Your buyers already researched you. Your competitors. Your product. And probably generated a shortlist with AI before the first meeting even started.

In this episode, we’re joined by Stephen Morse (30+ year SE leader, founder of the SC Leadership Institute, executive coach, and former Salesforce global SE leader) to unpack what leadership looks like in an AI-first world.

We dig into:

• Why SEs need to shift from “stable state managers” to wartime strategists
• How AI is amplifying the value of emotional intelligence, empathy, and human connection
• Why buyers still need confidence and belief before making big decisions
• The danger of automating away the human moments that actually matter
• How modern SE leaders can balance decisiveness, pressure, and compassion
• Why the future of presales belongs to people who know when to leverage AI, and when to slow down and be intentional

We also dive into Steven’s upcoming leadership book, decades of lessons from scaling global SE organizations, and why this may be the most important moment yet for the presales profession.

Buyers aren’t showing up to your first call “curious” anymore, they’re showing up pre-researched, pre-ranked, and powered by AI.

In this episode, we’re joined by John Brunswick (former Distinguished SE at Salesforce, founder of StoryPath.ai, and author of Burn the Deck) to break down what AI is changing in the buyer/seller dynamic.

We dig into:

• Why AI gives buyers “superpowers” (and what that means for your first meeting)
• Why traditional product demos can feel like the worst first date ever
• How story becomes the envelope for your value, and helps you regain control
• Practical ways to add framing, “from/to” summaries, and pallet-cleansing medium shifts to keep buyers engaged

If you want your next discovery + demo to actually earn the second meeting, this one’s a must.

In this episode, James Kaikis (Co-Founder, PreSales Collective; Founder, GTM Shift) joins Adam + Todd to unpack the rise of Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs) and what it signals for the future of presales: a world where proof beats polish, and the teams that win are the ones who can show it working—fast.

We get into:

• What an FDE actually is (and why it’s not as “new” as it sounds)

• The real driver behind the trend: the burden of proof and collapsing trust

• Why the “harbor cruise” demo needs an upgrade

• How AI is accelerating skepticism (and why “see it to believe it” is the new default)

• A practical approach for leaders: start with jobs-to-be-done + small experiments, not a massive org redesign