The Challenge
The AI/ML product had launched three times without resonating. After a significant upgrade, I recommended pausing a fourth launch to understand the roadblocks before putting more investment behind the same market story.
What I Uncovered
The upgrade simplified the workflow and reduced dependence on Data Scientists, but the market story did not reflect that value.
- The messaging targeted the wrong buyer: It led with technical buyers instead of the compliance leaders who would benefit from the outcomes.
- The business case was too narrow: The story focused on regulatory requirements without connecting surveillance to broader triggers such as efficiency, risk mitigation, and reputation management.
- Sales could not carry the story: Account Executives often handed compliance conversations to Technical Sales, limiting their ability to develop broader opportunities.
The Strategic Shift
I repositioned the product around the outcomes compliance leaders and other economic buyers cared about rather than leading with AI technology.
- Shifted the target audience: Built the story around economic-buyer priorities and the fact that compliance teams could use the new capabilities directly.
- Positioned surveillance as a business opportunity: Expanded the case beyond regulatory requirements to business triggers and executive outcomes.
- Repositioned AI around business value: Gave Account Executives clearer business cases and a narrative they could use with compliance leaders and executives.
My Contribution
- Built economic-buyer messaging: Developed messaging and collateral around compliance outcomes while retaining technical depth for supporting audiences.
- Connected the product and Services story: Extended the narrative across the website, Services messaging, and a Build vs. Buy whitepaper for executive buyers.
- Created a shared GTM reference: Built a marketing brief covering messaging, positioning, personas, and competitive intelligence for customer-facing teams.
Cross-Functional Work
I worked across Product Management, Sales, Technical Sales, Services, Sales Enablement, Marketing, and Customer Success. The work included securing agreement to pause the launch, diagnosing a stalled deal to improve future sales motion, and aligning teams around the new story.
Outcomes
- Generated a 60% incremental increase in Services revenue.
- 100% of the sales team completed sales enablement training.
- Enabled more Account Executives to build pipeline by leading with the business value of the AI solution instead of handing the conversation off to Technical Sales.
- Marketing, Sales, and Customer Success could articulate the product as a business solution tied to risk, customer goals, and reputational harm.
Work samples are not shown because the materials are proprietary.
The same dynamic shows up in healthcare and other regulated, complex-buyer industries: compliance layers and unclear stakeholder roles routinely stall a sales process until someone reframes the offer around the outcomes those buyers actually own.
