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Dear Quota Team,

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I’m an AE at a late-stage SaaS company that sells workflow software to mid-market manufacturing and logistics teams. For years, we’ve sold fairly straightforward automations (scheduling, reporting, etc.) Nothing flashy, but it works.

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At the end of the year, the CEO announced that we’re now an “AI company.” They added an AI forecasting and recommendation layer on top of the product and they're pushing us hard to lead with it in every deal.

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The problem is, most of my buyers don’t want it. They’re plant managers and ops directors who care about uptime and predictability, not machine learning. When I lead with AI, calls slow down, eyeballs and deals stall. When I don’t, I get coached for “not positioning the future.”

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Am I being stubborn, or is this just leadership chasing a trend at the expense of reality?

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Struggling in Illinois

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Dear Struggling,

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Your job isn’t to sell AI. It’s to sell outcomes. If the AI layer genuinely improves uptime, reduces headcount, or prevents failures, lead with that and let AI show up later as the mechanism. If it doesn’t, forcing it early will keep killing deals.

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Where reps get into trouble is turning this into a philosophical fight. Don’t argue that “customers don’t want AI.” Bring call notes, stalled deal examples, and specific objections. If leadership still insists on leading with AI despite the data, you’ve learned something important about how decisions are made. At that point, adapt, or start planning your next move. Good luck!