In turbulent times, most companies brace for impact. The best companies? They accelerate. In this special episode of Selling the Cloud, Stephen Messer, co-founder of Collective[i], joins Mark Petruzzi and KK Anderson to share how sales organizations can turn volatility into competitive advantage using modern AI.

Here are the most valuable takeaways for CEOs, COOs, and CROs navigating today’s uncertainty:

1. Volatility Reveals the Real Sellers

• In stable markets, even average sellers look good.

• When deals stall and pressure mounts, weak reps cling to process while strong sellers lean into the customer’s actual needs.

• Top performers aren’t playbook robots. They are signal seekers who test and adapt messages daily.

Strategic advice:
Look at which reps are still closing, even when everything changes. They’re your future.

2. Traditional Forecasting Is Broken

• Most CRM-based forecasting tools rely on regression models using stale internal data.

• They miss new market realities, creating the illusion of predictability until it’s too late.

• “Forecasting is like flying a plane with instruments that work only when the skies are clear,” says Messer.

Strategic advice:
If you’re still reviewing pipeline weekly and relying on rep opinions, you’re flying blind.

3. AI Gives You Daily, Buyer-Centric Insight

• Collective[i] draws from a real-time network that tracks 5% of the global economy.

• The system evaluates not just your reps’ actions but your buyer’s behaviors across the market.

• Messer calls it the "Waze for Sales"—spotting obstacles, rerouting, and alerting you in real time.

Strategic advice:
Stop studying sellers to predict buyers. Start using AI to track the buyer journey across the network.

4. Coaching Happens in Real-Time, Not Recaps

• Tools like Collective[i] let sales leaders see “red/yellow/green” deal scores daily.

• This enables timely, targeted coaching: no more generic “how’s it going?” pipeline reviews.

• It also prevents over-investing in dead deals and redirects focus to high-odds opportunities.

Strategic advice:
Use AI-driven deal health scores to coach where it matters—before deals die, not after.

5. Boards Don’t Want Opinions, They Want Data

• CROs relying on rep surveys and old playbooks are getting blindsided and replaced.

• Boards expect sales leaders to operate with the same data rigor as finance and marketing.

• “Sitting in a boardroom saying ‘we believe we’ll hit our number’ isn’t a strategy. It’s a warning sign.”

Strategic advice:
Come to board meetings with AI-backed forecasts and precise insights. Or risk being replaced by someone who will.

Final Thought:

This isn’t just another downturn, it’s a paradigm shift. The sellers and sales leaders who pair agility with AI are seizing market share while others retreat.

Ready to Future-Proof Your Sales Org?

Want to see what daily, buyer-centric forecasting looks like in action?
Contact AGS for a strategy session on how to implement AI in your sales stack.