AI for Revenue Leaders: The AI Hat Podcast

Mike Allton
  • 5.0 (31)
  • MARKETING
  • UPDATED SEMIWEEKLY

Your revenue team is brilliant, but they are trapped in quicksand. Research shows that high-performing sales and marketing professionals waste nearly 70% of their time on "Admin Drag" - the non-revenue generating tasks like data entry and meeting prep that kill momentum. You are paying for top-tier talent, but you are getting expensive data entry. Meanwhile, you are facing a "Year of Reckoning." You know you need to adopt AI, but you are stuck in "Pilot Purgatory," worried about the "Shadow AI" risks your team is already creating in the background. "AI for Revenue Leaders" is your operational blueprint for the Agentic Era. Hosted by Mike Allton - a Revenue Architect and Director of Partner-led Growth - this show moves beyond futuristic hype to focus on the practical reality of leading high-performance teams. We don't just talk about tools; we help you build the "Digital Crews" that work alongside your humans. In each episode, we break down: The Agentic Shift: Moving from simple chatbots to autonomous AI agents. Sanctioning the Shadow: Turning security risks into competitive advantages through governance. The Human+AI Hybrid: Automating the "robot work" so your team can double down on trust, empathy, and closing deals. Stop guessing. Start architecting. Secure your team: Download the Executive Guide to Shadow AI: From Security Risk to Competitive Advantage at TheAIHat.com/shadow-ai. Connect with Mike: Join the conversation on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/mikeallton for daily insights on leading the AI-enabled workforce.

  1. Gemini's Scheduler Just Fixed Sales Meeting Prep (And Killed the 90-Minute Research Grind)

    23H AGO

    Gemini's Scheduler Just Fixed Sales Meeting Prep (And Killed the 90-Minute Research Grind)

    Your sales team spends 70% of their time on admin work - not selling. Do the math: if your top AE makes $120K and only spends 30% of their time on revenue activities, you're paying $84,000 for data entry and CRM updates. That's the Admin Drag tax killing your pipeline velocity in 2026. But here's the real problem: you bought AI six months ago (Gemini, ChatGPT, Einstein), rolled it out with a 45-minute webinar, and… crickets. Adoption is at 14%. Your VP is asking what you're paying for. This isn't a technology problem. It's a leadership problem. You installed software when you needed to redesign the workflow. In this episode, Mike Allton (Director of Partner-Led Growth at Agorapulse) deconstructs the 95% AI pilot failure rate and shows you exactly what Revenue Architecture looks like in practice. You'll discover: • The real cost of manual meeting prep (90 minutes vs. 8 minutes with Gemini's Scheduler)• How to build a "Digital Crew" that automates research, briefing docs, and objection prep• Why Gemini's 2 million token context window changes everything for sales intelligence• The 3-day audit that reveals where your team is hemorrhaging time• How to move from "Human-in-the-Loop" to "Human-on-the-Loop" automation Stop installing tools your team won't use. Start architecting workflows that reclaim 25-30 hours per rep, per week. Resources: TheAIHat.com/speaking CHAPTERS 00:00:00 - Introduction: The $600K Call She's Unprepared For 00:02:20 - The $84,000 Admin Drag Tax (Do the Math) 00:03:41 - Why 95% of AI Pilots Fail (It's Not the Technology) 00:04:05 - The Da Vinci Workshop: Building a Digital Crew 00:05:17 - Pilot Purgatory: The 6-Month Failure Timeline 00:07:06 - The Old Way: 90 Minutes of Manual Meeting Prep 00:08:48 - The Digital Crew Way: Gemini Scheduler in Action 00:11:48 - Why Gemini Is Structurally Different 00:12:16 - Native Workspace Integration (Friction Removal) 00:12:36 - The 2 Million Token Context Window 00:13:20 - Multimodal Native (Not Franken-Botted) 00:14:23 - Grounding with Google Search (The Accuracy Engine) 00:14:43 - The Scheduler: The Agentic Unlock 00:15:36 - Your Homework: The 3-Day Time Tracking Audit 00:17:01 - How to Architect Your Digital Crew (Workshop Info) 00:17:45 - Closing: Stop Installing Software, Start Architecting Systems Show Notes & Transcript: https://theaihat.com/geminis-scheduler-just-fixed-sales-meeting-prep-and-killed-the-90-minute-research-grind/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    19 min
  2. $1M in Sales in 6 Months Using AI Voice Agents - Thoughtly's Will Del Principe on the Agentic Shift

    FEB 10

    $1M in Sales in 6 Months Using AI Voice Agents - Thoughtly's Will Del Principe on the Agentic Shift

    $1M in sales. $500K saved. Zero new headcount. Your sales team isn't ignoring dead leads because they're lazy - they're drowning in admin drag. While you're debating whether to hire two more SDRs, your competitors have stopped asking "Who do I hire next?" and started asking "What system do I build next?" Will Del Principe (Growth & Solutions Engineering Leader at Thoughtly) reveals how AI voice agents have crossed the quality threshold - handling objections, qualifying leads, and booking meetings at scale. Will personally drove close to $1M in sales in 6 months using voice agent workflows, and his clients are generating hundreds of thousands per month by reactivating dead pipeline. You'll learn: Why voice agents are fundamentally different from chatbots (and why that matters for stalled pipeline) How to design re-engagement campaigns that resurrect cold leads without damaging your brand Quality benchmarks for evaluating voice AI providers (70% of prospects don't detect it's AI) The mindset shift from headcount scaling to system architecture The low-risk pilot strategy for testing voice agents this quarter Who this is for: VPs of Sales, CROs, and RevOps Directors in mid-market to enterprise B2B who need workflow architecture that produces measurable P&L impact - not pilot purgatory. Download the free Executive Guide to Shadow AI at theaihat.com/shadow-ai CHAPTERS: 00:00 - Introduction: The Efficiency Crisis Killing Your Pipeline02:08 - Your Sales Team Isn't Lazy - They're Drowning in Admin Drag03:27 - Meet Will Del Principe: $1M in Sales Using AI Voice Agents03:58 - The Coffee Invitation: When AI Crossed the Uncanny Valley06:00 - What Is a Voice Agent? (And Why It's Not Just Another Chatbot)08:05 - The Podcast Guest Analogy: How AI Removes Bottlenecks Without Replacing People11:14 - Mixing Outbound and Inbound: The New Campaign Architecture13:20 - Why You Can't Cold Call with AI (And How to Get Consent)15:07 - The Handoff: When Does AI Transfer to Human Sales Reps?16:22 - Reactivating Dead Leads: 650 Meetings Booked in 90 Days18:04 - Mid-Roll: The Executive Guide to Shadow AI20:23 - Quality Benchmarks: What Makes a Voice Agent Sound Human?24:22 - The Thoughtly Roadmap: Omnichannel AI Personas Are Coming26:49 - From "Who Do I Hire?" to "What System Do I Build?"28:10 - How to Pilot a Voice Agent: The Low-Risk, High-ROI Use Case29:47 - The CRM Graveyard Audit: What Would 10% Reactivation Mean for Your Revenue?31:02 - Where to Learn More About Thoughtly31:46 - Outro: Download the Shadow AI Guide CONNECT:Will Del Principe - Thoughtly: thoughtly.co | thoughtly.co/demoMike Allton - The AI Hat: theaihat.com | theaihat.com/shadow-ai AI for Revenue Leaders is your operational playbook for the Agentic Era. Host Mike Allton deconstructs how practitioners are deploying sanctioned AI to hit quota and reclaim sales capacity lost to admin drag. Stop guessing. Start architecting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    32 min
  3. How a RevOps CEO Identifies a $21M Revenue Opportunity in 24 Hours (Not 3 Weeks)

    FEB 3

    How a RevOps CEO Identifies a $21M Revenue Opportunity in 24 Hours (Not 3 Weeks)

    If your revenue team takes three weeks to deliver a diagnostic report - and still misses the $21 million opportunity hiding in your pipeline - this episode reveals why manual analysis is costing you deals and how a RevOps CEO architected an AI agent that does it in 24 hours. Tara Kinney, Founder and CEO of Atomic Revenue, has led 18 CRM implementations across 76 companies. She knows what "normal" looks like in revenue operations - and she blew it up. Her agency used to spend weeks qualifying prospects and delivering diagnostics. Now her Digital Crew does it in 24-48 hours, cuts the sales cycle by 90%, and finds revenue opportunities her manual analysis missed. In this episode, Tara walks through the exact workflow: how the Revenue Reality Check agent integrates with HubSpot and Slack, how it auto-assigns prospects to the right strategist based on industry and pain point, and why the "Human-in-the-Loop" governance layer is non-negotiable. She also reveals the $21 million story - the moment her AI agent identified a conversion bottleneck she hadn't even tracked, proving that agents don't just save time, they see what humans miss. This isn't theory. This is a deployable blueprint for Revenue Leaders who need to stop drowning in Admin Drag and start architecting workflows that deliver measurable P&L impact. You'll Learn: Why manual revenue diagnostics are too slow (and too shallow) for 2026 B2B velocity The 24-hour diagnostic workflow that cut Atomic Revenue's sales cycle by 90% How AI found a $21M opportunity by modeling scenarios humans can't calculate at scale The HubSpot + Slack + Multi-LLM integration stack behind the Revenue Reality Check Why "Human-in-the-Loop" governance prevents hallucination risks and protects your brand The three revenue killers hiding in your pipeline: Sales handoffs, legal bottlenecks, and client onboarding gaps Guest: Tara Kinney, Founder & CEO, Atomic RevenueCredentials: 76 companies supported, 18 CRM implementations, RevOps practitioner with real P&L accountability If you're a VP of Sales, CRO, or RevOps Director tired of waiting weeks for answers while your competitors move faster, this episode gives you the audit framework and workflow architecture to deploy your first diagnostic agent. Resources: Try the Revenue Reality Check: atomicrevenue.com Download the Executive Guide to Shadow AI: theaihat.com/shadow-ai Chapters: 00:00 Introduction: The Impact of AI on Sales Processes 00:51 Meet Mike Allton and The AI Hat Podcast 02:00 Welcome to AI for Revenue Leaders 02:21 The Problem with Traditional Revenue Diagnostics 03:00 Introducing Tara Kinney and Atomic Revenue 03:55 The Evolution of Revenue Diagnostics with AI 06:07 How AI Transforms Revenue Reality Checks 08:45 The Role of AI in Enhancing Sales Strategies 17:00 The Human-AI Collaboration in Revenue Diagnostics 33:32 Key Metrics and Questions for Revenue Leaders 36:22 Conclusion and Next Steps Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    38 min
  4. 80% Lead Conversion Without AI: What Sales Expert Aleasha Bahr Knows That You Don't

    JAN 27

    80% Lead Conversion Without AI: What Sales Expert Aleasha Bahr Knows That You Don't

    If your sales team is stuck at 25% conversion despite investing in AI tools, this episode reveals why most AI pilots fail - and the sales methodology audit every Revenue Leader should run first. Sales strategy expert Aleasha Bahr (author of Black Sheep Sales) walks through the 3-step diagnostic to identify broken sales processes, explains the difference between "Admin Drag" (tasks AI should handle) and "Relationship Moments" (where humans must stay in control), and shares the counterintuitive truth about taking fewer calls to close more revenue. You'll learn: Why "automating a broken process" is the #1 reason AI pilots end up in "Pilot Purgatory" How to identify if your team is wasting capacity on leads that were never going to close Where AI actually fits in a high-converting sales workflow (hint: it's not messaging) The Sales Methodology Audit framework to run before your next AI investment Aleasha's methodology has helped clients achieve 80% lead conversion rates - without pressure tactics or massive AI stacks. Over 15 years in the sales trenches, she's helped sell tens of millions in offers by focusing on what most teams skip: a repeatable, authentic process built on clarity and connection. Your sales team isn't selling. They're updating CRM fields, doing prospect research, chasing down meeting notes - spending 70% of their time on what Mike Allton calls "Admin Drag." And here's the kicker: You've probably already tried to fix this with an AI pilot. But six months later, the conversion rates are still stuck, the pipeline is still stalled, and you're wondering if you just wasted another chunk of budget on software that promised magic but delivered more logins your team ignores. Here's what nobody's telling you: The problem isn't the AI. The problem is that you're automating a broken sales process. If you can't answer the question "What does a high-converting sales process actually look like?" - then no chatbot, no cadence tool, no "AI SDR" is going to save you. This is the pre-mortem you should have run six months ago. Download the free Executive Guide to Shadow AI: theaihat.com/shadow-ai 00:00 The Problem with Too Many Sales Calls 01:17 Introduction to The AI Hat Podcast 02:26 The Hidden Costs of Admin Drag 03:12 Introducing Aleasha Bahr and Black Sheep Sales 04:33 Key Elements of a High-Converting Sales Process 10:46 The Role of AI in Sales Efficiency 18:46 Balancing AI and Human Touch in Sales 34:08 Final Thoughts and Resources Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    36 min
  5. Hiring Your First Digital Crew Member: The Sales Prep Agent

    JAN 20

    Hiring Your First Digital Crew Member: The Sales Prep Agent

    Here's what's happening in your sales org right now. Your top rep just walked into a meeting with a six-figure prospect. And she's completely winging it - not because she's unprepared, but because she spent the last 45 minutes in back-to-back calls and didn't have time to research. Meanwhile, her competitor walked in knowing the prospect's company announced a hiring freeze last week, that the VP is stressed about doing more with less, and exactly which case study would resonate. How? They didn't spend 45 minutes on LinkedIn. They hired a Digital Crew member to do the research for them. This is Episode 03 of our Launch Trilogy - and today we execute. I'm going to walk you through creating The Pre-Flight Agent: an AI teammate that researches your prospects while you sleep and drops a strategic battle card in your inbox before every sales call. You'll learn: Why this is agentic AI, not just automation (the AI uses discretion - like a Tesla factory vs. Ford's 1913 assembly line) The 3-component architecture every AI agent needs (Trigger, Brain, Action) How to build this in Zapier with zero coding (I just built this myself - I'll show you the exact steps) The "Context Block" secret that turns generic summaries into strategic intelligence The Traffic Light safety check (public data only - no risk) The ROI math: How 5 hours saved per week = $500k in monthly pipeline capacity for a 10-person team I'm not a futurist selling science fiction. I'm the Director of Partner-led Growth at Agorapulse. I carry quota pressure. I built this agent over the weekend, and it saved me 4 hours this week. This episode is your blueprint. And here's what's beautiful - this agent makes your reps MORE human, not less. Because they show up prepared, empathetic, and asking questions that prove they actually care about solving the prospect's problem. Build the MVP this week. Test it. Then imagine your entire Digital Crew: Proposal Agents, Roleplay Agents, Pipeline Health Agents. The technology exists. The only limit is your architecture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    17 min
  6. Your Team Is Already Using AI. Here's How to Make It Safe.

    JAN 13

    Your Team Is Already Using AI. Here's How to Make It Safe.

    Right now, while you're listening to this, one of your sales reps is pasting customer data into ChatGPT. Your marketing manager just uploaded strategic memos to Claude. And your IT department has no idea. Welcome to Shadow AI. Research shows that while only 40% of companies have official enterprise AI licenses, 90% of employees are using AI tools through personal accounts. Your team isn't trying to sabotage you - they're trying to survive the "Admin Drag" we discussed in Episode 01. The question isn't whether they're using AI. They are. The question is: Are you going to hide from it, or are you going to lead it? In this episode, Mike Allton tackles the biggest obstacle standing between you and effective AI implementation: governance. He breaks down why the typical corporate response - the "ban hammer" - doesn't just fail, it makes the problem worse by driving AI usage completely underground where you have zero visibility. You'll discover: Why 90% of employees are "Shadow Users" leveraging personal AI accounts to hit their goals The three scenarios currently creating data leaks in most revenue organizations (PII in free tools, unreleased product details in public galleries, customer records in unsecured platforms) Why your team isn't being malicious - they're being desperate (and what that tells you about your tech stack) The "Traffic Light System": A simple 3-tier framework (Green/Yellow/Red) that employees actually remember How to launch a 30-Day Amnesty Program that brings Shadow AI into the light without creating a witch hunt The 7-day implementation roadmap to go from "Shadow Risk" to "Sanctioned Speed" This isn't about punishing innovation. It's about governing it. Because when you sanction Shadow AI, you don't just reduce risk - you unlock velocity. Mike walks you through the exact email templates, survey questions, and policy frameworks you need to turn your biggest security vulnerability into a competitive advantage. Featured Framework: The 30-Day Amnesty Program - discover what tools your team is actually using (and why your official stack is failing them) Featured Resource: The Shadow AI Governance Launchpad - includes the Traffic Light cheat sheet, amnesty email script, and AI Use Policy template ready for Legal review Download here: https://theaihat.com/the-executive-guide-to-shadow-ai-from-security-risk-to-competitive-advantage/ Next Episode: We move from governance to implementation. You'll learn how to hire your first Digital Crew member - a Sales Prep Agent that researches prospects 15 minutes before every call and delivers a Battle Card to your rep's inbox. If you're a VP of Sales, CRO, or RevOps Director who needs to secure your team while enabling them to move faster, this is your playbook. Episode Timestamps 00:00 Introduction to Shadow AI 00:26 The Reality of Unapproved AI Usage 02:21 The Risks of Shadow AI 03:55 The Ineffectiveness of Banning AI 07:21 Sanctioning AI for Safety and Efficiency 08:35 Implementing the Traffic Light System 10:25 Rolling Out the AI Amnesty Program 13:08 Final Thoughts and Next Steps 14:52 Conclusion and Wrap-Up Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    16 min
  7. The 2026 Sales Reckoning: Why 95% of AI Pilots Fail

    JAN 6

    The 2026 Sales Reckoning: Why 95% of AI Pilots Fail

    Your sales team is brilliant. But they're spending 70% of their week doing work a robot could do in 10 minutes. And you're paying them six figures to do it. Welcome to the "Year of Reckoning." Your board is demanding AI automation. They want results. But recent research shows that 95% of enterprise AI pilots represent zero P&L impact. In this episode, Mike Allton breaks down exactly why those pilots are failing - and it's not the technology. It's something he calls "Admin Drag" - the invisible productivity killer that turns your thoroughbred sales talent into data entry clerks. You'll discover: Why layering AI on top of broken workflows just accelerates failure The "GenAI Divide": What separates the 5% of Future-Built companies from the 95% stuck in Pilot Purgatory How to navigate board pressure to cut headcount while scaling revenue (without replacing your A-players with chatbots) The "Admin Audit" framework: A tactical exercise to identify which tasks are bleeding hours from your revenue engine Why automating the OUTPUT (customer conversations) is killing your pipeline - and what to automate instead This isn't theory. Mike is the Director of Partner-led Growth at Agorapulse and has been architecting AI workflows for revenue teams since 2024. He's a practitioner who carries quota pressure - not a futurist selling science fiction. If you're a VP of Sales, CRO, or Agency Owner tired of AI tools that promise magic but deliver busywork, this is your operational playbook. Featured Framework: The Admin Audit - identify the "robot work" killing your team's capacity Next Episode: We tackle Shadow AI - the unsanctioned tools your team is already using, and how to govern them before they become a data leak. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction: The Talent Crisis in Sales 02:10 The AI HAT Podcast: What to Expect 03:05 The Reality of AI in 2026 05:55 The Gen AI Divide: 95% vs. 5% 10:23 The Efficiency Paradox and Admin Drag 11:55 Your Homework: Conduct an Admin Audit 13:29 Conclusion: Architecting for Revenue Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    15 min
  8. Welcome to the Agentic Era: The Next Chapter

    SEASON 2 TRAILER

    Welcome to the Agentic Era: The Next Chapter

    Your revenue team is brilliant, but they are drowning. Research shows that high-performing sales and marketing professionals waste nearly 70% of their time on "Admin Drag"—non-revenue generating tasks like data entry, meeting prep, and internal reporting. You are paying top-tier talent for low-value work. In this special trailer episode, Revenue Architect Mike Allton unveils the new mission for The AI Hat Podcast: AI for Revenue Leaders. We are moving beyond the hype of chatbots and prompt engineering to focus on the operational reality of the "Year of Reckoning." This new season is dedicated to helping VPs, Directors, and Agency Owners build the "Digital Crews" that work alongside their humans. In this new chapter, we explore: The Agentic Shift: Moving from tools that talk to agents that do. Sanctioning the Shadow: Turning the security risk of "Shadow AI" into a competitive advantage. Revenue Architecture: Practical blueprints for fixing broken workflows in Sales, Marketing, and Partnerships. Whether you lead a team of fifty or a team of one, this is your operational playbook for the Agentic Era. Next Step: Secure your team before you scale them. Download the Executive Guide to Shadow AI at ⁠TheAIHat.com/shadow-ai⁠. Connect with Mike: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mikeallton Website: TheAIHat.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    4 min
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Your revenue team is brilliant, but they are trapped in quicksand. Research shows that high-performing sales and marketing professionals waste nearly 70% of their time on "Admin Drag" - the non-revenue generating tasks like data entry and meeting prep that kill momentum. You are paying for top-tier talent, but you are getting expensive data entry. Meanwhile, you are facing a "Year of Reckoning." You know you need to adopt AI, but you are stuck in "Pilot Purgatory," worried about the "Shadow AI" risks your team is already creating in the background. "AI for Revenue Leaders" is your operational blueprint for the Agentic Era. Hosted by Mike Allton - a Revenue Architect and Director of Partner-led Growth - this show moves beyond futuristic hype to focus on the practical reality of leading high-performance teams. We don't just talk about tools; we help you build the "Digital Crews" that work alongside your humans. In each episode, we break down: The Agentic Shift: Moving from simple chatbots to autonomous AI agents. Sanctioning the Shadow: Turning security risks into competitive advantages through governance. The Human+AI Hybrid: Automating the "robot work" so your team can double down on trust, empathy, and closing deals. Stop guessing. Start architecting. Secure your team: Download the Executive Guide to Shadow AI: From Security Risk to Competitive Advantage at TheAIHat.com/shadow-ai. Connect with Mike: Join the conversation on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/mikeallton for daily insights on leading the AI-enabled workforce.

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