Beyond the Hype: Lessons Learned from my Recent Conference and Our Solution-Focused Approach to AI

I'm Greg Collier, Director of Product and Operations at TechSkills. I was fortunate enough to attend the recent MSP and Channel conference in Las Vegas this week, and the biggest lesson I brought back is that the conversation around Artificial Intelligence (AI) has profoundly matured. While AI is still the main topic, there is a collective sense of "AI fatigue".

The core takeaway from the conference is clear: we must shift the conversation from what AI is to what problem a customer is trying to solve with AI. This realization is the foundation of our solution-focused approach at TechSkills.

The AI Consultative Imperative: The Conference Reality Check

The days of selling rote AI products and expecting easy recurring annual revenue (ARR) are over. The conference made it evident that AI is a deeply consultative sell.

Partners who focused on simple product sales, like CoPilot, expected automatic renewals a year later. However, the reality of low renewal rates was shocking. When asked about this churn, not a single channel partner or MSP could articulate the reason why. This shows a massive gap between product deployment and genuine customer value. If our customers don't see a clear return on their AI investment, they simply won't renew and will go elsewhere. 

Driving Education and Discovery: Our Solution

The low renewal rates demonstrate that the current sales model is failing. The lesson for us at TechSkills is that we need to be asking better questions. More importantly, we must listen to the answers and take what customers are saying, reflect back, and check for understanding.

Our approach focuses on a consultative discovery phase to uncover the customer's true need, not just their want. Without this, we risk pushing products that are "incredibly irrelevant" to their actual business needs.

The conference highlighted that most customers fundamentally misunderstand three critical areas of AI deployment, which we can immediately address as their solution provider:

1. Deployment Issues: The complex issues and challenges that come with any AI deployment.

2. Relevance to roles: Customers really don’t understand how to truly “squeeze the juice” from AI and get the most value out of their deployments.

3. Risk Management: The immediate and serious risks posed by shadow AI (the use of unauthorized AI tools within the organization) which threatens their data and compliance.

This lack of understanding represents a massive skills gap in the marketplace, which hinders clear risk assessment and successful adoption of AI technologies.

The Opportunity for Long-Term Success

Don't let your AI investment follow the trend of low renewal rates due to a lack of genuine value. Based on the insights from the conference, TechSkills has a significant competitive advantage to help customers navigate this complex landscape.

By focusing on a consultative, educational approach that proactively addresses risks and deployment realities, I believe we can ensure you move Beyond the Hype and achieve true, long-term success with your AI initiatives.