What do professional baseball, restaurant technology, AI, and sales leadership have in common?

More than you might think.

In this episode of ChatGTM, hosts Michael Beck and Chad Horn sit down with Erik Wetzel, Vice President of Sales at Buyers Edge Platform, to explore the leadership principles that separate good sales organizations from great ones.

Erik's journey began on the baseball field, where he learned that championships aren't won by swinging for home runs. They're built through consistency, discipline, resilience, and showing up every single day. Today, he brings those same lessons to one of hospitality's fastest-growing organizations, helping restaurant operators solve complex challenges while leading high-performing sales teams across the Buyers Edge Platform ecosystem.

The conversation explores why discovery wins deals, how AI is transforming sales without replacing human leadership, why rejection is a necessary ingredient for growth, and what it really means to build a culture where people thrive.

Whether you lead a sales team, run a restaurant, build technology, or simply want to become a better leader, this episode is packed with practical insights you can put to work immediately.

• Erik's transition from professional baseball to sales leadership
• Why consistency always beats chasing home runs
• The leadership philosophy behind Buyers Edge Platform
• Building trust with restaurant operators
• Why discovery is the foundation of every successful sale
• How great leaders motivate instead of intimidate
• AI's role in the future of sales organizations
• Lessons from John Davie's growth strategy
• Creating resilient sales teams
• Why culture always outperforms fear

If you're building, scaling, or leading a go-to-market organization, this conversation belongs on your playlist.

🎙 Guest
Erik Wetzel
Vice President of Sales
Buyers Edge Platform

Learn more:
https://www.buyersedgeplatform.com

Connect with Erik:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/erik-w-286454230/

Subscribe for more conversations with the executives, founders, operators, and innovators shaping the future of hospitality and restaurant technology.

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#ChatGTM #SalesLeadership #HospitalityTechnology #RestaurantTechnology #BuyersEdgePlatform #Leadership #RevOps #GoToMarket #ArtificialIntelligence #Hospitality

Everyone is talking about AI.

Almost nobody agrees on what an AI agent actually is.

In this episode of ChatGTM, Michael Beck and Chad Horn sit down with Sterling Douglass, Co-Founder & CEO of Chowly, for a conversation that cuts through the hype and focuses on what AI is actually doing inside real businesses today.

Sterling explains the difference between AI workflows and AI agents, why most companies are implementing AI incorrectly, and how Chowly is using AI to help restaurant operators drive more revenue through marketing, online ordering, SEO, Google Ads, and customer engagement. Rather than chasing flashy demos, Sterling shares what it takes to build AI systems that deliver measurable business outcomes.

The conversation also explores Claude Code, prompt engineering, leadership during technological change, AI adoption inside organizations, and why critical thinking has become even more valuable in an AI-first world.

If you're a restaurant operator, founder, technology leader, marketer, or simply trying to understand where AI is headed, this episode is packed with practical insights you can put to work immediately.

In This Episode

• What an AI agent actually is
• AI workflows vs. AI agents
• Why most AI projects fail
• Claude Code and "vibe coding"
• How Chowly is embedding AI into restaurant marketing
• Building products that create measurable outcomes
• AI adoption inside growing companies
• Leadership during rapid technological change
• The future of restaurant technology
• Why critical thinking matters more than ever

About Sterling Douglass

Sterling Douglass is the Co-Founder & CEO of Chowly, a restaurant technology company serving more than 17,000 restaurant locations across the United States. Since founding Chowly in 2015, Sterling has helped transform the company from a POS integration platform into an AI-powered digital commerce and marketing platform focused on helping restaurants grow revenue through online ordering, SEO, Google Ads, loyalty, and guest engagement.

Sterling is also the co-host of the AI for Restaurants podcast alongside Aaron Newton, where they explore practical AI implementation, automation, and the future of restaurant technology without the hype.

Connect with Sterling

LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sterlingddouglass/

Learn more about Chowly
https://www.chowly.com

Listen to AI for Restaurants
https://aiforrestaurants.ai

About ChatGTM

ChatGTM brings together founders, operators, investors, technologists, and industry leaders who are building the future of hospitality, retail, AI, and go-to-market strategy. Hosted by Michael Beck and Chad Horn.

Follow the ChatGTM Podcast:

https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/chatgtm-podcast

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#ChatGTM #SterlingDouglass #Chowly #AIForRestaurants #AIAgents #ArtificialIntelligence #ClaudeAI #Anthropic #RestaurantTechnology #RestaurantMarketing #RestaurantLeadership #HospitalityTechnology #OnlineOrdering #DigitalMarketing #Innovation #Leadership

What if the biggest competitive advantage in your business isn't your technology...

It's your people.

In this episode of ChatGTM, Michael Beck and Chad Horn sit down with Jazmine Charles, Head of People & Partnerships at Disrupt Foods, for a conversation about leadership, culture, AI, and why the best restaurant organizations invest in people before they invest in anything else.

After spending more than 15 years leading sales for Fortune 100 companies, Jazmine now helps shape the culture behind one of the fastest-growing multi-brand restaurant organizations. Her philosophy is simple: build great people, and great businesses follow.

Together they explore why "People Operations" is replacing traditional HR, how AI can empower leaders instead of replacing them, and why every operator should think differently about hiring, onboarding, retention, and leadership.

If you're a restaurant operator, franchisee, hospitality executive, HR leader, or anyone responsible for building high-performing teams, this conversation is packed with practical ideas you can put to work immediately.

• Why Disrupt Foods believes in an "Aces Only" culture

• You can't scale a culture you haven't defined

• Building leaders instead of just managing employees

• Using AI to make better operational decisions

• Why data should support people—not replace them

• Creating an employee experience people don't want to leave

• The Disrupt Business Academy and developing tomorrow's entrepreneurs

• Why community impact is part of great leadership

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jazminecharles/

Learn more about Disrupt Foods:
https://www.disruptfoods.com (Update with official website if different.)

🎙️ Follow ChatGTM on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/chatgtm-podcast

New conversations every week with the leaders shaping restaurant technology, hospitality, AI, operations, customer experience, and the future of business.

If you enjoyed this episode:

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📤 Share it with someone building great teams.

00:00 Introduction

02:20 Meet Jazmine Charles

06:30 Why People Operations Matters

14:30 Building an "Aces Only" Culture

22:00 AI That Helps People Lead Better

31:00 Community, Leadership & Disrupt Business Academy

44:15 Rapid Fire

52:00 Final Thoughts

#ChatGTM #RestaurantTechnology #HospitalityTechnology #Leadership #PeopleOperations #CompanyCulture #RestaurantLeadership #EmployeeExperience #ArtificialIntelligence #FutureOfWork #Hospitality #DisruptFoods

Everyone says the future of marketing is digital.

But what if the biggest opportunity isn't choosing between physical and digital... it's combining them?

In this episode of ChatGTM, Michael Beck and Chad Horn sit down with Betsy Davis, Chief Marketing Officer at Sandy Alexander, to explore how AI is transforming direct mail, restaurant marketing, CRM integration, and customer engagement.

This isn't a conversation about saving print. It's about making physical marketing smarter.

Betsy shares how leading restaurant, retail, and healthcare brands are combining AI, personalized direct mail, QR codes, CRM data, and automation to create measurable customer experiences that cut through today's digital noise.

• Why digital fatigue is creating new opportunities for direct mail

• How AI-powered QR codes create real customer conversations

• Why restaurants are returning to physical menus

• The technology behind managing thousands of menu variations

• How CRM integration is making direct mail measurable

• Why marketers should think "phygital," not physical vs. digital

• The role AI will play in the future of customer engagement

Whether you're a restaurant operator, marketer, retailer, technology leader, or simply curious about where customer experience is headed, this episode is packed with practical insights you can put to work immediately.

🔗 LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/davisbetsy/

🌐 https://sandyalexander.com

🔗 LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/company/sandy-alexander-inc/

Applebee's – https://www.applebees.com

First Watch – https://www.firstwatch.com

Olive Garden – https://www.olivegarden.com

Darden Restaurants – https://www.darden.com

Salesforce – https://www.salesforce.com

Universal Studios – https://www.universalorlando.com

🎙 Follow the ChatGTM Podcast on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/chatgtm-podcast

If you enjoyed this episode:

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📤 Share this episode with someone who cares about the future of marketing, hospitality, restaurant technology, or customer experience.

#ChatGTM #HospitalityTechnology #RestaurantTechnology #MarketingTechnology #CustomerExperience #ArtificialIntelligence #DirectMail #RetailTechnology #RestaurantMarketing #Innovation

Most leaders talk strategy. Few know how to lead when things break.

In this episode of ChatGTM, Fred LeFranc shares what it actually means to stay in the fire as a leader. This is not surface-level leadership advice. This is about pressure, ego, failure, and the internal work most executives avoid.

Fred is CEO of Results Thru Strategy and a self-described Chaos Strategist. He works with founders and executives navigating growth, breakdown, and everything in between.

This conversation goes deep into what separates performative leadership from real leadership.

What you’ll learn:

• Why most leadership advice is surface-level and misses the point
• The concept of “staying in the fire” and why it matters
• How great leaders balance control and surrender
• Why emotional alignment (head, heart, gut) drives better decisions
• What founders get wrong about growth and control
• How to lead through chaos without losing yourself
• The real reason most companies struggle with culture and retention

Fred also shares personal experiences that reshaped how he sees leadership, including navigating adversity, rebuilding identity, and redefining success.

If you’re building, leading, or scaling anything, this one hits different.

Guest: Fred LeFranc
CEO & Chaos Strategist, Results Thru Strategy

Subscribe to ChatGTM for more conversations on GTM, leadership, AI, and growth strategy.

#leadership #gtm #marketingstrategy #founders #businessgrowth #ai #executiveleadership #entrepreneurship #podcast

Most restaurant operators don’t pay for communities. So why are they paying $500 a year for this one?

Danny Klein (QSR, FSR, QSR+) breaks down why operator-only access, real conversations, and zero vendor noise are creating something the industry hasn’t had before.

This isn’t about content. It’s about connection.

We go deep on:
• Why he intentionally banned vendors (for now)
• Why the WhatsApp group is the real product
• The psychology behind charging operators
• What surprised him most after launch
• How small operators are getting access to top-tier leaders
• Why content is actually the least valuable part

Danny also shares how QSR+ came from a “if I get fired” idea… and turned into one of the most interesting experiments in restaurant media.

If you care about community, GTM strategy, or where media is headed next, this is worth your time.

Subscribe to ChatGTM for more conversations on marketing, AI, and go-to-market strategy.

#restaurantindustry #communitybuilding #gtmstrategy #hospitality #b2bmarketing #founderstory #qsr #networking #businessstrategy

Most companies say they’re “listening to the customer.” They’re not.
This episode breaks down how AI is finally making customer voice usable and actionable.

Jason Riggs, Chief Commercial & Product Officer at Audivi AI, joins ChatGTM to unpack what most GTM teams get wrong about customer insight and how AI is changing the game.

This isn’t about dashboards or surveys. It’s about turning real conversations into revenue.

Michael Beck and Chad Horn dig into how operators should actually think about voice-of-customer, where AI fits, and why most teams are still guessing instead of knowing.

What you’ll learn:
• Why most “voice of customer” strategies fail
• How AI can actually understand customer conversations
• The gap between data collection and action
• How to turn insights into revenue-driving decisions
• What GTM teams should be doing differently right now

If you’re in marketing, sales, or GTM leadership, this is a shift you can’t ignore.

Subscribe to ChatGTM for more conversations on marketing, AI, and go-to-market strategy.

#ChatGTM #AI #VoiceOfCustomer #GTMStrategy #MarketingStrategy #CustomerInsights #B2BMarketing #RevenueGrowth

Restaurants are losing billions not because of bad food… but because they don’t know who their best customers are.

In this episode of the ChatGTM Podcast, Michael Beck and Chad Horn sit down with Ryan Volberg, Founder & CEO of Guestologie, to break down why loyalty is broken in hospitality and what it actually takes to fix it.

Ryan shares the moment that sparked Guestologie, realizing he was treated like a first-time guest after 50+ visits and why that problem still exists across the industry today.

This conversation goes deep on why most “loyalty programs” don’t create loyalty, how AI is changing guest recognition, and why restaurants are over-investing in new customers while quietly losing their best ones.

If you care about retention, personalization, or building real customer relationships at scale, this one hits.

Key Takeaways:
• Why 36% of restaurant customers churn every year
• The difference between loyalty and rewards (and why it matters)
• How AI can predict your best customers after just one visit
• Why “status” beats discounts every time
• How restaurants can create Michelin-level experiences at scale
• The hidden reason your regulars quietly stop coming back

Ryan has spent his career building category-defining companies from cloud POS to earned wage access and now Guestologie, where he’s tackling one of hospitality’s oldest problems: truly knowing the guest.

Subscribe to ChatGTM for more conversations on GTM, marketing, AI, and operator strategy.

#ChatGTM #RestaurantMarketing #CustomerRetention #AIinBusiness #Hospitality #GTMStrategy #CustomerExperience #Loyalty #MarketingStrategy