From Sceptics to Advocates—Why AI in Your Sales Process Might Be Better Than You Think

Remember when everyone was suspicious of AI-generated content in proposals?

Yep, me too. Or did I?

As Head of Sales at Optimation, I've been on the front lines of this AI revolution—and honestly, it's been fascinating to watch the shift in perspective. Six months ago, if someone had discovered that the killer proposal they'd just received was largely AI-generated, the reaction would've been somewhere between concerned and genuinely horrified. Whispers of "cutting corners" and "how do I trust this?" would've filled the room faster than you could say "artificial intelligence".

Fast forward through another six months of AI evolution, and the tables are turning. Now? If you received a proposal from us that wasn't heavily influenced by AI, you might actually be the one raising eyebrows. Not because you're skeptical anymore, but because you've come to expect something better.

The Shift Is Real

The dynamic has completely flipped. What started as scepticism has evolved into genuine advocacy. Clients are asking us not "Are you using AI?" but rather "How are you using it?" The mentality has shifted from defensive ("prove this isn't just robot-generated nonsense") to inquisitive ("how are you making this work for me?").

That's a significant change, and it's worth understanding why it's happening.

Where AI Actually Delivers

Here's what I've learned: AI isn't some silver-bullet replacement for human judgment. It's more like that team member who reads everything—every case study, every industry report, every customer email thread, our entire project portfolio—and somehow synthesises it all into something genuinely brilliant. Except that team member never sleeps, never forgets a detail, and doesn't hog the coffee.

In the world of sales proposals, that's genuinely game-changing. Your proposal isn't generic boilerplate anymore—it's laser-focused on your business, your challenges, your industry, tailored from a portfolio of actual work and proven solutions specific to your situation.

A significant strength of AI is its ability to assimilate information from multiple sources and output it in the most appropriate and effective format for any given situation. In a sales context, it means our proposals are now hyper-personalised to each client and requirement, created based on our entire portfolio of information—current and historic—relating to an individual customer, industry, technology, or requirement.

I'll be transparent: AI produces better sales outputs than I could alone. There, I said it. And I'm genuinely not ashamed to admit that.

But (and yes, there's always a but)—it only works if you:

• Pick the right tools
• Configure them properly
• Know how to actually use them

Plenty of people skip those steps. Many just hit "generate" and cross their fingers. That's why some AI outputs are genuinely brilliant and others read like they were written by a robot who learned English from a TED talk.

The Real Skill Now?

My role has evolved from "write killer proposals" to "orchestrate AI to write killer proposals." It's less about cranking out content and more about being a strategist—knowing which tool to use when, how to feed it the right information, and when to inject that irreplaceable human judgment and expertise.

The best proposals we're creating now aren't written by humans or by AI. They're written with AI, guided by humans who actually understand the client's world and what they're trying to achieve.

That's where the magic happens. And that's why the conversation has shifted from scepticism to genuine interest.

The Real Question

So here's the thing: we're reaching a point where it genuinely won't matter whether content was created by a human or an AI. The only thing that'll matter is whether it works. Whether it solves the problem. Whether it delivers value to the client.

As a leader responsible for our sales output, I've made the decision that using AI—thoughtfully, strategically, with oversight—is how we deliver the best possible outcomes for our customers. It's how we ensure every proposal is personalised, insightful, and genuinely useful.

The sceptics will adapt. The early adopters will continue to innovate. And everyone else will quietly start wondering why their partners and suppliers aren't leveraging these tools yet.

So here's my question for you: Was this blog post written by me or my AI?

Maybe the real question isn't who wrote it—it's whether you can tell the difference. And more importantly, whether it actually matters.

I'd genuinely love to hear your perspective. How is AI shifting your expectations? Is it making you demand more, or is it finally giving you permission to actually use your time on strategy instead of admin?

Drop me a note—I'm genuinely curious.