Internal-and-External Customer Lens
Define what each customer needs today, then use AI to deliver it faster
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~ongoing to results
- Steps
- 6
- Confidence
- 90%
The Internal-and-External Customer Lens is a repeatable prioritization model for AI-enabled work. The operator first identifies the customer, which may be a prospect, an existing buyer, or an internal stakeholder such as a sales executive or SDR team. They then ask what that person needs today to make a decision, perform a role, or achieve an outcome. Only after the need is crisp does the operator use AI and connected systems to execute the required analysis, report, alert, or workflow. The model keeps technological capability subordinate to customer value: faster output matters only when it answers the right need. Repeated feedback verifies whether the deliverable helped and informs the next iteration. This preserves a durable career advantage even as the tools and speed of execution change.
Origin
Nate Folin offered customer obsession as his career framework for an era in which AI is intrinsically linked to work on Marketing Against The Grain.
Core principles
- 01Treat internal stakeholders as customers as well as external buyers
- 02Begin with the customer's needed outcome, not the available technology
- 03Make stakeholder needs specific enough to execute
- 04Use AI to accelerate delivery rather than replace customer judgment
- 05Reassess needs continually as conditions change
How to run it
- 1
Identify the customer
Name the external buyer, current customer, or internal stakeholder whose success the work should support.
Pro tip Choose one primary customer for each deliverable.
Watch out Trying to satisfy every stakeholder simultaneously can produce an unfocused output.
- 2
Define today's need
Ask what information, decision, or operational support would make that customer more successful now.
Pro tip Phrase the need as an observable outcome.
Watch out Do not assume that a frequently requested artifact is still the most useful one.
- 3
Specify the deliverable
Translate the need into a clear report, alert, recommendation, workflow, or system change.
Pro tip Agree on the level of detail and delivery channel.
Watch out An undefined output makes it impossible to assess completion.
- 4
Execute with AI
Use AI and connected company systems to produce the deliverable more quickly and accurately.
Pro tip Reuse a validated skill when the need recurs.
Watch out Speed cannot compensate for incorrect source data or misunderstood requirements.
- 5
Validate usefulness
Check whether the result actually helped the customer act or succeed in their role.
Pro tip Request concrete feedback rather than general approval.
Watch out Delivery is not the same as impact.
- 6
Refine continuously
Update the output and underlying workflow as stakeholder needs and business conditions change.
Pro tip Turn stable repeated requests into proactive workers.
Watch out Automating an obsolete request makes the wrong work arrive faster.
In the wild
A finance lead wants visibility into relevant sales activity. RevOps identifies the useful event, defines it as a new meeting with a finance company above a chosen size, and uses an agent to send an immediate Slack alert so the leader can join the call.
→ An internal customer's need becomes timely support without a lengthy intake and reporting project.
A RevOps operator asks what the VP of sales, executive team, and SDR organization need to see or receive that day, then uses AI to deliver the highest-value outputs rapidly.
→ Tool usage stays aligned with stakeholder success rather than novelty.
Common mistakes
Starting with the tool
Beginning with what AI can do encourages impressive workflows that may not solve an important customer problem.
Treating internal requests as tickets
Fulfilling the literal request without understanding the stakeholder's outcome can reproduce unnecessary work.
Equating speed with value
A fast, accurate deliverable still fails if it addresses the wrong need.
Is it for you?
Best for
RevOps and cross-functional professionals deciding what to build or prioritize in an AI-accelerated workplace.
Not ideal for
It does not replace formal governance, strategic prioritization, or technical validation for high-risk work.
From the transcript
“be obsessed with the customer”
“whether that's that's the prospect or the actual customer that's that's using your tools or that's the internal customer”
“what would our VP of sales want to see today what would our executive team like to see today what do our SDR teams need…”
From the episode
How 1 Human + AI Replaced a 15-Person RevOps Team