Winning Complex Deals: How AI Empowers Sales Teams with Manisha Raisinghani

In this episode, Jack Cochran and Matthew James are joined by Manisha Raisinghani, Founder and CEO of SiftHub, to discuss how AI is transforming the Presales landscape. They explore how SiftHub's AI sales engineer helps solutions teams consolidate tribal knowledge, automate repetitive tasks, and increase productivity. Manisha shares insights on leveraging AI for RFPs, POCs, and competitive intelligence, while emphasizing that AI serves as a sidekick to enhance SEs' strategic value rather than replace them.

To join the show live, follow the Presales Collective's LinkedIn page or join the PSC Slack community for updates. The show is bi-weekly on Tuesdays, 8AM PT/11AM ET/4PM GMT.

Follow the Hosts

• Connect with Jack Cochran: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackcochran/ 
• Connect with Matthew James: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewyoungjames/
• Connect with Manisha Raisinghani: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manisharaisinghani/

Links and Resources Mentioned

• Join Presales Collective Slack: https://www.presalescollective.com/slack
• SiftHub: https://www.sifthub.io/ 

Timestamps

00:00 Welcome

03:34 Manisha's journey to founding SiftHub

08:12 SE to AE ratios in different organizations

13:10 The changing role of SEs in relationship building

15:06 Three main buckets of SE work and how AI can help

16:30 The evolution of tribal knowledge

20:40 SaaS proliferation and knowledge fragmentation

26:51 How SEs can leverage AI effectively

31:02 Using AI to analyze POCs and RFPs

Key Topics Covered

1. The Evolution of Tribal Knowledge
   • From undocumented information to knowledge scattered across platforms
   • How AI can consolidate knowledge from Slack, Salesforce, call recordings, and more
   • Leveraging recorded conversations to preserve context and insights
2. SE Challenges and AI Solutions
   • Managing repetitive questions from sales teams and product managers
   • Handling documentation tasks and RFP responses
   • Creating custom solutions across different industries and regions
3. The Changing SE Role
   • Shift from technical support to relationship building
   • Evolving buyer journeys requiring deeper technical engagement
   • Balancing solutioning, question-answering, and demo responsibilities
4. Measuring AI Impact
   • Time savings on RFP responses and repetitive questions
   • Using freed-up time for strategic activities and better customer engagement
   • Supporting more deals simultaneously with AI assistance
5. AI as a Teammate
   • Using AI to enhance rather than replace SE capabilities
   • How AI can work 24/7 across global teams
   • The future of visual and diagram-based AI assistance