How CEOs Are Shifting Gears Amid Ongoing Uncertainty

SBI’s May 2025 edition of the CEO Value Creation Pulse Report reflects a shift in how CEOs are responding to a more complex commercial environment. While demand sentiment remains relatively strong, confidence is being tempered by a growing set of operational and external risks. CEOs are narrowing their focus and refining execution to improve outcomes in a less predictable environment, riddled with unprecedented uncertainty.

Download the full report, CEO Value Creation Pulse, May 2025.

Stronger Demand but Slower Conversion

Nearly half of CEOs reported accelerating demand in Q1, consistent with prior quarters and up slightly from Q4. However, forward-looking indicators tell a more cautious story. Supplementary polling that we conducted in May found a dramatic decline in overall commercial sentiment (an average of five indicators: pipeline, deal volume, deal speed, deal size, and renewal rates), from an index score of 64.2 in March 2025 to 53.4 in May.  Deal volume, size and cycle time all saw significant declines in sentiment, suggesting a widening gap between top-of-funnel activity and actual bookings.  

Three Emerging Risks

In SBI’s analysis of 127 CEOs and commercial leaders, we found notable differences in how companies that beat their revenue goals in 2024 and those that missed their targets think about their operating model, commercial talent, and commercial data and insights. These differences are important to be aware of as leadership teams face an even more challenging deal environment in 2025. We uncovered three significant areas of risk:

1. Underestimating the Importance of Market Coverage and the Organizational Model. A significantly higher portion of CEOs who beat their revenue goals view the go-to-market organization model and market coverage as critical success factors than those who missed their targets. Underestimating these factors has left companies unprepared for rising market uncertainty and purchase scrutiny.
2. Executing With the Wrong People, With the Wrong Skills, Turning Over at Higher Rates. More than 70% of those who missed their targets do not believe they have the right people with the right skills. SBI recommends leading frontline sellers to adopt two distinct approaches in their deals: Translating, quantifying and contextualizing the deal into the buyer’s unique circumstance, and Anticipating, predicting areas of buyer friction and addressing them proactively. 
3. Taking an Overly Conservative Approach to Commercial Technology Investment Decisions. Those who have beat their targets are 3x more likely to realize high or neutral value from AI in enhanced decision making and 2x more likely to see improved productivity. Companies that missed revenue targets are holding themselves back with a greater number of decision-making factors to consider before investing in AI technologies, while other companies are more likely to take a chance.

What Successful CEOs Have Done Differently 

Successful execution during times of uncertainty requires sharp focus on the right set of core bets, and deepened support to frontline teams:

• Ensure tight alignment around target markets and accounts, and coordinated execution across the go-to-market organization, to ensure you win the business you should win, and eliminate costly redundancies
• Focus technology investments on strategic decision-making support over improving transactional efficiency to enable better resource alignment, growth decision-making, and long-term leverage.
• Provide tailored and targeted enablement support to the frontline in the form of training and tools, and drive a deeper focus on coaching among frontline managers, to get the most out of the team you have.

Looking Ahead

Demand is holding but slowing. Winning it requires faster decisions, better internal alignment, and greater discipline in how GTM teams operate.

As political and economic uncertainty persists, successful CEOs will continue to scrutinize which parts of their commercial model are delivering value and what needs to change.

Download the full CEO Value Creation Pulse Report, May 2025 for the complete findings.