CRM is finally moving closer to where sellers actually work.
In this episode, John sits down with Ryan Braastad from Microsoft to talk about agentic CRM, AI adoption, productivity tools, and why the old system-of-record model has created so much friction for sales teams. Ryan shares lessons from Forrester, Yammer, Salesforce, his own startup, and Microsoft as he explains how the next wave of CRM can move closer to the flow of work.
If you are in sales leadership, RevOps, enablement, or go-to-market strategy, this conversation gives you a practical look at what AI should actually do for reps: reduce admin, improve data quality, support better habits, help leaders coach more effectively, and give sellers more time to focus on customers and revenue.
Want to prepare your sales team for the next version of CRM before the market moves again? Visit www.jbarrows.com and learn how you can Make It Happen.
What You’ll Learn
- Why CRM is shifting from a system of record to a system of action
- How AI can support sellers inside the tools they already use every day
- Why CRM adoption has often failed to give reps a clear benefit
- How sales leaders can think about revenue per seller as AI becomes part of the workflow
- Why AI adoption should start with one specific use case, not a company-wide free-for-all
- What agentic CRM actually means and why it is different from bolting AI onto old software
Ryan Braastad is a customer-obsessed tech marketing leader at Microsoft, where he works on product strategy across Dynamics 365 and Microsoft 365, helping shape the future of agentic CRM and AI-powered productivity tools. His background spans Forrester, Yammer, Salesforce, and a self-founded fitness startup, with experience across product marketing, go-to-market strategy, productivity, collaboration, enterprise social, and business applications.
Connect with Ryan Braastad:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rbraastad/
John Barrows is a sales trainer, speaker, and founder of JB Sales with over 25 years of experience in the industry. He has made hundreds of cold calls a week, led startups to acquisition, and trained high-performing teams at companies like Salesforce, LinkedIn, Amazon, and Okta. Through JB Sales, John focuses on practical sales execution—helping reps fill pipeline, close deals, and build trust with buyers in today’s AI-driven sales environment.
Connect with John Barrows:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbarrows/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnmbarrows/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@johnmbarrows
Check out John's Membership: https://go.jbarrows.com/
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