From Missed Leads to Closed Deals: Unlocking Sales Growth with AI

Big energy today with guest Josh Yonke (yes, you nailed the pronunciation) — co-founder & CRO of Leashed AI and a long-time operator in franchising and services (Thumbtack’s first sales hire; helped scale to $100M+). Josh and Dave get real about how to actually use conversational AI to drive sales ROI — not the “spin up a chatbot and pray” version, but the integrated, on-brand, compliant, and relentlessly iterative version.

Josh’s backstory sets the tone: military family roots (Navy dad), four high schools, zero fear of striking up conversations — basically, the DNA of a top seller. He and partner Russ Burnett spun Leashed AI out from earlier work to focus on practical, revenue-producing automations: inbound/outbound AI calls, 24/7 web agents and chat that can book, SMS/email cadences, social DM responders across Meta, Google LSA responders, and even a roofing estimator that quotes straight from aerial imagery.

What We Cover (and Why It Matters)
The 3 ingredients of useful AI: great inputs (brand knowledge), continuous training/QA, and an operator who actually understands sales math and objection handling.

Implementation that sticks: plug AI into your CRM, calendar, and phone systems so it can log notes, set tasks, and adjust cadences automatically — the follow-through humans intend to do.
Compliance or consequences: get explicit opt-ins for SMS and automated calls; the “we haven’t been caught” strategy is not a strategy when fines can stack fast.

After-hours wins: most bookings happen when humans are off-duty. 24/7, on-brand AI captures those opportunities in home services and franchise development.

Mid-funnel momentum: re-engage no-shows, answer FDD basics, and keep qualified prospects moving without making reps hike the ball and block.

Customer experience > hold music: if AI can solve the problem now, don’t make customers wait 45 minutes to talk to a human who can’t.
Augment > replace: use AI to eliminate minutiae so your best reps spend time selling — then iterate faster than your competition.

Partner Tease
Dave hints at fresh collaboration between The Advisory Board and Leashed AI — announcements coming soon.

Connect with Josh & Leashed AI
Site: LeashedAI.com

Josh direct: 385-888-6457 (main line routes to his AI after hours — fitting, right?)

Sponsor Love
Huge thanks to ClientTether for powering this episode. If you care about speed-to-lead, compliant follow-up, and real pipeline lift, ClientTether’s the quiet force that makes the loud results possible.
Pull Quotes
“AI is only as good as the operator and the inputs.”
“Identify the minutiae, then automate it. Let reps do what only humans can do.”
“Adoption, not hype, is the next big thing.”