AI for Revenue Leaders: The AI Hat Podcast

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
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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.
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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

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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

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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

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