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CVSN Business Innovation Accelerator: Advisory Council Feedback – LeadSmart Session

LeadSmart Technologies Session
Post-session survey for the Innovation Advisory Council

Thank you for reviewing the LeadSmart Innovation Accelerator Session. LeadSmart is an Enterprise Growth Platform for distributors and manufacturers. It pulls fragmented data (ERP, e-commerce, marketing, spreadsheets, and what lives in people's heads) into one connected view of the customer, then uses AI to surface opportunities and risks that would otherwise stay hidden. Kevin Brown, CEO and Co-Founder, was the featured innovator.

This survey gathers structured industry feedback to help determine:
  • Whether a connected customer intelligence platform fits heavy duty distribution
  • Where it creates operational value and where it falls short
  • What would have to be true for the industry to adopt it
  • How LeadSmart should approach heavy duty if they enter this market

Estimated time: 7-10 minutes.
 
SECTION 1 – Contact Information
SECTION 2 – How You Participated
Your answers help us understand whether feedback comes from the live session or from watching the edited recording.
 
6. How did you engage with this session? *This question is required.
7. If you participated live, how prepared did you feel going into the session?
Skip if you only watched the recording
SECTION 3 – Your Customer Data Today
Kevin's core argument is that an ERP transaction is a 'rear view mirror' of one moment, while your customer actually has four journeys with you: transactional, marketing, e-commerce, and interpersonal. These questions test that premise against your business.
 
8. Where does your customer information currently live? (Select all that apply)
  *This question is required.
9. How complete is your picture of a given customer today? *This question is required.
10. Have you ever lost a customer and only afterward realized there were warning signs in your data? *This question is required.
SECTION 4 – CRM and Adoption History
Kevin reported that roughly 70% of LeadSmart's customers had never used a CRM before, and that a large share of the rest had tried one and failed. He argued adoption, not software, is the real problem.
 
11. What has been your organization's experience with CRM? *This question is required.
12. If a CRM or similar tool has failed or underperformed in your organization, what was the primary reason? (Select up to two) *This question is required.
SECTION 5 – Questions from LeadSmart
Kevin asked the council directly what makes heavy duty unique and what he would need to build for this market. These questions extend that conversation to the full council.
 
14. Which of these heavy duty specific capabilities would matter most to you? (Select up to three) *This question is required.
SECTION 6 – Will the Salesperson Act?
Mike Aversa asked the sharpest question of the session: the entire value depends on a salesperson actually acting on what the system tells them. Kevin's answer was that visibility at every level of the organization changes behavior, and that over time people either elevate their game or elevate themselves out.
 
16. In your organization, if a salesperson received a daily alert saying a customer had stopped buying a category, how likely is it they would act on it? *This question is required.
17. Do you agree with Kevin's view that organization-wide visibility (owner down to salesperson) is enough to change sales behavior? *This question is required.
18. Is AI likely to reduce the need for salespeople in heavy duty distribution, or mainly to make them more effective? *This question is required.
SECTION 7 – Data Readiness and Access
Kevin's position: you do not need perfect data to start. LeadSmart works with everything from weekly CSV exports up to full live API connections, and he called this the 'crawl walk run' approach.
 
19. Kevin said one of the most common hesitations he hears is: 'I need to have my data perfect to move ahead with AI.' Is that a real blocker in your organization? *This question is required.
20. How comfortable would your organization be granting a technology partner access to your ERP, e-commerce, and marketing data? *This question is required.
21. Kevin's other common hesitation: 'I am too busy to take on a big project like this.' How real is that constraint for you? Kevin's other common hesitation: 'I am too busy to take on a big project like this.' How real is that constraint for you? *This question is required.
SECTION 8 – Where LeadSmart Could Succeed
23. Kevin argued that the biggest opportunity is capturing knowledge from the retiring 'silver tsunami' generation before it walks out the door. How valuable would that capability be to your business? *This question is required.
24. Which LeadSmart capabilities would be most valuable to your organization? (Select up to three) *This question is required.
SECTION 9 – Where LeadSmart Could Struggle
This is the most useful feedback an innovator can receive. Please be direct.
 
25. What is the biggest obstacle to a platform like LeadSmart working in your business? (Select up to two) *This question is required.
26. Kevin's buying advice was that most vendors who call themselves a 'platform' are not one, and that you should ask what you can build or change on your own without them. Applying that test, does LeadSmart pass? *This question is required.
SECTION 10 – Overall Industry Fit
 
27. Overall, how would you rate LeadSmart's relevance to heavy duty distribution? *This question is required.
28. Would you personally like to explore LeadSmart further? *This question is required.
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