John McLeod Explains How to Avoid the AI Trap: Using New Tools Without Losing Your Sales Message

Two Tall Guys Talking Sales

In this episode of Two Tall Guys Talking Sales, hosts Kevin Lawson and Sean O'Shaughnessey are joined by veteran fractional VP of Sales, John McLeod. Together, they dive into a critical topic for today’s sales leaders: embracing artificial intelligence tools without compromising your value proposition, messaging, or sales processes. John brings deep expertise in sales management, business acumen, and revenue generation strategies, offering a measured approach to evaluating sales tech, especially AI solutions, through a risk-and-reward lens. Whether you're a business owner, sales manager, or BDR excited about AI, this conversation grounds you in practical wisdom.

Key Topics Discussed

• The Real Risk of AI in Sales (00:01:22): How overreliance on untrained AI tools can misrepresent your brand and do more harm than good.

• Sales Productivity vs. Organizational Efficiency (00:02:01): Why the focus shouldn’t just be on doing more faster, but also on syncing with your company's value selling model.

• Three Essential AI Use Cases in Sales (00:03:25): Research, qualification, and outreach—and why each comes with its own operational risk.

• The Ethical Use of AI and Messaging Integrity (00:07:43): Why maintaining consistent messaging across AI-enabled tools is essential to preserving brand integrity and revenue management.

• Training AI for Sales Value (00:10:00): How smart prompt engineering and structured inputs drive better outcomes from generative AI tools.

Key Quotes

John McLeod (00:05:27): “AI tools are meant to be trained. The biggest risk is: are they in fact supporting your unique and distinctive value proposition and holding true to that?”

Sean O'Shaughnessey (00:11:38): “You won’t lose your job to AI—but you might lose it to another salesperson who knows how to use AI more effectively.”

Kevin Lawson (00:09:40): “When you introduce AI and efficiency, that naturally raises the bar of expectation for performance. What is the new normal when you get there?”

Additional Resources

• John McLeod’s LinkedIn Profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnmcleod1/

A Significant Actionable Item from this Podcast Train Your AI with Purpose: Don’t just “plug and play” AI tools. Take the time to structure your inputs and refine your prompts so that the tool reflects your value, not just generic sales content. Spend time A/B testing different approaches to ensure messaging aligns with your company's strategic sales positioning. Start today by reviewing your most recent outreach generated by AI and ask: “Does this truly represent our value?” If not, retrain your prompts before using them again.

Why You Should Listen Now If you’ve ever been tempted by the next great sales tool or AI platform promising instant leads and effortless sales success, this episode will recalibrate your thinking. John McLeod delivers candid insights on balancing tech adoption with strategic discipline. With Sean and Kevin steering the conversation, this discussion is rich with real-world experience in sales management, messaging, and revenue generation. Tune in now to stay ahead without losing what makes your company valuable.

To understand if your company is doing a great job in sales, take this quick and easy assessment: https://salesxceleration.com/sales-agility-assessment/?locationid=28995327

You can reach out to Sean at New Sales Expert, LLC - [email protected] - https://www.linkedin.com/in/soshaughnessey/

You can reach out to Kevin at Lighthouse Sales Advisors & Sales Xceleration - [email protected] - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kwlawson/

You can book time on Kevin's calendar at https://lighthousesalesadvisors.pipedrive.com/scheduler/JP7rZXH3/virtual-meeting-booking-time-with-kevin

You can book time on Sean's calendar at http://newsales.expert/sean-oshaughnessey-calendar/