AWS is stepping up its AI sales strategy as the industry looks to get a return on the big bets they made on the tech.
Good morning. The FBI said it is investigating “what appears to be an attempted assassination” of former President Donald Trump. Trump was uninjured following shots that were fired near his golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday, according to his campaign and the US Secret Service.
Here’s what we know about the shooting suspect, who is in law enforcement custody.
Meanwhile, in today’s newsletter, we’re looking at how AWS is ramping up its sales team to pitch customers on AI.
What’s on deck:
Markets: It’s not legal, but that doesn’t stop the rich from doing it to keep their fortunes growing.
Tech: He oversees a Google cofounder’s fortune. Now his playbook is for sale.
Business: Welcome to a new era of jobs: the portfolio career.
But first, coffee is for closers.The big storySell, sell, sell
When it comes to the AI revolution, building is only half the battle.
After drawing scrutiny from investors about their massive investments in generative AI, tech companies are prioritizing getting returns on their big bets.
At Amazon Web Services, that’s meant a new internal sales campaign focused on its AI offerings, writes Business Insider’s Eugene Kim.
The three-pronged strategy, dubbed “Find One, Launch One, Ramp One”, is about selling, installing, and generating revenue for Amazon’s AI assistant, Q, and AI platform, Bedrock.
A key piece of the plan is obviously AWS’ salespeople, who are being incentivized with performance bonuses tied to Q and Bedrock and even a pizza party at an executive’s home for top performers. (I’d probably just opt for the cash.)
But it’s not just salespeople getting in on the action. Staffers meant to implement tools with customers or craft the right cloud service for a client are now being encouraged to get more involved in the sales process.
An AWS spokesperson told Eugene the company is merely responding to their customers’ needs, and that the lines between salespeople and non-salespeople are still clear.
AWS’ pressure to ramp up AI sales isn’t just focused on ROI.
While it’s long been a leader in the public cloud space, Amazon hasn’t held the same dominance in the AI race.
