Vol. VI ★ No. 27 Case Study ★ 2 of 3
Case 2★2026★Squire · Account Executive

Squire

AI vs. the Empty Funnel

Every seller's first problem is the same: not enough of the right conversations. I brought AI into my workflow to fix the "right" part, and the volume followed.

My Role

Crichton, Full-Cycle AE

I own the whole cycle, from first touch to signed contract, with a quota on the line every month.

The Challenge

A Thin Top of Funnel

Hand-researching prospects one at a time caps how many good conversations fit into a week.

01 The Situation

At Squire I run the full sales cycle: prospecting, discovery, demo, close. When you own every stage, the top of the funnel is where you feel the squeeze first. Research eats hours, generic outreach gets ignored, and a slow month at the top becomes a missed quarter at the bottom.

The obvious move with AI is to send more. I didn't want more noise. I wanted to spend the same hours on better-fit accounts with better-fit messages.

02 What I Did

  1. Segment before you sendUse CRM data to sort prospects into segments with shared traits and shared problems, instead of one big list.
  2. Let AI do the researchUse AI tools for the account research and first-draft messaging that used to take most of the day, then edit for what's true and specific.
  3. Message by segmentGive each segment its own angle, then watch which ones start real conversations and double down on those.
  4. Measure itTrack top-of-funnel activity month over month so the gains are measured, not vibes.

03 The Results

Top-of-funnel activity rose about 30% month over month, and I'm at 120% of quota. The bigger takeaway went into my column on AI in marketing: once AI makes outreach cheap, the edge is knowing who to aim it at.

★ By the Numbers ★
+30%
Top of Funnel, MoM
120%
of Quota
1
Seller, Full Cycle