at your business or if you know who the salesforce administrator is at your firm.

On your CRM, any administrator can head to their user profile and enable an option called “Checkout”. This “checkout” function is going to be upgraded in February 2022 but it works for now and the replacement app will no doubt provide the same information (details)

After enabling this feature, while logged in to Salesforce, head to the salesforce webstore (store). At the bottom right you will see the contact information for your personal Account Executive.

There you go – a salesforce consultant and expert for free!

If you do want to get more from your system then this is the person that can find the right information & resources for you. Experienced account executives work with many clients – some of these are likely to have the same challenges you do and your AE can discuss with you what others may have done to solve these.

Listen to them. It is normal human behavior to think “They are just trying to sell me more seat licenses.” but it may be that these add-ons are the solutions to your problems or will allow you can realize more value from your system.

This resource is in effect a free CRM consultant – take advantage of their knowledge. After all the price is right.

If they do suggest more spend, at least look at the solutions that they suggest. Do the math on this additional Salesforce investment. It may provide great returns in time and productivity.

2. Remember they have a “brains trust” behind them

Your account executive works for Salesforce and they are plugged in to what is an enormous business. They have a vast body of knowledge and resources that can be accessed to provide you with what you need to know.

If they don’t know something, they probably know how to get the answer you need. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and make sure that you are persistent. They will be service-driven but to be blunt, their first focus is to sell more seats. That does not mean that they won’t be there to help and support you but you may need to be persistent and it may take more time than you expect to get answers.

That’s OK.. this is free help that you didn’t know existed until now.

3. This Account Executive is likely to change frequently

Salesforce continues to experience enormous growth and as such they have staff moving around, turning over and moving upwards. The individual with the task of owning your account is likely to change regularly.

That’s OK – variety is the spice of life!

It is always a good idea to have a short brief on your business ready to go and if reaching out for advice/support send this upfront. You want any sessions with your salesforce exec to be of real value (free consultant remember) so the more information you can provide them upfront the better.

4. Record the meetings

Take notes, record zoom calls, even have a scribe if that’s your thing but in a conversation with them make sure you get as much detail out of it as possible.

As noted, they’re busy and it may be tough to book a lot of sessions to help you, so extract every bit of goodness that you can from the ones that you do have. Have a plan.

5. Agree actions

If they promise to track down information for you that will help you get more out of your salesforce system then record this, copy them on this note (remember they may have many priorities and can easily push you down the list) and then hound them until they deliver.

They do genuinely want to help you. Help them help you by managing the relationship.

6. Build a relationship

You should always know who your account executive is. Build a good relationship with them. Dangle the carrot of more seats or more feature sales for them to try to extract as much value as you can for your business.

Think about what you need and find out what they can deliver. Also building a relationship is a two way street. Listen to their challenges also and you’ll likely learn something as well as perhaps get faster help in the future. People like to feel you’re engaged – especially with todays digital based communication.

7. Contact us at Sentia

As a salesforce partner (with an amazing upgrade to the standard sales cloud available right now!), we enjoy helping out clients or potential clients with salesforce advice and tips.

We learn from every new sales team discovery session and never feel that a call is a waste of time. We will always tell you if we can help or not. In fact, we often provide (FREE!) a fast fix session for businesses detailing a few easy things that they can do themselves (and how to do it) to generate more value from their system.

Ask me and we can set up a call!

Founder & CEO at Sentia, over the past 25 years, David Forder has taken on various challenging positions including three separate leadership roles in multi billion businesses and driven these companies to deliver enormous growth and improvement. Having run organizations across Australia, Asia and the USA, he has an impressive track record of working across multiple cultures and throughout a diverse set of industries including the chemical and coatings, retail, building & construction, aerospace/defense and general industrial businesses.
September 14, 2023