If you’re a SaaS sales leader or founder, you’ve probably spent the last year or so rethinking your tech stack. The conversations I’m having with clients right now all circle back to the same question: where does AI genuinely add value, and where does it fall short?
It’s a fair question. And honestly, the answer isn’t as straightforward as some would have you believe.
The Reality of AI in Outbound Sales
Let’s start with where AI is making the biggest impact: outbound.
Your SDRs are spending less time writing emails. They’re using AI tools to compile sales data, map out client profiles, and generate call transcription summaries. The grunt work that used to eat up half the day? It’s shrinking.
Here’s what I’m seeing across the SaaS sales teams I work with:
- Prospecting has changed completely. Where you might have asked an SDR to identify 50 relevant ICPs manually, AI can now pull that information and create personalised content based on 50 LinkedIn profiles in a fraction of the time.
- Data crunching is no longer a bottleneck. Sales leaders are relying heavily on AI to analyse pipeline data, track engagement metrics, and spot patterns that would take hours to uncover manually.
- Call prep is faster. AI-driven discovery call frameworks and automated research mean your team walks into conversations better informed.
The result? One capable SDR with the right tools can now do the work that used to require three.
But Here’s What AI Still Can’t Do
This is where it gets interesting, and where I think some sales leaders are getting it wrong.
AI can guide. It can suggest. It can summarise.
But it cannot:
- Build genuine trust with stakeholders. Multi-threaded deals with several decision-makers require human judgement. You need someone who can read the room, manage competing interests, and adapt their approach based on subtle cues.
- Shape a deal through a complex sales cycle. The finesse required to move a high-value contract through procurement, legal, and multiple sign-offs isn’t something you can automate.
- Consult with clients on their actual problems. Discovery calls might be supported by AI, but the quality of the conversation, the ability to probe deeper and uncover real pain points, that’s still entirely human.
- Handle pricing and market strategy. AI can provide data, but deciding how to position your offering against competitors or when to hold firm on price requires experience and commercial instinct.
What This Means for Your Team
The SDR role isn’t disappearing entirely, but it is changing.
I’m seeing fewer entry-level sales positions across the market. The roles that remain demand more resilience, stronger commercial awareness, and the ability to genuinely consult rather than just qualify leads.
Sales leaders are now looking for people who are:
- AI-literate but not AI-dependent. They know how to use the tools, but they bring their own common sense and judgement to every interaction.
- Comfortable with ambiguity. High-value contracts don’t follow a script. You need people who can adapt.
- Relationship builders. Because at the end of the day, SaaS deals still happen between people.
The 10/80/10 Tech Stack Approach
One framework I’ve heard mentioned recently is the 10/80/10 model for your sales tech stack:
- 10% human creativity and strategy at the start (defining your ICP, crafting your value proposition)
- 80% AI-assisted execution (prospecting, outreach, data analysis, admin)
- 10% human skill to execute (stakeholder management, negotiation, relationship building)
It’s a useful way to think about where your team’s time should really be spent.
Looking Ahead
If you’re building or restructuring your sales team, the question isn’t whether to use AI. It’s how to use it in a way that amplifies your people rather than replacing the skills that actually close deals.
The human element, the ability to tailor a proposition, manage a complex stakeholder map, and build trust over time, isn’t going anywhere. If anything, it’s becoming more valuable as the basics get automated.
I work with SaaS sales leaders every day, helping them find the right talent for teams that are leaner, smarter, and built for this new reality. If you’re rethinking what your sales function should look like, or you’re struggling to find SDRs and AEs who can thrive in an AI-enabled environment, I’d be happy to have a conversation.
