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The latest episode of Presales Podcast featured an insightful conversation with Nalin Senthamil, Founder and CEO of Storylane, who shared his vision for how demo automation and AI are reshaping the pre-sales landscape. Hosted by Matthew James and Timmy Hendrickson, Chief of Staff at Presales Collective, the episode explored the death of traditional discovery calls, the evolution of self-serve buyer experiences, and how AI can create 10X impact in pre-sales workflows. This episode was sponsored by Storylane.
Listen to the full episode now!
The Death of Discovery Calls: A Bold Prediction
One of Nalin’s most provocative insights was his prediction that traditional discovery calls are becoming obsolete. "To me, discovery calls are going to be dead," he stated confidently. "Those are going to be dead."
His reasoning centers on the evolving B2B buying landscape. Today's buyers arrive at conversations already well-educated through G2 reviews, Capterra comparisons, and extensive online research. They're not excited to pick up the phone for basic product education—they want to dive straight into level-two conversations about solving specific problems.
"Buyers are well educated. They're going to do their research. They're going to learn all about your product from forums, websites, and they're going to come to your website to learn about what your product is doing," Senthamil explained. Instead of discovery calls, he envisions AI sales agents on websites that can handle initial qualification and education, allowing human SEs to focus on strategic conversations.
The Self-Serve Buying Experience Revolution
The shift toward self-serve buying experiences extends far beyond just website demos. According to Nalin, it's "throughout the journey in the cycle. From the time somebody lands on a website all the way till they purchase product and the deal is done, there is a lot more self-serve buying experience happens at different touch points."
This transformation requires a fundamental rethinking of how we present information to buyers. Instead of locking everything behind discovery calls, organizations need to create personalized deal rooms and hub experiences that educate buyers based on their specific industry, use case, and role. AI agents will increasingly handle these interactions, asking the right questions and showing the right content to move buyers through their research phase efficiently.
The Four Pillars of Solutions Engineering Work
Nalin categorized SE work into four broad areas, each with different potential for AI enhancement:
1. Relationship Building and Strategic Solutioning: This remains fundamentally human-driven, requiring emotional intelligence and strategic thinking that AI cannot replicate.
2. Demo Delivery and POC Management: Here, AI can dramatically reduce preparation time while enabling better personalization and faster iteration.
3. Administrative Tasks: The lowest-hanging fruit for automation, including CRM updates, RFP responses, and documentation tasks.
4. Knowledge Sharing: AI can help capture and organize tribal knowledge that traditionally lived in people's heads or scattered across Slack threads.
"It's not like AI is going to replace SEs," Nalin emphasized. "It's going to be more like a teammate, think of it like a twin, a sidekick, whatever you call it. It's going to help them be better."
Managing Complex Product Ecosystems
One compelling success story Nalin shared involved a customer with 100+ product integrations. Rather than maintaining separate demo environments for each integration, they used Storylane to create micro-demos that could be quickly assembled based on specific buyer needs.
"You don't have to manage these 100 integrations. You can build micro demos of these 100 integrations quickly," he explained. "Anytime when somebody wants something, they're able to showcase specifically for that integration, for that permission settings and everything, quickly tailored and personalized."
This approach eliminates the grunt work of environment management while enabling unprecedented personalization at scale.
The 10X Impact Opportunity
When asked about where AI could create immediate 10X impact, Nalin focused on demo automation workflows: "Building some set of templates in your demo automation stack, personalizing them, using CRM data based on where the buyer is coming from, which company, which industries they are, and personalizing them quickly."
The key is leveraging AI throughout the entire buying journey—from initial website visits through POC delivery—rather than treating it as a point solution. By automating demo preparation and personalization, SEs can focus their time on strategic thinking and relationship building.
Capturing and Preserving Tribal Knowledge
One of the most practical benefits of AI in pre-sales is its ability to capture knowledge that traditionally walked out the door with departing employees. Modern AI systems can ingest data from Slack conversations, call recordings, Google Drive documents, and other sources automatically.
"The data loss was a lot. Now with AI being there, it's constantly being pulled in automatically," Nalin noted. "So which means the data loss is very low, even if somebody leaves out."
However, he emphasized the importance of curation: "Garbage in, you'll get garbage out, which means like there's got to be still a gatekeeper in terms of what needs to be there."
Upselling and Expansion Opportunities
Demo automation also opens new possibilities for account expansion. When customers have access to only part of a multi-product platform, AI can help create personalized demos of additional features or products using the customer's actual environment data.
"Demo automation is used a lot there, where you are able to give them a slice of what they don't have, personalized for their environment," Nalin explained. This approach excites buyers about expansion opportunities without requiring full product access or extensive manual setup.
Looking Toward the Future
Storylane is pushing the boundaries further with their upcoming AI sales agent that will conduct discovery conversations via video, not just voice. This represents the next evolution in self-serve buying experiences—intelligent agents that can qualify prospects, demonstrate value, and route qualified leads to human SEs for strategic conversations.
The message for today's solutions engineers is clear: embrace AI as a powerful sidekick that handles repetitive tasks and enables better personalization, while doubling down on the uniquely human skills of strategic thinking, relationship building, and complex problem-solving that will always be essential to successful pre-sales outcomes.
Presales LIVE airs every other Tuesday at 8 AM Pacific, 11 AM Eastern, 4 PM GMT. Join the Presales Collective Slack community at presalescollective.com/slack to stay updated on future episodes, and follow the PSC LinkedIn page for upcoming shows.
The latest episode of Presales Podcast featured an insightful conversation with Nalin Senthamil, Founder and CEO of Storylane, who shared his vision for how demo automation and AI are reshaping the pre-sales landscape. Hosted by Matthew James and Timmy Hendrickson, Chief of Staff at Presales Collective, the episode explored the death of traditional discovery calls, the evolution of self-serve buyer experiences, and how AI can create 10X impact in pre-sales workflows. This episode was sponsored by Storylane.
Listen to the full episode now!
The Death of Discovery Calls: A Bold Prediction
One of Nalin’s most provocative insights was his prediction that traditional discovery calls are becoming obsolete. "To me, discovery calls are going to be dead," he stated confidently. "Those are going to be dead."
His reasoning centers on the evolving B2B buying landscape. Today's buyers arrive at conversations already well-educated through G2 reviews, Capterra comparisons, and extensive online research. They're not excited to pick up the phone for basic product education—they want to dive straight into level-two conversations about solving specific problems.
"Buyers are well educated. They're going to do their research. They're going to learn all about your product from forums, websites, and they're going to come to your website to learn about what your product is doing," Senthamil explained. Instead of discovery calls, he envisions AI sales agents on websites that can handle initial qualification and education, allowing human SEs to focus on strategic conversations.
The Self-Serve Buying Experience Revolution
The shift toward self-serve buying experiences extends far beyond just website demos. According to Nalin, it's "throughout the journey in the cycle. From the time somebody lands on a website all the way till they purchase product and the deal is done, there is a lot more self-serve buying experience happens at different touch points."
This transformation requires a fundamental rethinking of how we present information to buyers. Instead of locking everything behind discovery calls, organizations need to create personalized deal rooms and hub experiences that educate buyers based on their specific industry, use case, and role. AI agents will increasingly handle these interactions, asking the right questions and showing the right content to move buyers through their research phase efficiently.
The Four Pillars of Solutions Engineering Work
Nalin categorized SE work into four broad areas, each with different potential for AI enhancement:
1. Relationship Building and Strategic Solutioning: This remains fundamentally human-driven, requiring emotional intelligence and strategic thinking that AI cannot replicate.
2. Demo Delivery and POC Management: Here, AI can dramatically reduce preparation time while enabling better personalization and faster iteration.
3. Administrative Tasks: The lowest-hanging fruit for automation, including CRM updates, RFP responses, and documentation tasks.
4. Knowledge Sharing: AI can help capture and organize tribal knowledge that traditionally lived in people's heads or scattered across Slack threads.
"It's not like AI is going to replace SEs," Nalin emphasized. "It's going to be more like a teammate, think of it like a twin, a sidekick, whatever you call it. It's going to help them be better."
Managing Complex Product Ecosystems
One compelling success story Nalin shared involved a customer with 100+ product integrations. Rather than maintaining separate demo environments for each integration, they used Storylane to create micro-demos that could be quickly assembled based on specific buyer needs.
"You don't have to manage these 100 integrations. You can build micro demos of these 100 integrations quickly," he explained. "Anytime when somebody wants something, they're able to showcase specifically for that integration, for that permission settings and everything, quickly tailored and personalized."
This approach eliminates the grunt work of environment management while enabling unprecedented personalization at scale.
The 10X Impact Opportunity
When asked about where AI could create immediate 10X impact, Nalin focused on demo automation workflows: "Building some set of templates in your demo automation stack, personalizing them, using CRM data based on where the buyer is coming from, which company, which industries they are, and personalizing them quickly."
The key is leveraging AI throughout the entire buying journey—from initial website visits through POC delivery—rather than treating it as a point solution. By automating demo preparation and personalization, SEs can focus their time on strategic thinking and relationship building.
Capturing and Preserving Tribal Knowledge
One of the most practical benefits of AI in pre-sales is its ability to capture knowledge that traditionally walked out the door with departing employees. Modern AI systems can ingest data from Slack conversations, call recordings, Google Drive documents, and other sources automatically.
"The data loss was a lot. Now with AI being there, it's constantly being pulled in automatically," Nalin noted. "So which means the data loss is very low, even if somebody leaves out."
However, he emphasized the importance of curation: "Garbage in, you'll get garbage out, which means like there's got to be still a gatekeeper in terms of what needs to be there."
Upselling and Expansion Opportunities
Demo automation also opens new possibilities for account expansion. When customers have access to only part of a multi-product platform, AI can help create personalized demos of additional features or products using the customer's actual environment data.
"Demo automation is used a lot there, where you are able to give them a slice of what they don't have, personalized for their environment," Nalin explained. This approach excites buyers about expansion opportunities without requiring full product access or extensive manual setup.
Looking Toward the Future
Storylane is pushing the boundaries further with their upcoming AI sales agent that will conduct discovery conversations via video, not just voice. This represents the next evolution in self-serve buying experiences—intelligent agents that can qualify prospects, demonstrate value, and route qualified leads to human SEs for strategic conversations.
The message for today's solutions engineers is clear: embrace AI as a powerful sidekick that handles repetitive tasks and enables better personalization, while doubling down on the uniquely human skills of strategic thinking, relationship building, and complex problem-solving that will always be essential to successful pre-sales outcomes.
Presales LIVE airs every other Tuesday at 8 AM Pacific, 11 AM Eastern, 4 PM GMT. Join the Presales Collective Slack community at presalescollective.com/slack to stay updated on future episodes, and follow the PSC LinkedIn page for upcoming shows.
The latest episode of Presales Podcast featured an insightful conversation with Nalin Senthamil, Founder and CEO of Storylane, who shared his vision for how demo automation and AI are reshaping the pre-sales landscape. Hosted by Matthew James and Timmy Hendrickson, Chief of Staff at Presales Collective, the episode explored the death of traditional discovery calls, the evolution of self-serve buyer experiences, and how AI can create 10X impact in pre-sales workflows. This episode was sponsored by Storylane.
Listen to the full episode now!
The Death of Discovery Calls: A Bold Prediction
One of Nalin’s most provocative insights was his prediction that traditional discovery calls are becoming obsolete. "To me, discovery calls are going to be dead," he stated confidently. "Those are going to be dead."
His reasoning centers on the evolving B2B buying landscape. Today's buyers arrive at conversations already well-educated through G2 reviews, Capterra comparisons, and extensive online research. They're not excited to pick up the phone for basic product education—they want to dive straight into level-two conversations about solving specific problems.
"Buyers are well educated. They're going to do their research. They're going to learn all about your product from forums, websites, and they're going to come to your website to learn about what your product is doing," Senthamil explained. Instead of discovery calls, he envisions AI sales agents on websites that can handle initial qualification and education, allowing human SEs to focus on strategic conversations.
The Self-Serve Buying Experience Revolution
The shift toward self-serve buying experiences extends far beyond just website demos. According to Nalin, it's "throughout the journey in the cycle. From the time somebody lands on a website all the way till they purchase product and the deal is done, there is a lot more self-serve buying experience happens at different touch points."
This transformation requires a fundamental rethinking of how we present information to buyers. Instead of locking everything behind discovery calls, organizations need to create personalized deal rooms and hub experiences that educate buyers based on their specific industry, use case, and role. AI agents will increasingly handle these interactions, asking the right questions and showing the right content to move buyers through their research phase efficiently.
The Four Pillars of Solutions Engineering Work
Nalin categorized SE work into four broad areas, each with different potential for AI enhancement:
1. Relationship Building and Strategic Solutioning: This remains fundamentally human-driven, requiring emotional intelligence and strategic thinking that AI cannot replicate.
2. Demo Delivery and POC Management: Here, AI can dramatically reduce preparation time while enabling better personalization and faster iteration.
3. Administrative Tasks: The lowest-hanging fruit for automation, including CRM updates, RFP responses, and documentation tasks.
4. Knowledge Sharing: AI can help capture and organize tribal knowledge that traditionally lived in people's heads or scattered across Slack threads.
"It's not like AI is going to replace SEs," Nalin emphasized. "It's going to be more like a teammate, think of it like a twin, a sidekick, whatever you call it. It's going to help them be better."
Managing Complex Product Ecosystems
One compelling success story Nalin shared involved a customer with 100+ product integrations. Rather than maintaining separate demo environments for each integration, they used Storylane to create micro-demos that could be quickly assembled based on specific buyer needs.
"You don't have to manage these 100 integrations. You can build micro demos of these 100 integrations quickly," he explained. "Anytime when somebody wants something, they're able to showcase specifically for that integration, for that permission settings and everything, quickly tailored and personalized."
This approach eliminates the grunt work of environment management while enabling unprecedented personalization at scale.
The 10X Impact Opportunity
When asked about where AI could create immediate 10X impact, Nalin focused on demo automation workflows: "Building some set of templates in your demo automation stack, personalizing them, using CRM data based on where the buyer is coming from, which company, which industries they are, and personalizing them quickly."
The key is leveraging AI throughout the entire buying journey—from initial website visits through POC delivery—rather than treating it as a point solution. By automating demo preparation and personalization, SEs can focus their time on strategic thinking and relationship building.
Capturing and Preserving Tribal Knowledge
One of the most practical benefits of AI in pre-sales is its ability to capture knowledge that traditionally walked out the door with departing employees. Modern AI systems can ingest data from Slack conversations, call recordings, Google Drive documents, and other sources automatically.
"The data loss was a lot. Now with AI being there, it's constantly being pulled in automatically," Nalin noted. "So which means the data loss is very low, even if somebody leaves out."
However, he emphasized the importance of curation: "Garbage in, you'll get garbage out, which means like there's got to be still a gatekeeper in terms of what needs to be there."
Upselling and Expansion Opportunities
Demo automation also opens new possibilities for account expansion. When customers have access to only part of a multi-product platform, AI can help create personalized demos of additional features or products using the customer's actual environment data.
"Demo automation is used a lot there, where you are able to give them a slice of what they don't have, personalized for their environment," Nalin explained. This approach excites buyers about expansion opportunities without requiring full product access or extensive manual setup.
Looking Toward the Future
Storylane is pushing the boundaries further with their upcoming AI sales agent that will conduct discovery conversations via video, not just voice. This represents the next evolution in self-serve buying experiences—intelligent agents that can qualify prospects, demonstrate value, and route qualified leads to human SEs for strategic conversations.
The message for today's solutions engineers is clear: embrace AI as a powerful sidekick that handles repetitive tasks and enables better personalization, while doubling down on the uniquely human skills of strategic thinking, relationship building, and complex problem-solving that will always be essential to successful pre-sales outcomes.
Presales LIVE airs every other Tuesday at 8 AM Pacific, 11 AM Eastern, 4 PM GMT. Join the Presales Collective Slack community at presalescollective.com/slack to stay updated on future episodes, and follow the PSC LinkedIn page for upcoming shows.
