Based on SBI’s Fast Start to 2025, research of over 600 companies across eight industries, one thing is clear, first quarter performance sets the tone for the entire year. We established a fast start as when a company achieves revenue growth in Q1 that places it in the 70th percentile in their industry. The companies that meet that bar experience a staggering 6x higher annual growth rate for the full year compared to their counterparts that get off to a slower start.
When approaching year-end, executive leaders begin laying the foundation for performance in the following year. With all of this strategic thinking and time investment, energy is high, and the team ends the year ready to drive sustained growth in the new year.
Unfortunately, as the year turns multiple forces conspire against commercial momentum and result in a less-than-optimal start. This happens commonly, and many executives assume it’s just a function of operating realities that can be “made up” as the year progresses. Our research finds that the cost of a slow start is far higher than most leaders realize.
Q1 is “Destiny” for Most: For 65% of organizations, annual growth performance is directly aligned with Q1 performance. On average, fast starters achieve 18% annual growth, while slow starters only see a 3% increase.
Recovery is Rare and Limited: Companies that fall behind early face an uphill battle, with only 4 in 10 slow starters managing to recover and finish the year as an industry leader. Even those that do manage to recover from a slow start don’t quite match the performance of those that start strong. These companies see annual growth of 15%.
Slow Starts are Driven by, and Re-enforce, Poor Execution: Companies that achieve a fast start demonstrate commercial efficiency, generating nearly one dollar of revenue growth for every dollar spent on sales and marketing. On the other hand, those that got off to a slower start and have failed to recover often loose money on their commercial investments.
To ensure Q1 is a fast start, leaders should focus on six key areas.
As commercial teams kick off the year, they often pull forward any renewal and expansion conversations across the next two quarters as a way to generate early momentum and establish a perspective on general customer sentiment early in the year. Typically, however, these pulled-forward conversations have little urgency to them, particularly on the customer side, and become more a read on intent to renew or stay engaged than on opportunities for expanding the relationship.
Fast starters target the right customers at the right time with the right motions. They identify high-value customers using trigger events like fiscal year or leadership changes and support them using data-driven customer marketing that targets their pain points.
It is common for organizations to begin the year with a standard price increase that’s been communicated to both the team and to active customers. It is also common, however, for teams to honor the previous year’s pricing. This starts the year with a motion of discounting that leadership teams must spend significant time managing and recovering from.
Fast Starters set clear boundaries. They put in place guardrails for discounting and draw a firm line to ensure momentum can be carried forward, rather than getting bogged down debating pricing.
The new year brings a great opportunity to introduce new technology for things like data entry, cleaning, and reporting. Unfortunately, the rapid introduction of technology requires a significant time investment to properly integrate and acclimate, taking teams away from selling.
Fast starters focus on streamlining technology use to enhance workplace productivity. They leverage automation and AI to streamline workflows and reduce manual tasks, allowing sellers to focus on revenue-driving activities.
Leadership teams view the beginning of the year as an opportunity to refresh the team on the sales process, both at sales kickoffs, in more localized events, and in one-on-ones with managers. But for many, the sales process becomes an abstract document disconnected from how buyers are evolving. This leaves sellers and managers in a position of “winging it” in their customer cadences, extending deal cycle times if not killing deals outright.
Fast starters align with buyers. By adapting sales processes to the buyer journey, teams are able to shorten the sales cycle and close deals more effectively.
It is important that commercial teams kick off the new year with clear expectations on performance, processes, tools, and methodologies. Typically companies do this in large scale sales kickoff events where they can communicate messages at a large scale and create energy that inspires and fuels activity. However, many sales teams quickly return to “business as usual” if these expectations are not re-enforced.
Fast starters invest in demonstrating ongoing support and enablement. They treat enablement as a growth driver by introducing extended post-SKO training and manager upskilling. This approach builds confidence, accelerates performance, and aligns everyone on expectations.
The new year is the time to launch new growth initiatives with an optimized go-to—market strategy. Initial energy, however, is often met with a lack of accountability and governance over new initiatives, leading to disorientation and unclear expectations.
Fast Starters closely govern growth initiatives. They establish a Revenue Growth Office (RGO) to ensure business initiatives are aligned with growth goals, tracked for measurable impact, and cleared of roadblocks.
Turning Preparation into Performance
A fast start is achievable with precision, preparation, and agility. Organizations that embrace forward-thinking execution across pricing, processes, talent, and technology consistently outperform their peers. By laying a strong foundation and leveraging data-driven strategies, leaders can ensure 2025 begins with momentum that carries through to year-end success.