An AI sales tool promises 30% more productivity. Ask who measured it
"The AI sales tool will make your team 30% more productive." Ask who measured that, and how.
A survey of software founders this year put a number on the gap. Asked how much AI had improved their sales team's productivity, the typical answer was at least 25%. Asked what they had actually measured, it was 10%.
These are people who build software for a living, judging their own teams. The vendor in front of you is quoting a number too, and you cannot tell which kind it is.
Felt productivity is real to the person feeling it. A rep who writes emails in a third of the time feels faster. Whether the business sells more is a separate question, and it is the one you are paying for.
Before the contract, ask for three things. The metric that should move: orders, qualified leads, margin, billed hours. Its value today, written down. And a date in the contract when you review it, with the option to cancel if it has not moved.
A vendor cannot promise your margin, and a fair one will say so. What they can agree to is being measured, on a date, against a number you both wrote down.