Streamline, Personalize, Grow: How AI is Transforming Sales Teams

Imagine freeing up hours in your day while boosting your team’s productivity and engagement. With the right AI tools, that’s possible. In this Sales Talk for CEOs episode, Alice Heiman speaks with Gillian Utesch, CEO of Broken Glass Ceiling Marketing, about how AI-driven tools can help your team to streamline marketing, personalize engagement, and tackle sales in a whole new way. Here’s what you need to know about AI to enhance your go-to-market strategy without stretching your team to the limit.From Pharmacist to Marketing Innovator: Gillian’s Journey Gillian’s story starts in a surprising place—a pharmacy. Transitioning from a pharmacist to a marketer, makes sense right? LOL, I think she has a whole book in that story. She started a firm to do traditional marketing and she quickly realized there were a lot of things she didn’t want to do. That set her on a path to automate those tasks so she could get them off her plate. She was so successful that she realized that her clients might like to do the same. They wanted to automate the repetitive tasks that often bogged down teams. So she built out the tools so that everyone can use them. Now, her company helps clients minimize time on routine activities, allowing CEOs and their teams to focus on growth. As Gillian puts it, “I didn’t build a business around what I loved doing—I built it around what I didn’t want to do, so others wouldn’t have to either.”Key Insights for CEOs Embracing AI in Marketing and SalesReaching Clients in Multiple Time Zones After COVID, work styles and locations became more dispersed, with clients now spread across global time zones. Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach to communication, AI can help you identify ideal times for outreach, increasing the likelihood of engagement without adding work to your team’s plate.Cutting Through the Noise with Personalized Communication Email inboxes are overflowing, making it harder than ever to connect meaningfully with customers. AI can analyze your audience’s preferences, enabling your team to deliver highly relevant content that resonates. Rather than sending blanket emails, think about messages that address your clients' specific industries and needs.Engagement Over Posts: Building Authentic Connections on LinkedIn Posting on LinkedIn isn’t enough. True engagement happens through interaction, which is often time-consuming. AI tools can handle initial connections and automate responses in line with your brand voice, freeing you to jump into conversations when they matter most.Action Steps for CEOs to Implement AI EfficientlyAssess and Integrate AI Tools with Purpose Determine which tasks are ripe for automation—think of repetitive, high-volume activities like initial outreach or follow-ups. Tools like xiQ allow for deep research and message personalization, helping your team engage meaningfully without sacrificing time.Build Authenticity into Automation AI tools should support authentic connection. Personalization doesn’t just mean using a contact’s first name; it’s about showing real knowledge of their challenges. Setting up guidelines for your team can ensure AI outputs reflect your brand and bring value to every interaction.Scale Strategically Without Losing Personal Touch As your reach expands, so does the need for genuine, tailored responses. AI can assist in automating responses that sound natural and caring, allowing your team to handle larger volumes without compromising quality.Leveraging AI to Free Up Time and Maximize Impact The real value of AI for CEOs isn’t just about saving time; it’s about allowing you and your team to focus on what matters most—building relationships, strategizing for growth, and driving impactful outcomes. As Alice Heiman notes, “AI is here to stay, and those who embrace it will outpace those who don’t.” For more on how to apply AI to your business and improve your sales and marketing strategy, tune into the full episode of Sales Talk for CEOs with Alice Heiman.Episode DetailsChapters 00:00 Introduction 01:27 Guest Introduction 02:33 From Pharmacy to Marketing 03:17 Business Challenges and Innovations 04:25 Application of Pharmacist Skills in Marketing 06:10 Changing Workspaces and Marketing Strategies 07:59 Adapting to Global Clientele 10:02 Evolution of Communication and Marketing Tools 11:50 Customization and Personalization in Marketing 13:57 Leveraging AI for Efficient Marketing 17:01 The Impact of AI-Driven Tools on Business Growth 19:45 Automating Interactions and Engagement 23:13 The Crucial Role of CEO in Marketing 26:24 Efficacy of AI in Crafting Genuine Engagement 32:09 Summation and Special Advice for CEOs 39:27 ConclusionAbout Guest I come from the ‘lost and found’ marketer bin. At the fourth-grade career fair I didn’t choose Marketing as my field, life chose it for me. Twenty years later (at 29 years-old!) I still love chasing new ideas and reinventing better, smarter, cooler ways to do old things. I live in Raleigh, NC with my little family and 2 silly dogs. I wanted to connect with you about your podcast because as an entrepreneur I was stressed and overwhelmed leading my own company. So in a moment of desperation, I pulled pieces from my creative and technocrat background to create an envelope-pushing proposition: harness artificial intelligence to revolutionize how businesses go-to-market in a human way. I truly had to figure it out, or my business wasn’t going to survive. I needed to design a way to blend the analytical power of AI with the resonant touch of human storytelling. Storytelling is the secret sauce of marketing success. People want to be seen, heard and connected with in a genuine way, but how do you scale that? That single question drove me to design, iterate, break and rebuild until I had created a brand, agency and platform that wasn’t just a business but a manifesto: a marketing renaissance where technology amplifies creativity, and every strategy remains a personalized narrative. I'm trying to dispel any fears folks may have about using AI in their lives + business. AI is just the instrument; the human heart remains the composer.About Guest Company In a digital age craving innovation, our visionary Founder and SheEO pulled pieces from her creative and technocrat background to create an envelope-pushing proposition: **harness artificial intelligence to revolutionize how businesses go-to-market in a human way**. Broken Glass Ceiling Marketing was born from this dichotomy, and was welcomed into the world with skepticism as we drove to blend the analytical power of AI with the resonant touch of **human storytelling.** Storytelling is the secret sauce of marketing success. People want to be seen, heard and connected with in a genuine way, but how do you scale that? That **single question** drove us to design, iterated, break and rebuild until we had created a brand, agency and platform that wasn’t just a business but a manifesto: **a marketing renaissance where technology amplifies creativity, and every strategy remains a personalized narrative.**Social Links  Gillian’s Website: brokenglassceilingmarketing.com Follow Gillian’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/brokenglassceilingmarketing Connect with Gillian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gumoney/ Connect with Gillian’s company page on LI https://www.linkedin.com/company/broken-glass-ceiling-marketing/ Alice’s Website:https://aliceheiman.com/ Connect with Alice on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliceheiman/