This Journal post is one of four steps that describe how I apply Salesforce innovation.

At Being Guided I have been focused on applying technology to increase sales effectiveness for the past 25 years. At the core of this work is Salesforce Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solutions. As AI emerges, this Journal post focuses on how new technologies can deliver immediate value to market-facing teams, at the earliest stages in Go-To-Market initiatives.

Demand Creation Selling.

Demand Creation Selling is the opposite of Demand Fulfilment Selling: proactive, not reactive; and, ideal for innovators, where buyers cannot know all and specify requirements in an arm's length Request For Proposal (RFP). This approach is all about Mutual Value Discovery.

However, long before a sales professional gets to engage with a real buyer, there is always the big challenge of identifying buyers who are actually in the market to buy, albeit they may have a clear idea about their problem but may have a less than clear understanding of the solution.

The first stage in Demand Creation Selling is Identify, followed by Connect, Engage and Convert.

Data Discovery may be divided into two categories: Public Data; and, Private Data. In the latter category read my Optimize post on how Abacus.ai DeepAgent⁵ provides the AI power for Data Analysis and Optimisation of a Salesforce Org.

There are a number of 'all-in-one' platforms that offer varying levels of Data Discovery, Data Enrichment and Automated Outreach. Apollo.io has been established in recent years as a leader in this category of marketing technologies. More recently, Sprouts.ai¹ have launched a platform that enriches data deeper and further, via over 20 trusted, GDPR-compliant Data Sources.

In moving through each stage of this method, AI has a powerful role to play in making this work in a more scalable, cost-effective way. As an example, Sprouts.ai¹ is a platform delivering end-to-end on each stage of lead generation. The Sprouts.ai modules are:

• Discover Ideal Customer Profile (ICP): AI-driven Analysis and Targeted Account List building.
• Enrich Database: curate Contact/Account Enrichment from 20+ top Data Sources.
• Identify Intent Signals: AI Intent Mapping to target Ready-to-Convert Accounts.
• Automated Outreach: Multi-Channel Campaigns across email, LinkedIn and phone.
• Predict Purchase Patterns: Machine Learning and Lead Scoring.

High-NFC Prospects show intent by seeking, consuming, and acting on substantive, diagnostic information (e.g., technical docs, ROI models). Their 'Intent Expression' is argument-led.

Low-NFC Prospects show intent through responsiveness to credible cues and frictionless paths (trusted brands, testimonials, peers using it, quick wins). Their 'Intent Expression' is cue-led.

The high-value, high-touch sell is a human process that is enhanced by AI but ultimately, it is inherently a question of 'people buying people'. Think of this as a progressive conversation between buyer and seller that goes through four things: Receptivity; Rapport; Trust; and, Truth.

In the first step it's Receptivity: often from a cold start, as Sprouts.ai lead generation, this is where a 'Pierce Point' message has to cut through to get the buyer's attention. If the value proposition in is genuinely innovative then it is unlikely that the buyer can understand its value from afar by adopting an arm's length approach to procurement via a Request For Proposal (RFP).

When the problem-solution is a complex mapping, the buyer does not know all and relies on more than AI-powered online research to determine the solution to the problem. The sellside are required to educate the buyside.

If the Pierce Point message makes sense to the buyer as a potential solution to a compelling problem, what follows is a need for the seller to offer a 'Proof Point' validation of the solution as a credible option. This requires human Receptivity between buyer and seller to become Rapport. Then at this point, we have genuine, meaningful Engagement between buyer and seller.

Therefore, whilst AI drives an automated process through Identify, Connect, Engage and Convert steps, in a high-value sell it is the high-touch of humans that matter too.

As you can see in my Innovate Journal post, the ability to generate Receptivity, Rapport, and Trust between all stakeholders also requires Reflection. Over time, Trust is build between buyer and seller if Rapport is underpinned by a quantification of the solution.

Design Thinking focuses on Empathizing as its first and most important stage in building Rapport and Trust with all stakeholders on ther buyside and the sellside. Value Engineering² provides a Proof Point as a solid Return On Investment ROI) argument that becomes the Truth.

As illustrated above, Demand Creation Selling enables Buyside Forecasting. Simply put, this means that the two values crucial to sales forecasts in Salesforce CRM - Opportunity Amount and Close Date - are submitted by both buyer (via a Web Form) and seller (as Salesforce User).

The key to Demand Creation Selling in a high-value, high-touch sell is the digital engagement between buyer and seller, where Design Thinking and Value Engineering come together with Reflection to go on a positive journey to maximise Receptivity, Rapport, Trust and Truth.

All of this starts with AI-powered lead generation and the four steps of Identify, Connect, Engage and Convert. Here the third and fourth steps are enriched by Intent Signals tested through Design Thinking and Value Engineering as human interactions.

References

1. Sprouts.ai. (2025). Retrieved October 14, 2025.
   https://sprouts.ai
2. The Hasso Plattner Institute of Design. (2004) Stanford d.school. https://dschool.stanford.edu/about
3. Miles, L.D. (1947). The Lawrence D. Miles Value Engineering Reference Center Collection.
   https://minds.wiscon.edu/handle/1793/301
4. Haugtvedt, C. P., Petty, R. E., & Cacioppo, J. T. (1992). Need for cognition and advertising: Understanding the role of personality variables in consumer behavior. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 1(3), 239–260. Retrieved from richardepetty.com
   https://richardepetty.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/1992-jcp-haugtvedt-petty-cacioppo.pdf)
5. Abacus.AI. (2025). DeepAgent how-to: Your guide to unlocking the full power of the first god-tier, all-in-one AI agent. Retrieved September 19, 2025​.​https://abacus.ai/help/howTo/chatllm/deepagent_how_to