The Unexpected Lever

Vivun

The secret sauce to your sales success? It’s what happens before the sale. It’s the planning, the strategy, the leadership. And it’s more than demo automation. It’s the thoughtful work that connects people, processes, and performance. If you want strong revenue, high retention, and shorter sales cycles, the pre-work—centered around the human—still makes the dream work. But you already know that. The Unexpected Lever is your partner in growing revenue by doing what great sales leaders do best. Combining vision with execution. Brought to you by Vivun, this show highlights the people and peers behind the brands who understand what it takes to build and lead high-performing sales teams. You’re not just preparing for the sale—you’re unlocking potential. Join us as we share stories of sales leaders who make a difference, their challenges, their wins, and the human connections that drive results, one solution at a time.

  1. APR 2

    How to Use AI to Refine ICP, Positioning, and Messaging with Zak Cherif, KeyShot

    AI becomes useful when it helps you focus, not when it adds more noise. Zak Cherif, Head of Product Marketing at KeyShot, joins Jarod Greene to discuss how he is navigating a shift toward product-led growth while maintaining consistent messaging across a complex sales motion. He explains the challenge of supporting multiple sellers, industries, and use cases without losing clarity. Zak explains how AI assists his team in enriching data, validating ideal customer profiles (ICPs), and generating better messaging options without increasing headcount. He also emphasizes the importance of collaborating with diverse sales teams and highlights that understanding how people work is just as critical as the messaging itself. This episode provides a practical perspective on how product marketers can leverage AI to simplify complexity and maintain a customer-first approach as they scale. In this episode, you’ll learn: How to validate ICP faster – Use AI to improve targeting with better dataWhy sellers need different support – Adapt content to how each seller worksHow to stay customer first – Keep decisions grounded in real customer needs Things to listen for:(00:00) Introduction (01:35) Staying customer first in product marketing (02:22) Shifting toward product-led growth (03:06) A surprising AI use case in fantasy football (04:32) When AI became mission-critical (05:00) Using AI for data enrichment and ICP clarity (06:00) Scaling messaging across many permutations (07:38) Finding the right problems for AI to solve (09:26) AI tools for working faster with limited resources (10:38) Supporting different sales styles with content (12:41) Balancing consistency with sales autonomy (14:25) Practical advice for getting started with AI (15:34) Building AI features that support creativity, not replace it

    19 min
  2. MAR 26

    Stop Building GPT Wrappers, with Martin Gomez, Wing

    ​​Most AI strategies fail because they start with the tool instead of the problem. Martin Gomez, COO and Co-Founder of Wing, joins Jarod Greene to share how his team built a global workforce powered by both people and AI. He explains how Wing evolved from a vision of digital assistants into a system that helps companies extend their teams and get real work done. Martin walks through how they use AI to increase productivity, improve customer experience, and anticipate needs before they surface. He also shares why many AI products fall short and how leaders can avoid building solutions that no one truly needs. This episode offers a grounded view on where AI delivers value today and how to apply it in ways that actually move the business forward. In this episode, you’ll learn: Anticipate stakeholder needs with predictive plans - use past data to identify possible future requirements of a customerConcentrate on niche industry solutions - identify your skills and solve deep hurdles in that fieldImplement a curated response process for complaints - automating quick solutions for minor dissatisfaction Things to listen for:(00:00) Introduction (00:51) What Wing does and why it matters now (01:51) Using AI for personal performance and nutrition (03:24) Wing’s early vision for AI and digital assistants (05:20) How GPT accelerated productivity and workflows (07:21) AI as augmentation, not replacement (09:14) Implementing AI across a global workforce (10:48) Anticipating customer needs with AI systems (12:43) Why customer education drives AI success (15:58) Advice for leaders starting their AI journey (19:13) Lightning round and final thoughts

    21 min
  3. MAR 19

    Stop Switching AI Tools Every Week: A Smarter GTM Stack with Jamie Walsh

    Speed is no longer a luxury for revenue teams; it’s a survival requirement. In this episode of The Unexpected Lever, Jarod Greene is joined by Jamie Walsh, Founder of GTM Factories, to pull back the curtain on how legacy incumbents can outmaneuver nimble startups. Jamie reveals the internal framework he used to dismantle a traditional 15-month product launch cycle and replace it with a high-velocity 90-day sprint. Beyond the strategy, you'll hear the 'messy' side of AI implementation: the discipline required to stop tool-hopping every week and the importance of giving your team grace to experiment with agents.  Whether you’re a product marketer tired of long roadmaps or a sales leader looking for automated competitive intelligence that actually works, Jamie’s 'always-on' systems provide the blueprint for the 2026 GTM engine. In this episode, you’ll learn: Ship faster with shorter cycles - learn how to condense 15-month launches into 90 daysBuild always-on intelligence systems - use automation for competitive tracking and customer insightsAvoid the tool switching trap - stick with a core platform for two quarters to see actual results  Things to listen for:(00:00) Introduction  (00:56) Why incumbents must move faster (02:14) Using AI for health goals and daily motivation  (04:13) The danger of tool rabbit holes (05:33) A 5-year vision for cognitive risk management and compliance  (09:37) Reducing long launch cycles to a 90-day sprint  (12:19) Giving your employees grace to experiment (13:48) Simple ways to start your AI journey today  (16:43) Why discovery calls are still an art and not a science  (14:57) AI as a magic wand for frameworks (16:29) Must-listen podcasts and books on AI (17:48) Connecting with Jamie

    19 min
  4. MAR 12

    Sales Benefits of Treating AI Like a Teammate with Chad Sly

    AI in sales is moving fast. Most teams are not. In this episode of The Unexpected Lever, Jarod Greene sits down with Chad Sly, Vice President of Sales at Braintrust, to talk about what AI adoption actually looks like inside revenue teams. From using AI as a thinking partner for deep account research to diagnosing stalled deals,  they dig into why most AI rollouts fail, how old implementation playbooks break in a high-velocity AI world, and why adoption is a human challenge, not a training issue. Chad also breaks down practical wins, like automating admin work and improving pipeline hygiene, and the risks of treating AI as just another sales tool. If you lead sellers or carry a quota yourself, this is a grounded look at how to move faster with AI without losing the human edge that closes deals. In this episode, you’ll learn: AI as a thinking partner – use AI to pressure test ideas and sharpen deal strategyAdoption is a leadership challenge – change management matters more than trainingAutomate admin, elevate sellers – offload CRM updates and research to focus on selling Things to listen for:(00:00) Introduction (01:23) Most unexpected personal and professional uses of AI (02:26) AI for deep account research and financial analysis (04:30) Chad’s AI origin story and mindset shift (06:21) Where teams start with AI: Efficiency and admin work (07:29) Biggest barriers to AI adoption and implementation (09:00) Top-down mandates vs. bottom-up AI experimentation (11:10) Early AI wins with mini GPTs for account research (12:09) Where AI still falls short in sales communication (13:45) Advice for skeptics and how to get started with AI (17:09) The sales process AI should automate next (18:15) Resources, hype, and where to connect with Chad

    20 min
  5. MAR 4

    How AI Is Raising the Standard for Every Sales Conversation | Darren Brady, Corporate Visions

    Sellers confuse AI as a tool that will replace them, but they fail to see that it is raising the standard. In this episode of The Unexpected Lever, Jarod Greene sits down with Darren Brady, Vice President of Strategic Accounts at Corporate Visions, to discuss how AI is reshaping buyer expectations. With more data at every seller’s fingertips, buyers assume you know their business before the first call. Darren explains why the appetite for human interaction is actually growing, what true personalization looks like now, and how sellers can meet higher expectations without losing authenticity. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why AI increases buyer expectations – access to data means no excuse for generic outreachPersonalization is the demand – surface insights that reflect the customer’s businessHuman connection still wins – AI supports preparation, not relationships Things to listen for:(00:00) Introduction (01:09) The unexpected way AI was used to build a full business plan (03:00) Darren’s AI origin story and the first scalable use case he saw (04:21) Turning AI into a team-wide business case engine (05:38) Why AI is raising the bar for seller business acumen (07:54) When buyers use AI to reshape your business case (09:30) The evolution of enablement in an AI-driven world (11:44) The rise of the GTM engineer and AI skill enablement (13:30) AI wins that scaled across teams (17:37) AI missteps, broken automations, and rebuilding trust (20:30) Build, buy, or wait? Navigating AI decisions in uncertain times (23:13) Practical advice for getting started with AI today (27:22) Pricing automation, revenue resources, and where to connect

    29 min

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

The secret sauce to your sales success? It’s what happens before the sale. It’s the planning, the strategy, the leadership. And it’s more than demo automation. It’s the thoughtful work that connects people, processes, and performance. If you want strong revenue, high retention, and shorter sales cycles, the pre-work—centered around the human—still makes the dream work. But you already know that. The Unexpected Lever is your partner in growing revenue by doing what great sales leaders do best. Combining vision with execution. Brought to you by Vivun, this show highlights the people and peers behind the brands who understand what it takes to build and lead high-performing sales teams. You’re not just preparing for the sale—you’re unlocking potential. Join us as we share stories of sales leaders who make a difference, their challenges, their wins, and the human connections that drive results, one solution at a time.