“AI is not the silver bullet that a lot of marketing companies will have you believe,” according to Tara-Jane Sloane, co-founder and managing director of Telev8, who shared some refreshingly realistic advice with IT service providers (ITSPs) at ChannelCon EMEA.
AI might be the buzzword dominating every conference stage, she said, but it’s not going to magically solve your lead-generation problems or guarantee new clients. Instead, Sloane urged the audience to look beyond automation and rediscover the human element that drives real connection, trust and conversion.
Her message to MSPs trying to grow in a crowded, commoditised market was simple: Technology can support your pipeline—it cannot be your pipeline.
An Overcrowded Market
Every ITSP knows how hard it is to stand out. Clients are loyal, competition is fierce and decision-makers are overwhelmed. Sloane broke down the brutal reality of what ITSPs are up against. “An average mid-sized, small to medium company will get on average 35 to 60 cold emails every month. They will get 32 to 48 MSP calls per month…and this has gone to 12 to 15 a week,” she said.
With that level of saturation, your carefully crafted outreach is likely just one of dozens landing in the same inbox. The average contact rate with a decision-maker in the IT space, she revealed, is just 4%.
“You may be the 15th MSP calling that engineer that week, and there’s already been 14 other MSPs before you,” she said. However, Sloane’s advice wasn’t to give up— but rather to get smarter, more deliberate, and crucially, more human.
The Myth of the Silver Bullet
Elsewhere, many ITSPs desperate to grow are being courted by marketing agencies selling the dream of effortless automation. “They are inundated with marketing companies all claiming to sell the silver bullet. They are saying, ‘Give me £5,000, £10,000, and I will automate your pipeline. You will be inundated with email activity.’ News flash—it’s the biggest BS I’ve ever heard,” Sloane said.
The problem, she said, is that AI has “a loss of nuance” and “no tone of voice.” It doesn’t understand psychology or the emotional dynamics that drive real buying decisions. And unless you have in-house staff to manage and mentor those systems, it’s not automation, it’s abdication. Putting it simply: Don’t outsource common sense.
“AI is not human intervention. It does not understand the psychology of your end users unless you have resources internally to monitor and mentor it,” she said.
The Lure of “Intent Data”
Another hot marketing trend is intent data. “Marketing companies will come to you and say, ‘I am going to give you the moon on a stick… your target base will download a white paper… they’ll be hot to trot.’ Flashlight warning!”
Sloane shared an example of a major distributor who spent heavily on an agency’s “intent data,” only to find that supposed leads weren’t even decision-makers and had no intent at all. Worse, mishandled intent data can introduce GDPR risks.
Her verdict? “Intent data is not all that it’s meant to be. You have a moral obligation to make sure your data is protected and in the right hands,” she said.
For ITSPs, this is a reminder that data doesn’t replace dialogue. Marketing signals are useful, but they’re only meaningful when combined with personal engagement.
The Decline of Human Connection
Sloane’s central argument was that telemarketing and voice-to-voice contact still matter enormously—especially in a sector where trust and reliability are everything.
Sloane supported her claim with hard data:
- 75% of prospects were motivated to join a meeting following the cold call
- Expect to make at least six telephone calls to get hold of that decision maker
- 80% of cold calls will go straight to voicemail and 90% of those voicemails won’t return your call
Those numbers also demonstrate that success is still a numbers game. And the human voice has unmatched power to cut through digital noise.
The Psychology of Selling
Beyond process and tools, Sloane explored the psychology that underpins effective selling. She reminded ITSPs that there are four personality types—analytical, expressive, driver and amiable—and most people sell according to their own personality, not the buyer’s.
The lesson? Adapt your approach. An analytical buyer wants data and proof; an expressive one wants enthusiasm and vision. Without that adjustment, “you are leaving 75% of business on the table.”
This kind of self-awareness, she argued, is what separates a good salesperson from a great one.
The Winning Formula: Digital + Human
In closing, Sloane offered a blueprint to ITSPs. “The winning strategy blends digital with human intervention, but you have to be consistently on.”
Automation can make your outreach smarter and more efficient, but only people can make it connect. AI can pre-qualify, process and prioritise, but it can’t persuade, empathise or build trust.
“Telemarketing is not dead,” she said. “Consultative, high-value selling will always rely on human beings.”
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