Checking the work · for sales professionals
Checking AI output in sales
In sales, an error from AI often reaches the buyer directly. A research summary can name the wrong executive. A call recap can state a discount the rep never offered. A competitive claim can describe a rival’s product as it was two years ago. The buyer notices, and trust drops.
Checking the work means reading AI output the way a careful sales manager reviews a rep’s deal notes. You confirm each account fact against a current source. You match every figure to the approved price list. You compare each summary against what was said.
Where it comes up
Account research before a call
Confirm names, titles, recent announcements, and financial details against the company’s own site or filings. Models often present outdated leadership or merged facts from similar companies as current.
A call summary for the CRM
Compare the summary with the transcript or your notes. Check that next steps, dates, and any pricing discussed match what was said. Remove commitments the buyer did not make.
Competitive claims in a proposal
Check each statement about a competitor against a current, approved source such as your company’s competitive guide. Claims like "they do not support" or "only we offer" need a dated source or they come out.
What it looks like at each band
E1 · Foundational
Reads output for tone and obvious mistakes. Tends to accept account facts and figures that sound right. May send research or a recap to a buyer without checking it against a source.
E2 · Proficient
Checks names, titles, figures, and dates against sources before use. Compares call summaries with notes or transcripts. Removes claims that cannot be confirmed.
E3 · Distinguished
Checks in proportion to risk. An internal prep note gets a read. A proposal or a pricing summary gets line-by-line review. Looks for what the output left out, such as an objection the buyer raised. Asks the model to flag its uncertain statements and checks those first.
E4 · Exceptional
Sets the review standard for the team, such as which documents need a second reader and which claims need sign-off. Can explain why an output is wrong. Catches subtle errors, such as a correct price applied to the wrong contract term.
Common mistakes
Trusting research about people
Models confuse people with similar names and report former roles as current. Confirm a prospect’s title and company on a current source before you use it in a message.
Accepting a summary that sounds positive
AI summaries tend to smooth over hesitation. If the buyer said "maybe next quarter," the summary should not say "agreed to move forward."
Repeating an unverified competitor claim
A wrong statement about a competitor can reach that competitor and harm your credibility with the buyer. Use only claims from a current, approved source.
A worked example
Reviewing an AI-drafted account brief before a first meeting with a manufacturing company.
Skim the brief, note the three priorities it lists, and use them as the meeting agenda. The brief says the company’s new CEO announced an expansion into two new countries.
The CEO name, the expansion, and the priorities may be wrong or out of date. Opening a meeting with a wrong fact about the buyer’s own company damages trust at the first step.
List every named person, event, and figure in the brief. Check the leadership page and the latest press releases on the company’s site. The CEO is correct, but the expansion announcement covered one country, not two. Correct it, drop the priorities that have no source, and keep the two the company has stated publicly.
The rep traces each fact to a source, corrects the error, and removes what cannot be supported. The meeting starts from facts the buyer will recognize.
The full study guide for this skill, for every role, is Checking the work. The other five skills for sales professionals are on the AI skills for sales professionals page. A one-page summary is in the AI fact-checking checklist.
See where you stand
The free check grades checking the work and the other five skills in about fifteen minutes. Nobody sees the grade but you.
Then build the skills and prove it. The three steps for sales professionals list the courses and templates that fit the work.