2025-01-28 Podcast - Vīgants Lesausks

Worked in large companies such as Microsoft, IBM, and Ericsson. Gained 23 years of sales experience in both small and large projects in Latvia and abroad. Also founder and CEO of comapnies ranging from digtal to physical products. Currently specializes in improving sales processes in companies, training salespeople, and is a growth mentor for several rapidly growing start-ups in the Baltics. Vigants is the author of the books "Trial Period. Salespeople Are Also Afraid" and "Alice. An Entrepreneur's Story".

🔴 Tell about yourself, what you love doing the most?

🔴 I know you make money. Whats your number one money maker?

I met Vigants several years ago when he introduced us with “Challenger Sale” book and method how to sell to Enterprise companies using high quality consultations.

🔴 Still using Challenger Sale? Why?

🔴 Does geography and verticals matter? Will it work same way in Baltics, Nordics, USA? Does it work globally?

AI aspires to fully automate intellectual tasks over time, rather than merely enhancing them. Forrester report already show lot’s of traditional professions being under high risk of automation.

There’s lot’s of layoffs and complaints about AI taking over jobs. Senior management wants to replace as many human workers with automated AI workers as they can, but mid-management does not want to change processes and what often happens is that AI becomes additional expense and way to do job more efficiently, but deliver same results. In some cases, such as during the industrial age when automation was introduced in factories, employees deliberately sabotaged AI systems.

🔴 Very hard to sell AI product. Is it different from selling other software? How do you sell AI products to companies?

In addition, there remains a significant gap between public perception of AI and its actual implementation in the market. Many businesses have yet to integrate AI into their critical operational processes.

800 Uzņēmumu aptauja no Latvijas 2024. gada oktobrī

🔴 Why are companies slow with AI?

What parallels do you see with previous technological advancements in the market?

There’s lot’s of automation happening in communication products like https://www.salesforge.ai/. Even social media is starting to implement paid communication, like X subscriptions, to filter out low quality AI generated content. It is almost we are slowly returning to post stamps that had to be bought to avoid spam, because no spam filter will work in future.

What do you think about AI spambots in Email, LinkedIn etc. that works by gathering context about target and then producing convincing cold emails?

🔴 Do AI cold-email bots work?

🔴 Will AI replace sales skills?

Nowadays most of digital marketing is heading to high automation. When I visited Sanfranciso last Autnum Meta was telling that their vision is to connect business owners to potential clients with AI tools without need for 3rd party marketning agencies. They are able to generate visuals, text and now even video.

🔴 What's the future for marketing pros vs AI?

Currently there are many companies building intellectual robo-caller systems we are building one ourselves in pitchpatterns.com, but there is bland.ai and now even Saleforce. These robo-callers promise to do lot of hard work of sales autoamtically by doing intial screening, followups etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_Iy0xZ1CYY&pp=ygUNYmxhbmQgQUkgZGVtbw%3D%3D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgI780R7y1k

🔴 Can AI handle full sales calls? When?

🔴 Could it be that in future Sales AI bots will sell to Executive assitant AI bots in human language using human reasoning and emotions?

🔴 How much of business ir relationship building vs expertise and product? In which markets and verticals relationships are more important? Could it be that for verticals that relationships are not that important AI could take over whole sales process?

🔴 Can AI agent maintain relationships via Email, Chat for you?

🔴 Which industries need human relationships most?

🔴 Where do humans fit in an AI company?

🔴 Will AI make solo entrepreneurs more common?

We see huge difference in approach EU and USA is taking in terms of AI. USA is fostering AI growth whereas EU is hammering down it with regulations. And at the same time we see how venture backed companies market is groing 10x faster in USA and China. It was not so forever, just 10 years ago we were all at the same level.

🔴 What is your opinion on EU regulations on Data and AI? How they affect sales of inovative products? How to get out of this?

To wrap up let’s give some practival advice on sales / quick roasting:

🔴 Do you have long or short sales funnel?

🔴 Do you give discounts?

🔴 What's the biggest lie you've told to close a deal?

🔴 What your brutal rejection in sales you had?

🔴 What is the most bizzare objection you ever had?

🔴 What’s your true close rate, honestly?

🔴 What is good commssion rate?

🔴 What's the most unusual place you've ever made a successful sales pitch?

🔴 Have you made a sale while sitting on a toilet?

🔴 If your sales pitch were a movie,what kind of movie would it be?

🔴 What salespeople do too much that does not work anymore at this day and time? 🔴 What salespeople pay too little attention nowadays?

🔴 What is your secret?

🔴 Where can people find you for personolized coaching?