RevOps Visionaries: Antonio Worner on the Future of CRM and RevOps in 2025

As we continue to spotlight the sharpest minds in the world of Revenue Operations, we’re thrilled to bring you the third edition of our RevOps Visionaries series. This time, we sat down with Antonio Worner, a seasoned RevOps expert with a deep understanding of go-to-market efficiency, CRM strategy, and AI-driven enablement.

In this candid conversation, Antonio shares his predictions for 2025—from the rise of AI agents to the shifting role of RevOps in APAC. Whether you’re leading a RevOps team or just beginning to rethink your CRM architecture, this interview is packed with strategic insights you won’t want to miss.

The Interview

Leadbeam: What do you believe will be the most significant CRM trend in 2025, and why?

Antonio: “The use of AI and AI Agents will steadily increase. This will allow for reps across all parts of the bowtie/funnel to focus on building relationships as opposed to updating fields or communicating action items. 

I believe we are trending in this direction given the recent advancements in AI as well as the purpose built tools & low code editors that allow for businesses to improve efficiency, accuracy and overall cost reduction.”

Leadbeam: How do you see AI impacting CRM strategies in 2025?

Antonio: “I believe the impact of AI will be largely dependent on a businesses appetite for experimentation while also under the governance of a RevOps team. AI is all the rage, and every business wants to use it but few understand how to maximise AI’s potential specifically when it comes to prompt engineering.

We will see an increase in spam based outreach as well as subpar CX from businesses that don’t have a strong understanding of how AI mirrors the adage “garbage in, garbage out” however, we will also see businesses excel in their GTM motion by using AI in Data Analysis, Outreach (yes, AI has a place), CX and ongoing expansion.”

Leadbeam: What challenges do you anticipate businesses will face in RevOps and CRMs in 2025?

Antonio: “2025 is shaping up to be an interesting year for challenges. Technology is accelerating at an unprecedented rate and data has become commoditised. This poses 2 clear challenges for RevOps Teams and CRM architecture.

Data governance will become a constant debate for RevOps teams—with new software launching weekly and each provider offering a different signal, deciding which data sources to use and prioritize will be increasingly challenging.

Additionally, integrating these tools and using them effectively will also become a challenge. RevOps teams need to think carefully about the flow of data into their respective tools; sales engagement tool, CRM, or CS platform.”

Leadbeam: What’s the biggest misconception about RevOps today?

Antonio: “I think RevOps is still a little misunderstood in APAC, and from speaking with a few peers, a lot of businesses still use RevOps as the sidekick to a Head of Sales.

GTM Efficiency would be the most all-encompassing metric to benchmark RevOps teams; however, it’s ultimately dependent on how the RevOps team is utilised."

Leadbeam: Can you share a successful CRM or RevOps strategy you implemented that others could learn from?

Antonio: “A successful RevOps Strategy that I’ve driven previously would be a GTM Engineering function (although I was the function). This involved removing the need for our Sales team to self source prospects which would take anywhere from 2-5 hours per week per rep (at one point there was 15 reps). Put simply I managed this by using clay to extract business listings that fit our ICP from Google Maps, while also pulling other data points used for lead scoring. This list was then cross checked against our existing pipeline and customer portfolio to limit dupes and allocated to reps based on Geography.”

Leadbeam: What emerging technologies should businesses watch out for to enhance their CRM and RevOps efforts?

Antonio: "AI-based enablement—Enablement is one of the biggest challenges, particularly for sales-led orgs. It’s rare to see an organization allocate the correct resources for ongoing enablement, whether it’s tool enablement with embedded process flows (Supered or Tango) or sales training.

This is most likely due to the perceived high cost of ongoing enablement or delayed/minimal ROI. New technology has and will continue to emerge that directly combats this and will develop over time to ingest more CRM data, allowing for unique enablement programs for each rep."

Leadbeam: What’s your approach to driving CRM adoption among sales teams who resist change?

Antonio: “I’m a big believer that driving change is about removing friction, and friction within the CRM discussion, are habits. 

Historically enablement has always been a slide deck with videos or a walk through meeting + a slack message but habits die hard.

In order to enable effectively, strong guardrails need to be introduced so reps can’t perform old habits in conjunction with new tools that guide users to the decided action (i’m looking at supered.io and others).”

Leadbeam: What’s one CRM process that should always be automated, and one that should never be?

Antonio: “Lead Assignment should always be automated however, it should also have a safety action whereby if the assignee hasn’t made contact within the hour (even this feels too long) comms are sent to the prospect to let them know they will reach out shortly - it’s ridiculous to think that prospects still wait hours upon hours for a scheduling link (I had this very experience from a very well known AI SDR start up)

Customer Interactions shouldn’t be automated. This isn’t to say that outreach can’t (but it needs strong guardrails) but I’ve tried a few AI discovery calls and with the current tech, it’s wasting a prospects time - send them a form instead..”

Leadbeam: What advice would you give to businesses looking to revamp their CRM strategies in 2025?

Antonio: "Ensure there is budget allocation for new tools and the testing of new hypotheses.

Be unapologetically honest about the previous fiscal performance and what needs to be improved.

Encourage the use of AI with clear guardrails and governance.

Listen to the people with the data."

Leadbeam: What do you think will be the key differentiators for CRM platforms competing in the market in 2025?

Antonio: "Experience—for both the user and how it impacts the buyer within the record."

Key Takeaways for RevOps Leaders

• AI isn’t just hype—it’s inevitable.
  From prompt engineering to data analysis and outreach, AI will become central to CRM strategies. But it demands a thoughtful, governed approach to truly unlock its value.
  
• Data governance is your moat.
  With tools launching weekly, RevOps teams must double down on data hygiene, prioritization, and strategic tool integration.
  
• CRM adoption starts with behavior change.
  Don’t rely on training decks alone. Tools like Supered.io can enforce better workflows and make old habits harder to stick with.
  
• GTM Efficiency is the KPI to watch.
  This single metric reflects time saved, deals closed, and how optimized your RevOps engine truly is.
  
• Enablement deserves real investment.
  Modern enablement tech can personalize training and process reinforcement—if you’re willing to invest in ongoing improvement.

Final Thoughts

Antonio Worner offers a grounded, practical lens into what’s ahead for CRM and RevOps—a world increasingly shaped by AI, real-time data, and intentional design. For RevOps leaders, the mission in 2025 will be to blend experimentation with structure, automation with human touch, and ambition with operational clarity.

If you’re rethinking your RevOps strategy this year, Antonio’s insights are a powerful place to begin.

Stay tuned for the next edition of RevOps Visionaries, where we continue exploring the minds shaping the future of revenue operations.

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