Show Notes
AI can pull the datasheet, cross-reference the part, and draft the follow-up in minutes. What it cannot do is understand where a customer's roadmap is heading two years out, or know which application risk will surface before it shows up in testing. The rep who sees around corners is still the one who wins the business. The question is how you build that edge when the tools keep changing. In this bonus episode of the Leadership in Manufacturing Podcast, host Sannah Vinding continues her conversation with Hunter Starr, CPMR, President at Performance Technical Sales, to explore what separates the reps who stay relevant from the ones who won't as AI reshapes the technical sales workflow. This five-minute follow-up to episode 138 captures one focused exchange. Hunter shares how his team at Performance Technical Sales is actually using AI today: identifying cross-reference parts, building quick email templates, and gathering customer intelligence. Then he pivots to a framework he shared at a recent sales conference, drawn from Jensen Huang's take on who will be the smartest professionals in the next decade. The answer is not the coders. Hunter and Sannah land in the same place. AI handles the front end. Judgment still closes the deal. The rep who combines two or three strong skills with AI fluency builds an edge that compounds over time. Hunter makes the case that the rep's role as a guide, seeing around corners for customers and anticipating pitfalls AI cannot see, is more important now than ever. This bonus episode is for manufacturers reps, rep firm owners, field salespeople, FAEs, product marketers, and sales leaders in electronics and component distribution who want to understand where to invest their time as AI compresses the workflow. In this episode, you will learn: How Hunter's team is using AI for cross-referencing, email templates, and customer intelligence What Jensen Huang said about who will be the smartest professionals in the next decade Why combining two or three strong skills with AI fluency creates a compounding advantage What AI cannot replace in technical sales: roadmap foresight, application risk, and human judgment Why the definition of "smart" in technical sales is being redefined in real time Where to shift your practice time now that research and first-draft work are no longer the bottleneck About the guest: Hunter Starr, CPMR, is President of Performance Technical Sales, a manufacturers rep firm serving OEM engineers across the Carolinas. He supports customers across industrial, defense, medical, and agricultural markets, and was recognized as a Rising Star by the Electronic Representatives Association. Hosted by: Sannah Vinding is an engineer, B2B marketing strategist, leadership educator, and host of the Leadership in Manufacturing Podcast. She helps leaders across electronics, manufacturing, and supply chain lead technical teams with clarity, trust, and confidence as complexity and AI reshape how work gets done. Listen to more episodes, sign up for the weekly leadership newsletter, and explore insights at: https://leadershipinmanufacturing.com/hello/ Stay curious. Keep learning.
More from Leadership in Manufacturing
Your company can have the right product for a customer's application and still be overlooked if the customer cannot find the information they need. In this solo episode of Leadership in Manufacturing, Sannah Vinding shares why she wrote Visible or Invisible: How Industrial B2B Companies Win Buyers When AI Builds the Shortlist. She looks at how customers move between AI tools, websites, technical documents, and distributor pages, and how teams can make their knowledge more useful along the way. You will hear: The three buying jobs: Discover, Prove Fit, and De-risk Why product explanations need clear conditions, limitations, and technical review How engineering, product management, product marketing, sales, customer service, reps, and distribution contribute to reliable answers The five Visible GTM foundations: Product Truth, Governed Knowledge, Signal Quality, Workflow Readiness, and Human Trust How to start with one product family and one recurring customer question Where human expertise helps customers check assumptions and make decisions Practical takeaway: Choose a question your team hears repeatedly. Look for the answer where customers research your product. Agree who writes it, who reviews and approves it, and who keeps it current. Check whether it helps before expanding the work. “AI helps prepare, people help customers decide.” Sannah Vinding ABOUT THE BOOK #1 New Release in Industrial Marketing on Amazon. The book includes access to a companion toolkit with interactive templates, worksheets, and scorecards. Access instructions are inside the book. Foreword by Walter Tobin. Learn more: https://visibleorinvisible.com Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HMFQGWJW Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HMFCJJKJ
Brooks Mattice, Vice President of Sales and Partner at MFC Group, joins Sannah Vinding to discuss how leaders prepare sales teams for growth through structured training, practical onboarding, feedback, and AI-supported tools.
Colin Strother, Executive Vice President at Rochester Electronics, joins Sannah Vinding to discuss how trust, authenticity, and customer commitment shape leadership across a global electronics business. Colin shares how Rochester supports customers across the semiconductor ecosystem and why customer experience cannot depend on one channel. Some customers want to meet face to face. Others want to pick up the phone or use a digital platform. The leadership challenge is creating an experience that supports all three while keeping trust at the center. The conversation also covers how leaders learn from mistakes, why self-awareness and composure matter, how confidence helps new leaders grow, and what picking up a piece of trash can teach us about doing the right thing when nobody is looking. In this episode, you will learn: Why trust has to come before influence How authenticity helps leaders turn a vision into results through other people Why customers want choice across personal and digital channels How global leaders build local teams and relationships Why self-awareness and composure matter when information moves quickly How confidence and support help new leaders step forward How small visible actions reinforce leadership standards About the guest: Colin Strother is Executive Vice President at Rochester Electronics. He began his career through an electronics apprenticeship in Scotland and has since worked across semiconductor distribution, customer experience, sales, and global team leadership.
Riad Nizam, President of Master Electronics, joins Sannah Vinding on the Leadership in Manufacturing Podcast to discuss how distribution leaders build trust as AI speeds up work across the electronics industry. Riad shares how Master Electronics builds a relationship-first culture through communication, decision-making, feedback, mindset, and customer and supplier trust. He also talks about how AI is helping the organization think differently, bigger, and faster, while people still own the final judgment. This conversation is for leaders in electronics distribution, manufacturing, supplier relationships, sales, product, and technical teams who want to move faster without losing trust, communication, or human judgment. In this episode, you will learn: How Master Electronics supports faster decisions with practical decision tools Why trust is still one of the strongest advantages in electronics distribution Where communication breaks down between suppliers, distributors, and customers What customers ask for now around tariffs, compliance, supply chain, pricing, and lead times How AI can help teams think differently without replacing human decision-making Why mindset, humility, and positive energy are hard to train later How leaders can make feedback easier by asking for it first Why culture has to grow from both the top and the team About the guest: Riad Nizam is President of Master Electronics, a family-owned and operated electronics distributor with more than 50 years of history. Master Electronics was founded by Ike Nizam in 1967. Riad has held leadership roles across sales, product marketing, general management, and executive leadership. Hosted by Sannah Vinding, engineer, product marketing and GTM leader, and host of the Leadership in Manufacturing Podcast. Stay curious. Keep learning.
Nate Witsaman, Manager of New Market Development at DigiKey, joins Sannah Vinding on the Leadership in Manufacturing Podcast to discuss curiosity, communication, feedback, remote leadership, and developing people in technical teams. Good managers do not wait until something goes wrong to build trust with their people. Nate shares how he thinks about the shift from managing tasks to developing people. He talks about asking better questions, learning how people want to be recognized, making space for quieter voices, and building relationships before the hard moments arrive. In this episode, you will learn: Why curiosity is one of the strongest management skills How managers can build trust before a difficult conversation Why recognition and feedback need to be personal How remote leaders can avoid becoming only transactional Why quieter team members may need room and a direct invitation to speak How slowing down can help teams improve before pressure rises Why safe practice helps future leaders grow