CEO Value Creation Pulse: Managing Uncertainty

In times of high uncertainty it’s useful to see how those who have been successful in the past are approaching the current environment. This report details three distinct differences in how those who are beating targets think about their operating model, commercial talent, and commercial data and insights. They present lessons worth considering as CEOs navigate today’s uncertainty. 

 

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Even before tariff announcements shook business certainty, CEOs were getting hesitant.

While the portion reporting that demand was accelerating in the quarter grew again, to 48%, more forward-looking indicators showed a decline. SBI’s overall commercial sentiment index (a combination of sentiment related to pipeline, deal velocity, deal size, deal volume, and renewals) showed a modest slide, driven in particular by declining positive sentiment on pipeline quality and deal velocity. Sentiment was also far below the highly unrealistic optimism CEOs were feeling at the same time last year.

Under-Estimating Market Coverage and Organizational Model
  • 70% of those who beat their revenue targets viewed market coverage as critical to success, compared with only 44% of those who missed targets.

  • 64% of those who beat their revenue targets viewed the go-to-market organizational model as critical to success, compared with only half of those who missed targets.

 

Executing With the Wrong People 
  • More than 70% of those that missed their targets do not think they have the right people and the right skills.

  • This challenge is compounded by the fact that they are also more likely to be experiencing high seller attrition, reducing their pool of strong performers.

 

Investing Too Conservatively
  • CEOs in companies that beat revenue targets were more likely to report that they are already realizing value from artificial intelligence in their commercial operations.

  • Those CEOs carried very different investment profiles, with fewer constraints placed on decisions, more input from the frontline and the Board, and more focus on control and customization.

 
  1. Stop allowing short-term priorities to serve as obstacles to training.

  2. Treat managing performance and coaching as distinct skills and address both in sales manager training.

  3. Devote time to technology training, including leveraging generative AI, to ensure productivity gains from new technologies are fully captured.

  4. Don't rely on coaching playbooks as the sole reinforcement mechanism.
 
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Three characteristics of the highest-performing enablement organizations:

1. Prioritizing quota-carrying experience when hiring enablement professionals

2.  Measuring the right indicators to gauge the efficacy of their programs 

3. Regularly training both sellers and sales managers on sales effectiveness

enablement experience

 

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