Ep. 110 – Building AI Fluency, Trust, and Modern Sales Leadership with Cherilynn Castleman – Part 1

In this episode of Selling the Cloud, Cherilynn Castleman, enterprise sales leader turned strategic coach and Harvard instructor, joins Mark Petruzzi and KK Anderson to break down what AI fluency really means for modern sales teams.Rather than treating AI as a shortcut or replacement, Cherilynn reframes it as an amplifier of human strengths like perspective, empathy, and trust. She shares practical, Monday-ready routines that help sellers show up with stronger points of view, deeper buyer relevance, and clearer deal strategy.This conversation also dives into the science of trust in a noisy, AI-saturated world. Cherilynn explains how the questions we ask and how we listen directly influence buyer confidence, especially inside complex buying committees. From discovery to prospecting to executive conversations, this episode focuses on how sellers and leaders can create credibility without adding more noise.What You’ll Learn:AI as a Daily Sales Discipline: How a simple 15 minute daily AI prep routine helps sellers develop POVs, anticipate change, and continuously improve.POV Development at Scale: A repeatable framework for triangulating industry, company, and persona insights using AI.Making AI Revenue Relevant: Why leaders should evaluate AI through insights, context, and business impact instead of activity metrics.Trust in the Age of AI Noise: How better questions and deeper listening create credibility when buyers are overwhelmed with automation.High Connection Discovery Questions: How to use AI to reframe discovery questions that trigger trust, openness, and buyer engagement.Prospecting Without Pitching: Why offering value through insights, case studies, and tools beats asking for meetings.Navigating Modern Buying Groups: How to adapt when new stakeholders like CFOs enter late-stage conversations.Financial Fluency for Sellers: Why precise numbers, not rounded estimates, matter when speaking with executive buyers.Key Topics:AI fluency as a mindset, not a toolsetDaily AI routines for sellers and managersPOV creation using LinkedIn profiles, 10Ks, and industry analysisRelationship selling and the science of trustDiscovery questions that increase buyer confidenceAvoiding buyer defensiveness and ethical AI useExecutive conversations and CFO expectationsFinancial storytelling with insight, context, and impactGuest Spotlight: Cherilynn CastlemanCherilynn Castleman is an enterprise sales leader, strategic coach, and Harvard instructor focused on helping sellers become trusted advisors through AI fluency and relationship-driven selling. She is the creator of highly rated AI and sales programs available on Udemy Business and leads large learning communities through weekly live sessions and workshops.Cherilynn is on a mission to equip one million women in sales and leadership with the confidence, fluency, and playbooks needed to thrive in modern go-to-market roles.Resources & Mentions:Course: Smart Tips Sales – Master Relationship Driven Selling via AIBook: Post-Pandemic SellingResearch Reference: Dr. Jane Dutton on High Quality ConnectionsConcepts: AI fluency, POV selling, high connection discovery, financial storytelling🎧 Listen now and follow Selling the Cloud for more insights on modern sales leadership, AI-driven GTM strategy, and building trust at scale.Mark (00:31)to Selling the Cloud. Our guest today is Cheryl Lynn Castleman, an enterprise sales leader turned strategic coach and Harvard instructor as well. She helps teams become trusted advisors with practical AI fluency and relationship skills. She also builds accessible learning at scale as a new to me creator. Her course, Smart Tips, Sales,Master Relationships Driven Selling Via AI is super highly rated and available versus a via Udemy business. Her programs focus on outcomes you can see on Monday morning. Better discovery, cleaner deal strategy, clear next steps. She has coached thousands of sellers and leaders, lifted promotion rates through hands-on coaching.and built a large learning community through weekly live sessions and workshops. She teaches simple operating rhythms that free time for customer conversations rather than adding more dashboards. And she's on a mission to equip 1 million women in sales and leadership with the fluency, confidence and playbooks to thrive. Here are three topics we'll cover today. AI fluency as a daily mindset.How to use AI to amplify strengths and turn prep into a repeatable routine that shows up every day in results. Relationship selling and the science of trust, the questions and behaviors that build credibility fast with modern buying groups, and leading as a CRO in a time of extremely rapid change. How to focus to team, communicate change, improve impact without adding any additional noise.Sherlyn, we're so happy and proud to have you here. Welcome to Selling the Cloud.Cherilynn Castleman (02:13)Thank you, Mark. Thanks, KK. I'm thrilled to be here today.Mark (02:16)All right, we're gonna take you right ...