The AI-Powered Evolution of Partnerships | Fredrik Mellander | S3:E14

Why Traditional CRMs Don’t Work for Partnerships

Fredrik opens with a personal revelation: despite years of working with top-tier CRMs, partnerships teams were still stuck managing workflows with spreadsheets and manual workarounds.

“CRMs were built for customer-facing roles, not for partner collaboration. That’s why we built JourneyBee, to centralize partner data, automate collaboration, and scale revenue together.”

JourneyBee serves as middleware between organizations and their partners, automating the messy admin and bringing transparency to co-selling motions.

Partnerships Deserve Their Own Stack:

Partnerships are evolving—but the tools haven’t. Fredrik argues that partnerships require a designated tech stack just like sales, marketing, and support.

• CRMs handle customer workflows.
• Marketing automation serves content and lead gen.
• But partnerships? Still underserved and duct-taped together.

JourneyBee changes that by offering a dedicated platform for tracking, managing, and scaling ecosystem-led GTM strategies.

The Rise of Buyer-Led GTM: Flipping the Traditional Sales Model:

So, what is buyer-led GTM, and how does it differ from the seller-led model we’ve relied on for decades?

Traditional Seller-Led GTM:

• Sales reps blast emails, calls, and LinkedIn messages
• Buyers get flooded with unsolicited outreach
• 95% of buyers aren’t ready to purchase—but they’re still getting pitched

The New Buyer-Led GTM:

• Buyers raise their hand when they are actively looking
• They conduct their own research instead of relying on vendor messaging
• Sellers earn trust through valuable, unbiased content and partnerships

“The best GTM strategies will be led by buyers. Companies that help buyers research, evaluate, and make decisions confidently will win.”

Santosh explains how AI-powered buyer research tools will replace traditional lead-gen tactics, ensuring buyers get the insights they need without spammy outreach.

AI-Powered Agents: The Future of GTM is Automated & Intelligent:

As AI advances, agents will begin replacing manual outreach and traditional sales reps. Santosh predicts that:

• AI agents will replace SDR outreach – Instead of cold emails, AI will handle buyer engagement
• Buyers will use AI for vendor research – They’ll get real-time, unbiased insights before making decisions
• Seller & buyer agents will negotiate deals – AI-powered assistants will interact to simplify transactions

“In the future, buyers will have their own AI agents, and sellers will have their own AI agents. These agents will interact, eliminating the need for mass outreach.”

The implication? Sales teams must adapt now. Companies that don’t integrate AI-driven research into their GTM strategies will struggle to compete.

Learn more at www.forceandfrictionpodcast.com