The latest SBI survey of CEOs shows that even in the face of today’s economic uncertainty, the more committed a company is to growth, the more likely it will continue to gain momentum.
“We’re about to be in a recession.”
“No, we’re in a recession now.”
There’s certainly no consensus about whether we’re in, about to be in or will not be in a recession. Or what to do about it.
But whatever the economic prognosticators are trying to say these days, there’s definitely one thing for certain: companies that are experiencing commercial momentum in 2023 are doing it because their CEOs and go-to-market leadership teams are operating with fearless focus and conviction.
It’s not about cutting costs. And it’s not about chasing everything at once.
Instead, it’s about persistent pursuit of real growth opportunities, company leadership working in lock-step, and strategic investment in commercial teams.
From our latest survey of CEOs, we identified two main types of companies: high momentum and low momentum.
The CEOs of low-momentum companies tend to be very protective of any gains they may have achieved in recent quarters.
But those with high momentum seek targeted but substantive opportunities to build on their gains. They’re not focused on recession; they’re focused on recovery.
Big difference, because it’s about committing to laying the foundation with targeted bets to accelerate growth.
The numbers from our survey show the reasons why.
More than 25% of the CEOs we surveyed report that market demand is accelerating in early 2023. Plus, many CEOs report they’re experiencing solid momentum as the year progresses.
For example, 56% see the quality of their prospective customer pipelines as better than last quarter. 54% forecast sales volume to be better than last quarter. And nearly 50% see renewal rates improving.
What we found is that high-momentum company CEOs share a common perspective.
They adopted a particular philosophy – a kind of fortitude that’s focused, measured, strong, and resolute… and that is shared by everyone in the organization, especially the executive team. When there is clear guidance and vision in terms of spending, investment, and strategy for commercial teams by their leaders, the ability to succeed increases.
No question, momentum is possible in today’s market. But it’s not driven by industry trends, company size, or ownership structures. And definitely not by taking extreme cost measures.
Taking a deep dive into the survey results, we determined there are four specific ways that high-momentum companies are executing differently than their low-momentum counterparts. Download the full report now.
