Q&A with Leaders : 202X Vision: The GTM Power Vacuum — AI at the Wheel, C-Suite Off Course?
SEGMENT 1: AI's Rising Influence & The Leadership Disconnect
Q1: Where are you seeing AI truly "take the wheel" in GTM processes today?
Deepak Bhootra, CEO at Jabulani Consulting: "Think of it like a Tesla with AI driving but a human still behind the wheel. The smart organizations realize that AI is augmented intelligence, not artificial intelligence. The biggest operational shift I'm witnessing is in coaching and sales training.
With AI, you can reverse-engineer how your best operators work and create custom training adapted to your specific organization. But here's the critical point: if you have a bad process and build AI on top of it, you're simply multiplying stupidity many times over."
Key Insight: Deepak emphasized that exceptional leaders know how to use and control AI, while the majority struggle with baseline inaccuracies and misalignment.
Q2: How is the role of sales leadership evolving with AI adoption?
Dean Nolley, President & Founder at Sales Growth Imagination: "The fundamental VP of sales and CRO responsibilities haven't changed - you still need to hire, train, develop, and motivate employees as a servant leader. However, the challenge lies in the statistics: 72% of companies are adapting AI, but 87% aren't seeing success in sales AI implementation.
The problem isn't AI itself - it's that organizations lack foundational elements:
84% don't have documented ICPs (Ideal Customer Profiles)
85% lack proper value propositions
92% don't have documented sales processes
97% lack strategic sales playbooks
You can't scale 'winging it,' and you certainly can't automate what isn't systematically defined."
Q3: What AI pressures are shaping CEO agendas at the board level?
Mayank Purwar, CEO at NextGen Innovation Labs: "We're seeing pressure concentrate in four critical areas:
Better dashboarding - Real-time visibility for CEOs to enter the field immediately
Continuous sales training - Regular, not one-time, budget allocation for GTM team development
Sales processes and strategy - Systematic approaches that can scale 200-300%
Emotional intelligence training - As AI handles repetitive tasks, human behavioral aspects become more crucial"
Q4: What common execution pitfalls occur when leadership is off course?
Deepak Bhootra: "The biggest gap I see is 'bring your own AI' - CEOs who aren't hands-on with AI while their teams develop individual solutions. I worked with an organization where sales reps were excited about a corporate custom GPT, but each had secretly built their own.
One rep told me: 'If I use the same GPT as everyone else, how do I differentiate myself? My tone, humor, and logic are unique.' This creates a fundamental disconnect where enterprise solutions compete with individual innovation.
The real danger? I've seen sales reps upload confidential RFP responses to ChatGPT for competitive analysis - which is often ethically forbidden and legally risky. We're making it easy to do unethical things, so people will do them."
SEGMENT 2: Navigating Misalignment & Maintaining Strategic Control
Q5: What governance frameworks are crucial for preventing misaligned AI automation at scale?
Atul Kulshreshtha, Founder & Managing Partner at GroByz: "Strategic planning and governance must work together. The foundation requires:
Strategic Planning Elements:
Align AI strategy with business strategy - Whether focusing on operational efficiency, customer experience, or growth
Prioritize use cases - Don't try to solve hundreds of problems simultaneously
Assess existing capabilities - Identify what expertise you need to bring in
Define AI roles - Establish Chief AI Officer or designate CIO/CTO ownership
Governance Framework:
Execution monitoring - Real-time dashboards and progress tracking
Risk management - Human-in-the-loop processes and checks/balances
Change management - Address job displacement and reskilling needs
Scale management - Apply learnings from successful pilots across the organization"
Q6: How can SMEs maintain strategic control while embracing AI's power?
Dean Nolley: "The key is starting with small wins rather than trying to 'boil the ocean.' Think of AI as 'Sammy' - a new teammate everyone needs to trust.
Practical Approach:
Start with one tool - Don't try to implement AI across entire sales processes
Build team buy-in - Everyone must personally use and believe in the solution
Focus on proven areas - Call recording, note-taking, lead generation, personalized messaging
Scale gradually - Add tools only after achieving success with current ones
The mistake organizations make is seeking a 'silver bullet force multiplier of 10x' instead of building systematic, trustworthy implementation."
Q7: How do you balance team AI experimentation with strategic alignment?
Mayank Purwar: "It starts from the top with clearly defined objectives. Whether improving customer experience, operational efficiency, or GTM effectiveness, leadership must:
Ensure data availability - Can you analyze information on a live basis?
Conduct risk assessment - Implement mitigation strategies upfront
Identify repetitive tasks - Focus AI on areas that don't require human interface
Maintain human oversight - AI enables faster achievement, but humans remain in control"
SEGMENT 3: Effective AI Strategies for Real-World Impact
Q8: What AI-driven GTM strategies have successfully boosted scale or reduced capital inefficiencies?
Deepak Bhootra: "I'll share a specific example. A client was obsessed with Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) but had terrible conversion rates - only 4 out of 10 prospects would see demonstrations, and they'd win maybe 0.5-1 deals.
The AI Solution: Precision ICP Targeting
Instead of traditional list building, we used AI to sharpen ICP matching. The result: reaching out to 50% fewer people while achieving 3x revenue growth.
AI's power lies in connecting multiple data streams - purchasing patterns, behavioral signals, timing indicators - to identify precisely who to sell to. For every dollar spent, AI-driven precision targeting can deliver 2x revenue.
However, I'm now cautious about personalized messaging at scale because everyone's doing it, creating cognitive overload for prospects."
Q9: What AI strategies genuinely deliver results rather than just "AI washing"?
Atul Kulshreshtha: "With 74% of CEOs fearing job loss without AI progress, focus on these fundamentals:
Right AI organization - Proper roles and responsibilities
Right use cases - Choose operational efficiency, customer experience, OR growth - don't try all simultaneously
Right data - Many assume CRM or spreadsheet data is sufficient; it's often incomplete or inaccurate
Human-centric culture - Don't let people stop thinking because AI exists
Critical Warning: Maintain data security. Use enterprise environments (like Microsoft Copilot) rather than letting teams access external tools with confidential information. Unethical data usage can result in heavy legal damages."
Q10: What are the key ethical considerations when AI is "at the wheel" of GTM?
Panel Consensus: The discussion revealed several critical ethical concerns:
Data Confidentiality: Teams using external AI tools with proprietary information
Competitive Intelligence: Uploading confidential RFPs for analysis
Transparency: Ensuring customers know when AI is involved in interactions
Human Oversight: Maintaining strategic control rather than blind automation
Employee Impact: Managing job displacement and reskilling responsibly
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM GROWTH SUTRA'S PERSPECTIVE
Vishwendra Verma concluded the session with these strategic insights:
AI is no longer a supporting tool - it's in the driver's seat, but human strategic leadership must guide the journey
The power vacuum is real - technology races ahead while leadership gets left behind
Success requires systematic approach - governance, training, and gradual implementation
Small wins build big results - start focused rather than trying to transform everything simultaneously
Ethics and risk management are non-negotiable - establish guardrails before scaling