Questions and Answers
10 questions on AI, customer behaviour, CRM and sales management.
Books
„Der KI-Tsunami" — published. „Kunden kaufen anders mit KI" — in progress, autumn 2026.
About the talk
Slides and book sign-up for the talk "Tatort Vertrieb" at the Stuttgart Wissensforum.
Sales · Customers · AI
Answers to questions about AI, customers and sales.
Here I answer the questions decision-makers ask me about AI, customer behaviour, markets, CRM and sales management. Not a list of services, but substantive answers — drawn from 35 years in B2B sales and from projects that worked, and ones that didn't.
01
Why do AI projects in sales fail?
AI projects in sales rarely fail because of the technology. They fail because AI meets a sales system that wasn't working in the first place — unclear processes, incomplete CRM data, leadership without a governance model.
Updated on
02
How is AI changing B2B buying behaviour?
B2B customers now research, compare and decide with AI — before they ever speak to a provider. According to Forrester, 94 per cent of B2B buyers use AI in the buying process; AI answer engines have become the most important research source there, ahead of vendor websites and salespeople.
Updated on
03
Does B2B sales still need salespeople when customers research with AI?
Yes — but in a different role. The salesperson is no longer the source of information, because the customer has already obtained that from AI beforehand.
Updated on
04
Why does AI in sales achieve nothing if the CRM doesn't work?
AI in sales works with the data held in the CRM. If the CRM is maintained incompletely, outdated or dressed up, the AI analyses a fiction — and delivers recommendations that look precise and are wrong.
Updated on
05
How do I recognise that my sales system no longer works?
A sales system announces its failure before the numbers turn. The signals are individually harmless to explain — together they form a pattern: a system that only reacts instead of shaping outcomes.
Updated on
06
Introducing AI in sales: where do I start?
Not with the tool. Introducing AI in sales starts with the customer: how do they research, compare and decide today — and how is AI changing that behaviour?
Updated on
07
Why is our forecast wrong?
A forecast is wrong when it's built on statistics instead of commitments. The typical pipeline calculation — volume times historical win rate — looks mathematically sound but says nothing about whether real buying decisions stand behind the deals.
Updated on
08
Why do CRM projects fail?
CRM projects don't fail because of the system, but because of the triangle behind it: management, the sales team and the tool have three different expectations that are never voiced. Management wants control and forecasting, the team wants their work made easier, the project delivers software.
Updated on
09
How does my company become visible in AI answers?
AI systems are more likely to recommend a company when they can find clear, consistent and credible signals about it across the web — not just claims on the company's own website. Anyone who wants to appear in answers from ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google therefore needs three things: a machine-readable own website, content that answers concrete customer questions, and mentions in third-party sources.
Updated on
10
How do I prepare my sales team for AI?
Not with tool training, but with a new understanding of the role. The team must first understand that their customers now enter conversations AI-informed — and what that means for discovery, argumentation and their own value.
Updated on
01 — Books
Two books. One subject: how AI changes customers, markets and companies.
Published
Der KI-Tsunami
In progress — autumn 2026
Kunden kaufen anders mit KI
02 — Teaching
Sales Management, AI and Executive Education.
I teach Sales Management and AI in Executive MBA programmes and at universities — including the Rome Business School. Rating of the last Sales Management course: 4.77 out of 5 (autumn 2025).
4.77
out of 5 — latest course rating, autumn 2025
03 — Podcasts
Conversations worth a listen.
Vertriebsfunk
80% fewer salespeople: how AI is radically rebuilding sales.
Ghost-Notes-Radio
Der KI-Tsunami.
04 — KLARTEXT Hub
Tools, AI resources and prompts for self-directed use.
Frameworks, canvas models and short prompts for AI, customer behaviour, sales management, CRM and sales leadership — ready for direct use in workshops and leadership sessions.