AI isn’t coming - it’s already here. From automated research to predictive prospecting, AI is rapidly redefining how sales professionals work, communicate, and close deals. To understand what’s changing and how to adapt, I reached out and asked 12 respected sales experts to weigh in:

“How is AI changing sales in 2025, and how should reps adapt?”

Their insights reveal a future where sales reps are assisted by AI - or left behind. But not to worry, these experts will help you navigate AI in B2B sales, uncover top sales AI strategies, and overall, understand how to use AI in sales in your role or organization.

Let’s take a look. 

The Big Picture of AI in B2B Sales: The Mindset Shift

As AI in B2B sales continues to evolve, it’s essential for reps to rethink their role in the buyer’s journey. These experts frame why AI matters and share how mindset shifts can unlock long-term success in a sales environment increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence.

Alice Heiman

Founder & Chief Sales Officer | Host of the Sales Talk for CEOs Podcast

Alice Heiman is a sales strategist, coach, and keynote speaker with over 20 years of experience helping B2B companies accelerate growth. She’s the founder and Chief Sales Officer at Alice Heiman, LLC, a consultancy that helps organizations navigate complex sales and build lasting customer relationships.

Alice’s AI Sales Tip:

“AI isn’t optional - it’s strategic. CEOs must ensure their sales teams are equipped with an AI strategy, the right tools, and the training to execute with excellence. It’s their job to help reps understand what AI does best - data analysis, task automation, pattern recognition - so sellers can focus on what they do best: building trust and closing deals. When done right, AI makes sellers more efficient, improves the buyer experience, and frees up time for meaningful conversations. If your team isn’t using AI to sell smarter, faster, and more humanely - you’re already behind.”

Website | LinkedIn | Podcast | OST Episode

Ken Lundin

President, Ken Lundin & Associates | Creator of the Sales Alpha Roadmap

Ken Lundin is a seasoned sales consultant and the creator of RevHeat’s Sales Alpha Roadmap. As President of Ken Lundin & Associates, he helps businesses adapt and grow their sales through expert coaching, consulting, and training.

Ken’s AI Sales Tip:

“AI isn’t coming for sales reps - it’s here, and it’s moving fast. Within 24 months, AI avatars will own video calls, reading emotions, delivering insights, and closing deals. The reps who fight it? Gone. The ones who adapt? Unstoppable. Let AI handle the grunt work - research, outreach, follow-ups - while you focus on what it can’t: building trust, solving real problems, and driving strategy. You have two choices - partner with AI to accelerate your success, or watch it replace you. The clock’s ticking.”

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Colleen Stanley

President of SalesLeadership | Author of Emotional Intelligence for Sales Success

Colleen Stanley is president of SalesLeadership, a sales development firm specializing in the integration of emotional intelligence, sales, and sales leadership skills. She’s the author of multiple books and has been named one of the Top 30 Global Sales Gurus.

Colleen’s AI Sales Tip:

“AI is transforming sales and will replace transactional selling and sellers. To remain relevant, it’s important that salespeople choose careers where emotional intelligence skills are still needed and valued. For example, in face-to-face meetings, it takes a human being to ‘read the room.’ The high EQ salesperson notes a change in body language, tonality and hears the conversation that IS NOT being verbally expressed during a conversation. As a result, they change their approach or address the sales elephant in the room to create deeper and more meaningful conversations. AI is great at providing research and data. However, only salespeople with the EQ skills of delayed gratification will take the time to analyze the data and customize it into valuable, new insights for specific buyers. Artificial intelligence is here to stay. Emotional intelligence skills will help you ‘stay in the game’ by building deep trust and relationships.”

Website | LinkedIn | Books | OST Episode

Mark Hunter

Keynote Speaker & Sales Trainer | Author of The Making of a Mind for Sales

Mark Hunter, known as “The Sales Hunter,” is a globally recognized sales leader and bestselling author with over 30 years of experience. He helps companies develop high-profit prospecting strategies that drive better leads, stronger relationships, and long-term revenue growth.

Mark’s AI Sales Tip:

“AI isn’t here to replace you, it’s here to support you. The real power of AI is to allow you to be more human. Use AI to do your research, help identify opportunities, and strengthen your CRM. Use AI to show you where to spend your time but do not allow it to take your time away from human interaction. We as humans are driven by social interaction. The more we increase our customer-facing time thanks to AI doing everything else for us, the more we will win in an AI-driven world.”

Website | LinkedIn | Books | OST Episode

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Using AI in Sales Without Losing the Human Touch (or Your Personal Brand)

One of the biggest questions managers and reps face is how to use AI in sales while still building trust and emotional connections with buyers. The insights below offer a blueprint for doing just that, emphasizing the role of authenticity and personal branding in an AI-powered world.

Dr. Cindy McGovern

Founder of Orange Leaf Consulting | Author of Sell Yourself

Dr. Cindy McGovern is an international speaker, bestselling sales author, and founder of Orange Leaf Consulting. She helps organizations and individuals create powerful sales processes and personal brands, and is known for her dynamic, engaging talks on the art of selling.

Cindy’s AI Sales Tip:

“AI is transforming sales by making it easier to sell smarter - but it’s still up to you to Sell Yourself. AI is an incredible tool to help enhance your communication, not replace your humanity. Lean on AI to help you with research, timing, and trends - but don’t let you AI speak for you. Your personal brand is your secret sauce. When you combine AI insights with a clear, authentic personal brand, you truly stand out from the crowd. Your personal brand is what makes you a person of interest. In other words: AI can help you find the door, but your personal brand is what gets you invited in and invited back!”

Website | LinkedIn | Books | OST Episode

Cian McLoughlin

Founder & CEO, Trinity Perspectives | Author of Rebirth of the Salesman

Cian McLoughlin is the founder and CEO of Trinity Perspectives, a sales consultancy specializing in win-loss analysis and sales transformation. A 20-year B2B sales veteran, he has held senior roles at top global software companies and is the author of the Amazon bestseller Rebirth of the Salesman.

Cian’s AI Sales Tip:

“In an increasingly AI centric sales world, strive to become known for something uniquely human: Deeply understand an industry, your company's technology, emerging trends or unseen risk factors. Become an expert in your field and customers will proactively seek you out.”

Website | LinkedIn | Books | OST Episode

Elinor Stutz

Sales Trainer & Motivational Speaker | Author of Nice Girls DO Get the Sale

Elinor Stutz is a best-selling author, keynote speaker, and founder of SmoothSale.net, where she teaches sales, communication, and entrepreneurial skills. Her international bestseller Nice Girls DO Get the Sale has been featured in TIME Magazine and on CBS News.

Elinor’s AI Sales Tip:

“Like any new strategy, it is vital to verify everything AI involves ensuring everything is in good order before implementing its usage. One example is having AI check our grammar before we send an email or article to another. Caution is needed to ensure the revision suggestions align with our vocabulary and tone of voice to appear authentic. As we embrace more complex initiatives with AI, credibility, and trust are at stake. Testing and ensuring all AI suggestions are above board and aligned with our unique style is imperative to protect our brand for business growth.”

Website | LinkedIn | Books | OST Episode

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The Tactical and Transformative Power of AI in Sales

These experts show how AI is reshaping the sales process - from automation to decision-making.

Victor Antonio

Sales Speaker & Trainer | Author of Future of Selling: The Rise of AI Agents

Victor Antonio is a renowned sales trainer, keynote speaker, and author of over a dozen books on sales and motivation. A former VP of International Sales for a $3B Fortune 500 company, he now leads the Sales Mastery Academy and speaks globally on sales innovation and performance.

Victor’s AI Sales Tip:

“The Future of Selling (my new book) explores how salespeople will collaborate with their AI agent(s). I call this ‘Vibe Selling’—where you use conversational language to vibe (i.e., interact) with your CRM/SEP to uncover new revenue opportunities, shorten sales cycles, and boost retention. Here’s what I mean.

Imagine an AI Agent calling you, and the following exchange takes place:

AI Agent: Good morning, Sarah. While you were sleeping, I engaged with a website visitor from Singapore at 3:20 AM. Visitor name: Lin Wei, CTO at NexaTech Solutions, looking for enterprise security solutions.

You: What did they need exactly?

AI Agent: Based on our conversation, they’re looking to replace their current security infrastructure due to recent compliance issues. Budget range: $250–300K. I’ve qualified them as a high-priority lead with an urgent timeline of 45 days.

You: That’s exactly our sweet spot! Did you schedule anything?

AI Agent: Yes, I’ve set up a video call for 10 AM today, which aligns with their evening time. I’ve also prepared a briefing document based on their industry and specific compliance needs. Would you like to review it now?

You: Please send it over. This could be huge for us!

Result: Three weeks later, NexaTech Solutions became Sarah’s biggest client of the quarter.

This is the Future of Selling and 2025 we’ll see the rise of AI Agents!”

Website | LinkedIn | Books | OST Episode

Michael Tuso

Co-Founder of Success Lab | Award-Winning Sales Leader

Michael Tuso is the CEO and Co-Founder of Callypso, where he helps account managers drive more revenue through upselling and cross-selling. A recognized industry leader and sales coach, Michael has scaled teams at Chili Piper and was named one of the Top 25 Most Influential Sales Leaders by AA-ISP.

Michael’s AI Sales Tip:

“I’ve seen many salespeople use AI to automate cadences, but I think there’s also a massive opportunity to help improve conversion rates of sales calls by funneling data into AI to help with more tailored sales presentations as well. Feeding historical, unstructured, and technographic data into AI tools can help leverage what your sales process should look like and how to provide a more contextual, personalized sales experience beyond the first touch. Unlocking the power of AI is about giving it the context to help the human-being become more effective.”

Website | LinkedIn | Books | OST Episode

Steve Benson

Founder & CEO of Badger Maps | Host of the Outside Sales Talk Podcast

Steve Benson is the Founder and CEO of Badger Maps, the #1 field sales app and route planner for outside sales and field service teams. He’s also the host of the Outside Sales Talk podcast, where he interviews top sales experts on how to succeed in outside sales.

Steve’s AI Sales Tip:

“AI is showing up in many of the types of software that sales reps already use. The first thing I think reps should do is ask themselves where their current products and apps have started to leverage AI, and make sure they are taking full advantage of it. Sometimes new cool features that can really change the game get announced in an email that no one reads, and the feature is tucked away under a button that no one notices. When I talk to the people that use our app, I've started pointing out the AI capabilities that we've incorporated over the past few years - they are often surprised by the way we can suggest the best customers to engage with in an area or to add to their route. A lot of AI works like magic.”

Website | LinkedIn | Podcast | OST Episode

Mario Martinez Jr.

CEO & Founder of Vengreso | Digital Sales Evangelist & Keynote Speaker

Mario Martinez Jr. is a former VP of Sales, keynote speaker, and the founder of Vengreso, a leading provider of digital sales transformation services and the creators of the FlyMSG tool suite. With over 20 years in sales leadership and a track record of helping enterprise teams modernize their selling strategy, Mario is one of the most recognized voices in digital sales today.

Mario’s AI Sales Tip:

“Here's the inside scoop on how AI is revolutionizing sales and how you can stay ahead:

• Personalized Prospecting: AI algorithms analyze vast datasets to identify high-potential leads, ensuring your sales team focuses on the most promising opportunities.

• Automated Tasks: AI automates repetitive tasks like follow-ups and saves up to 30 hours a month with tools like FlyMSG, ultimately freeing up your sales team to focus on building relationships and closing deals.

• Enhanced Customer Engagement: AI-powered writing tools for LinkedIn as an example like FlyEngage and FlyPosts provide instant personalized content in your reps tone of voice, creating a delightful customer journey where a customer wants to 'engage' with your rep. This ultimately is leading to more booked meetings.

Thus, sales leaders will need to embrace these strategies to empower your sales team:

• Upskill and Reskill: Invest in training programs like FlyLearning to equip your sales reps with the knowledge and skills to prospect better and sell more. Why? Because a fool with a tool is still a fool!

• Data-Driven Decision-Making: Encourage your team to use AI-generated insights to inform their sales strategies and tactics.

• Embrace Practice Sessions: Foster a culture of doing AI sales roleplays with tools like FlyRolePlay so that reps are not practicing live on customers. Rather with AI personas and getting instant feedback which will drive innovation and continuous improvement.”

Website | LinkedIn | Podcast | OST Episode

Conclusion - Using AI in Sales Today

Our 12 experts are in agreement: AI is not the enemy of the modern salesperson - it’s their edge!

Reps who embrace AI’s strengths will not only survive but thrive. From automation and personalization to strategy and branding, the tools are here to elevate your impact.

But remember, AI is only as powerful as the person using it. It can guide you to the opportunity, but you’ve got to be the one to smoothly close the deal.

Whether you’re just starting to explore using AI in sales or looking to scale your AI sales strategy, there’s never been a better time to embrace the tools transforming the field.

Ready to see AI in action? Tools like Badger Maps use AI to help outside sales teams prioritize accounts, manage territory, and optimize routes. Try Badger Maps for free and see how AI can transform your day-to-day sales performance.

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