Does AI Mean Your Sales Funnel Should Be Worse? with Tanner Sherman

For twenty years the rule was simple: get more people into the top of the funnel. AI broke that rule. Jonathan Green talks with Tanner Sherman (Principal & Managing Broker, Top Tier Investment Firm, Omaha) about what happens when inquiring costs nothing — 150 "is this still available?" messages a day, 1,500 inquiries per rental, and a signed-lease rate that fell from one in 80 to one in fifteen hundred. The fix is not a better funnel. It is a deliberately worse one. Key Takeaways: • AI did not create more demand, it created more noise. Tanner's team went from roughly one signed lease per 80 inquiries to one per 1,500 once "I'm interested" became a single tap. • Deliberate friction is the filter. An auto-reply that asks people to text the office cuts 1,500 inquiries down to 100–150 actual humans, then to 10–12 showings, then to one lease. • Stop optimizing for engagement and start optimizing for proof of commitment. Reach, clicks and inquiries are exactly the numbers AI inflates fastest — the number that matters is who took a costly step. • Referrals repriced overnight. When résumés, portfolios and proof can all be generated, a person somebody actually knows beats a better-qualified stranger. • Delegate to AI the way you delegate to people, using the four levels: investigation, informed progress, informed results, ownership. Most people never leave level one and then blame the tool. Notable Quotes: "It's become too easy to inquire. We get spammed with probably 150 'is this still available's a day." — Tanner Sherman "Whether you're hiring a VA, a US-based employee, or delegating to AI, the intention of the employer needs to be clear as to what level you're utilizing that skill." — Tanner Sherman Connect with Tanner Sherman: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanner-sherman-707529222 Website: Top Tier Investment Firm — https://toptierinvestmentfirm.com Podcast: Freedom Fighter Podcast — https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/freedom-fighter-podcast/id1765821493 Enjoyed this? Follow The Artificial Intelligence Podcast and send it to whoever still brags about how many leads came in last month.Connect with Jonathan Green The Bestseller: ChatGPT Profits Free Gift: The Master Prompt for ChatGPT Free Book on Amazon: Fire Your Boss Podcast Website: https://artificialintelligencepod.com/   Subscribe, Rate, and Review: https://artificialintelligencepod.com/itunes Video Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@ArtificialIntelligencePodcast