Death of a Salesforce: Why AI Will Transform Sales

Sales is evolving. AI-native systems are replacing traditional CRM tools, capturing unstructured insights from emails, Slack, surveys, and more in real time. These systems automate early-stage tasks like prospecting and qualification, enabling sales teams to focus on high-value work—while AI provides live coaching and drives decisions across sales, marketing, and product teams. In this episode, a16z partners Joe Schmidt and Marc Andrusko explore the evolution of sales tools and strategies, sharing their insights on what’s driving this shift. Is this the “Death of a Salesforce”? Perhaps that’s an overstatement. But one thing is clear: the future belongs to those who leverage data and AI to drive decisions—not just activities.   Resources: Find Marc Andrusko on X: https://x.com/mandrusko1 Find Joe Schmidt on X: https://x.com/joeschmidtiv Read the original article: https://a16z.com/ai-transforms-sales/   Stay Updated:  Let us know what you think: https://ratethispodcast.com/a16z Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/ Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.