Article

Trends Report 2025: Lessons in RevOps, AI GTM, and Outbound Shifts

26 November 2025

Becca Eddleman

2025 marked the year B2B GTM strategy tried to catch up with how people actually buy.

The cracks in traditional go-to-market models became too big to ignore. AI moved from novelty to necessity. RevOps became a board-level discussion. Outbound was re-engineered for precision over volume. And through it all, GTM teams were forced to confront a simple truth: yesterday’s process wasn’t built for today’s buyer.

We started the year with bold predictions, but not all of them held up. Some trends accelerated faster than expected. Others stalled out or fizzled under real-world pressure. In this article, we look back at what actually happened, not just what was forecasted.

To do that, we analyzed the most widely shared insights from Jake Dunlap’s 2025 LinkedIn posts and cross-referenced them with market data from sales, RevOps, and buyer behavior studies. The goal: identify the trends that mattered, understand why they emerged, and evaluate whether they’ll carry weight into 2026.

Here’s what you’ll take away:

- A breakdown of which GTM trends delivered and which didn’t
- Key lessons from real-world teams, tech shifts, and strategic missteps
- Clear priorities GTM leaders should act on now, before 2026 arrives

RevOps gets a seat at the table

RevOps is finally getting the visibility it deserves.

What began as a behind-the-scenes function focused on tech stacks and reporting officially earned a strategic seat at the executive table. Investors, CFOs, and GTM leaders are now aligning around a shared goal: drive growth through operational precision, not headcount.

This shift wasn’t theoretical either. We saw PE firms updating their investments to prioritize systems over stars. And finance teams tightened efficiency metrics while operators consolidated bloated tech stacks in favor of scalable workflows. In 2025, RevOps stopped being reactive.

In the trends that follow, we break down how this shift unfolded and why it’s reshaping how GTM teams plan, measure, and grow.

1) Systematize Your Way to Growth (PE partner POV)

PE firms are now valuing repeatable sales systems over “hero” reps. Companies that scaled past $100M “systematized everything” (lead routing, follow-ups, objection handling, proposals, onboarding). The investment test: can this sales process work without the current team?

Implications on the market:

Enterprise value is shifting from individual performance to institutionalized GTM IP (documented playbooks, automation, and enablement tied to outcomes).
Boardrooms and PE diligence emphasize process scalability and operational leverage, not just quota-carrying headcount.

Did this continue throughout 2025? Yes.

CFO priorities leaned into productivity and cost discipline, not headcount growth, which validated the “systems not stars” thesis. Gartner’s 2025 CFO guidance highlights reducing costs without harming growth, and a leadership vision centered on disciplined execution. (Gartner)
RevOps/systematization momentum increased: Outreach and other GTM leaders framed 2025 around AI copilots + collaborative GTM + coaching at scale (i.e., codifying effective behavior), reinforcing systemization over individuals. (Outreach)

Will it continue into 2026? Very likely.

Gartner’s October 2025 CFO survey shows finance leaders entering the 2026 budget cycle balancing growth with disciplined cost management, which favors scalable systems over incremental headcount. (Gartner)

Post link

2) Stop Adding Tools to Broken Processes (Tool Sprawl vs. Process)

Teams should fix root-cause processes first, then pick fewer tools and use them well. “Your competition is using 6 tools really well instead of 47 poorly.”

Implications on the market:

SaaS consolidation and license rationalization became core RevOps initiatives. Value shifts to adoption, enablement, governance, and usage analytics (not sheer app count).
Vendors with broader platforms (suites) gained an advantage over one-feature point tools.

Did this continue throughout 2025? Strongly yes.

Productiv reports the average SaaS portfolio fell to 342 apps (from 374) as companies consolidate into suites. (Productiv)
BetterCloud’s 2025 State of SaaS shows 33% of orgs consolidated redundant apps, 21% reduced SaaS spend, and 63% cited unused/underutilized apps driving consolidation. (BetterCloud)

Will it continue into 2026? Yes.

The consolidation trend is expected to continue, with portfolios shrinking and suites preferred over many point tools. (Productiv)
Macro signals from large tech (e.g., Google’s CFO citing team consolidation for cost and speed) reinforce continued emphasis on efficiency into 2026. (Business Insider)

Post link

3) The CFO Productivity Paradigm Shift (Optimize Before Hiring)

A CFO says they budget for higher sales productivity, not more headcount. Better training, tools, and processes beat adding reps: “10-person team hitting quota beats a 20-person team missing quota.”

Implications on the market:

Those in charge of budget (CFOs) prefer efficiency ROI (enablement, automation, data quality) to risky headcount expansion.
Sales leaders must make productivity business cases (ramp compression, win-rate lift, CAC reduction) to unlock budget.

Did this continue throughout 2025? Yes.

Gartner’s CFO Report (Q1 2025) centers on reducing costs without harming growth and improving data governance. A classic productivity play. (Gartner)
The 2025 CFO leadership vision underscores disciplined execution and prioritization, echoing “optimize first.” (Gartner)

Will it continue into 2026? Yes.

Gartner’s October 2025 survey shows CFOs entering 2026 with mandates to balance growth and cost control, which structurally favors productivity investments over net-new headcount. (Gartner)

Post link

AI in sales goes from experiment to engine

In 2025, AI finally moved out of the strategy deck and into the day-to-day.

For the last few years, most sales orgs approached AI like a side initiative: vague plans, partial pilots, or a “we’ll get to it” attitude. But this year, that posture started to shift. The most forward-looking teams stopped treating AI as a long-term project and started building around it right now.

Jake’s posts highlighted exactly where this shift is starting to show up, from SDRs using AI to speed up prospecting to sales leaders confronting their own AI knowledge gaps. And while not every company has gone all-in, the market signal is clear: the window for experimentation is closing. Execution is the new expectation.

5) ChatGPT Is Not Cheating. It’s the New Google for Sellers

The argument: AI should be a daily habit for sellers (2–3 hours/day). In workshops, 86/90 reps used it weekly/daily, yet none had real training, a leadership and enablement gap. The call to action: pivot RevOps toward GenAI deployments, implementations, and workflow redesign to capture 5–10 hours/week of productivity per rep.

Implications on the market:

Proficiency > access: The constraint is not in the use of tools; it’s a lack of org-level training, governance, and workflow integration.
Budget justification should shift from “AI licenses” to documented time saved, cycle-time reduction, and win-rate lift attributable to codified AI workflows.

Did this continue throughout 2025? Yes.

Adoption: HubSpot’s 2025 State of Sales reports that 37% of reps use AI tools (the top tool category), and AI ranks #1 in ROI. 84% say AI saves time, and 83% say it improves personalization. (HubSpot Blog)
Value gap: Bain’s 2025 analysis calls sales a “new frontier” where agentic AI can free up selling time and raise conversion, but it requires redesign work. This echoed Jake’s point that training + workflows matter more than access to the tools. (Bain)

Will this continue into 2026? Yes. And it will normalize.

Gartner and others forecast that 2026 CFO plans will protect margins through productivity, structurally favoring AI-driven workflow gains over headcount. (Gartner)

Post link

6) The ChatGPT Prospecting Prompt that Saves Hours

A repeatable research→personalization prompt can compress ~1 hour of manual research to ~2 minutes. This integrates company sources, persona details, and value props, then tailors a discovery email via the buyer’s LinkedIn profile and content. Productivity = assistant + process; though it’s not a “magic line.”

Implications on the market:

SDR/AEs will gain leverage from standardized prompt frameworks baked into playbooks, cadences, and enablement content.
Teams that operationalize this (knowledge docs + guardrails) can convert sporadic wins into systemic pipeline impact.

Did this continue throughout 2025? Yes.

HubSpot 2025: AI is the most-used sales tool category: 84% cite time savings, 82% better data insights, which aligns with the research and personalization gains that this kind of prompt enables. (HubSpot Blog)
Bain (2025) highlights agentic AI’s potential to free selling time and improve conversion when embedded into workflows, not just ad-hoc use. (Bain)

Will this continue into 2026? Yes. It will move from prompts to packaged assistants.

Expect more codified assistants (pre-built workflows) with governance. 2026 CFO efficiency mandates will reward teams that show repeatable time-to-meeting reductions and higher conversion from AI-assisted prospecting. (Gartner)

Post link

Outbound becomes a performance channel again

The evolution of outbound has been underway for years, but 2025 was the year it finally started to stick.

For a long time, the right direction was clear: less volume, more relevance; fewer touches, more intention. Skaled has been beating that drum for a while. This year, more teams finally started listening. Instead of doubling down on automation and activity metrics, leading sales orgs began treating outbound like a strategic lever, not just a numbers game.

That shift showed up in the move toward buyer psychology, curiosity gaps, async messaging, and warm-first outreach. And while not every team is there yet, the performance gap between those who made the shift and those who didn’t became impossible to ignore.

10) The Death of Cold Outreach (and Rise of Relevance)

The post asserts that cold calling, cold emailing, and generic LinkedIn outreach are no longer effective. Success in outbound now depends on relevance, from personalization to context, rather than volume.

Implications on the market:

Sales orgs must shift from volume to precision.
Tools and processes must support insight-driven segmentation and hyper-relevant messaging.
Buyers expect outreach to reflect their business context, reducing tolerance for a generic sales pitch.

Did this continue throughout 2025? Yes.

The Outreach 2025 prospecting report indicates heavy usage of technology for personalized outreach. (Outreach)
A 2025 “7 Personalization Statistics” article notes rising expectations for personalization in business interactions. (Fast Simon Inc.)

Will this continue into 2026? Yes. And it will become more automated.

With AI scaling personalization at speed, generic outreach will continue to underperform.
Investment will shift toward dynamic personalization engines, predictive triggers, and buyer-context orchestration rather than broadly cast messages.

Post link

Sales process breaks away from frameworks and toward buyer alignment

2025 made one thing painfully clear: sales outcomes will continue to decline if teams don’t overhaul how they qualify, forecast, and guide deals.

Legacy frameworks and stage-based selling models that were once seen as foundational are now creating more friction than focus. Qualification, in particular, emerged as a critical failure point. Teams over-indexed on process and under-delivered on buyer alignment. The result? Longer sales cycles, lower win rates, and missed forecasts.

Some teams started to course-correct. They replaced mechanical qualification checklists with collaborative discovery. They began prioritizing buyer readiness over internal stage progression. They shifted forecasting inputs from opinions to observable signals.

But those were the exceptions, not the norm.

14) Our Sales Team Isn’t Bad at Closing. They’re Bad at Qualifying.

This post flips the narrative: closing isn’t the issue. The root cause is weak discovery and qualification (lack of buyer pain, initiative, and alignment). Without the right inputs, closing is just pushing harder.

Implications on the market:

Coaching shouldn’t only be about closing scripts. It should focus on discovery skills and buyer initiative mapping.
RevOps should restructure the funnel to front-load qualification and inject early value alignment.

Did this continue throughout 2025? Yes.

2025 data shows many sales professionals feel training and process are the major blockers: 28% say the sales process takes too long and is the reason prospects back out. (Vena Solutions)
According to The Sales Collective, of the 66% of US sales leaders tailoring processes for B2B, 55% lost revenue due to the lack of a defined process. (The Sales Collective)

Will this continue into 2026? Yes.

With increased competition and buyer sophistication, the quality of early-stage qualification will be a meaningful differentiator.
Organizations will invest more in qualification tooling, buyer-initiative signals, and discovery frameworks.

Post link

15) Stop Waiting for the Big Close

The post encourages sellers to break deals into micro-moments of yeses (small commitments, incremental value) rather than banking everything on one big closing event.

Implications on the market:

Sales methodologies will shift away from a big close to mini-commitments, incremental validation, and reducing risk moments for buyers.
Pipeline stages will be redesigned to track micro-yeses rather than just opportunity creation → close.

Did this continue throughout 2025? Yes.

The Sales Process Statistics report shows 50% of high-performing teams measure process efficiency by conversion rates, not just closes. The focus is on incremental wins. (The Sales Collective)
Companies that define a clear process grow revenue 18% faster, and optimizing pipeline management grew revenue 28% faster. (superoffice.com)

Will this continue into 2026? Yes.

With longer cycles and more buyer touchpoints, the “big close” will be riskier. Sellers who create momentum through micro-closings will win more often.
Methodologies and tooling that support tracking micro-yeses will be more in demand.

Post link

16) The Hidden Pipeline Killer: Competing Initiatives

Deals often stall not because of competitors, but because of internal buyer priorities, conflicting initiatives, or shifting company focus. Sellers need to map buyers’ corporate initiatives, not just the deal elements.

Implications on the market:

Sales leaders must include time-frame risk, organizational priority mapping in qualification, and forecast modelling.
RevOps must integrate initiatives that track opportunity scoring and pipeline engines.

Did this continue throughout 2025? Yes.

According to VenaSolutions, 59% of business buyers aren’t satisfied with the efforts sales teams take to understand their goals. (Vena Solutions)
The Sales Collective found that 55% of sales leaders lost revenue due to a lack of a defined sales process. The culprit? Misaligned processes and internal buyer risk. (The Sales Collective)

Will this continue into 2026? Yes.

As organizations face more complexity and competing strategic initiatives (especially in tighter economic times), pipeline risk due to internal priorities will rise.
Sellers and RevOps systems that incorporate initiative alignment, change-risk scoring, and multiparty stakeholder mapping will handle this better.

Post link

17) Old Methodologies Are Costing You Million-Dollar Deals

The post describes a lost $1.2M deal because the company used a legacy methodology (e.g., MEDDPICC) without updating it for modern buyer behaviour. The ask: modernize methodology to match modern buying groups, remote buying, and value-consulting.

Implications on the market:

Sales methods must evolve. Frameworks built for simpler buying contexts won’t hold up in more complex, digital, multi-stakeholder sales.
Enablement must refresh methodologies, embed value-and-outcome focus, and integrate AI-enabled analytics.

Did this continue throughout 2025? Yes.

Outreach’s 2025 Data Report found that the majority of orgs reported win rates between 16% and 30%, with only 13% above 40%. (Outreach)
The Sales Collective found that only 50% of leaders say high-performing teams measure efficiency via conversion rates, meaning many still rely on legacy metrics. (The Sales Collective)

Will this continue into 2026? Yes.

Methodologies that don’t reflect buyer behaviors, decision-making complexity, AI-enabled outreach, and digital buyer journeys will become a liability.
Organizations that evolve to a value-outcome methodology, integrate AI-enabled analytics, and consider digital buyer expectations will outperform.

Post link

Sales hiring prioritizes character over credentials

Talent strategy evolved in 2025. The companies that keep hiring based on yesterday’s playbook will be outpaced by those building teams who are ready for what’s next.

As win rates dropped and productivity pressure increased, companies stopped chasing résumés and started looking for something harder to train: curiosity, grit, adaptability, and empathy. The traditional profile: SaaS experience, industry knowledge, and a quota badge didn’t guarantee results. In a year defined by rapid AI adoption and buyer behavior shifts, past experience often became a false signal.

Hiring managers began prioritizing coachability over credentials and character over career history. Instead of over-hiring, leadership started investing in the performance and enablement of smaller, sharper teams.

19) Stop Hiring Experienced Salespeople

The post argues that sales hiring should shift away from simply “experienced SaaS reps” and instead focus on reps who have the natural aptitudes and personality to sell. Instead of looking for a strong résumé with certain titles or X years or experience, sales orgs should look for people who can self-learn, are curious and adaptable, and who naturally align with your process.

Implications on the market:

Talent strategy must pivot from “years in quota” to skill-based, behavior-based hiring (sales aptitude, coachability, process orientation).
Enablement and onboarding programs become more critical: if hiring less “experienced” reps, you need strong ramp and support.
RevOps and HR need to use assessments, structured interviews, and data-driven metrics to identify high-potential reps rather than relying on prior titles.

Did this continue throughout 2025? Yes.

According to “Emerging Trends in SaaS Sales Hiring” (Hiredna, 2025), companies emphasized soft skills and adaptability more than pure years of experience. (HireDNA)
Recruitment trends for 2025 emphasize skill-based hiring (Recruiterflow blog) over traditional credentials: “skill-based hiring will be a primary focus in 2025.” (Recruiterflow)

Will this continue into 2026? Yes. Strong likelihood.

When growth slows and productivity matters more, organizations will prefer flexible, trainable reps over “experience” for its own sake.
Hiring criteria will increasingly include data-backed indicators (learning agility, tool proficiency, behavioral fit), and less emphasis on “was at XYZ SaaS company for 5 years.”
Companies less willing to invest heavily in headcount will favor high-potential hires + strong enablement.

Post link

Buyer models reset around psychology and precision

The traditional funnel continues to break down. MQL-SQL handoffs, static personas, and generic messaging underperformed across the board. In their place, a new model started gaining traction: GTM motions rooted in psychology, personalization, and precision.

AI played a major role, but a risky one. When used well, it allowed teams to build hyper-relevant, insight-driven experiences that respected the buyer’s context. But when used poorly, it amplified the problem: more noise, more automation, less connection. In 2025, that gap became impossible to ignore.

The teams that gained ground were the ones who treated AI as a tool for deeper empathy, not just speed. They aligned cross-functional teams around real buyer signals, not assumptions. And they reorganized workflows around how people actually research, evaluate, and commit.

20) AI, Buyer Psychology, and the New Buyer Model

The post observes that the old buyer model, where sellers lead the process, has shifted. Today, buyers are more independent, use AI, rely on self-service, and expect sales to meet them at their initiative. Sellers must know buyer goals, use AI to engage, and adapt to the new buyer model rather than expecting buyers to adapt to theirs.

Implications on the market:

GTM strategy must reflect a buyer-led model: sellers become guides, not just presenters.
RevOps and Enablement must help teams shift from “pitching” to insight-driven engagement, leveraging AI for buyer research, personalization, and automation of self-service paths.
Sales and marketing alignment must be tighter: buyers begin upstream, before sales show up. So, content, digital experience, and sales must integrate.

Did this continue throughout 2025? Yes.

“B2B Buyer Behavior in 2025: 40 Stats and Five Hard Truths” highlights buyer independence, committee complexity, and early decisions. (Corporate Visions)
“2025 B2B Buyer Behavior Report” analyzes millions of buyer interactions and shows digital/AI-led buyer behavior. (goconsensus.com)
Ipsos’s “B2B 2025 Buyer Journey Trends” emphasises new tech (AI) and changing buyer dynamics. (Ipsos)

Will this continue into 2026? Yes. And it will likely accelerate.

As AI and digital tools continue to empower buyers, the seller’s role bifurcates to early-stage self-service + late-stage human orchestration.
Organizations that don’t adapt their buyer model risk falling behind as buyers go further independently before engaging sales.
Expect investment in buyer-insight platforms, AI for early buyer engagement, and sales strategy that starts with buyer intent and research, not with outreach.

Post link

What GTM Leaders Should Do Now

After a year like 2025, it’s easy to feel like you’re falling behind.

Trends moved fast. Buyer behavior changed faster. And across RevOps, AI, outbound, and execution, the ground kept shifting under GTM teams trying to keep up. But it’s important to keep in mind that you don’t need to act on everything all at once. You just need to start with one clear end goal and work backward from there.

Chances are, in this article, we covered an exact friction point you’re experiencing. Whether it’s a misaligned process, outdated outreach, or teams struggling to adopt AI, the fix starts by asking: What outcome are we trying to drive? Then: What needs to change to get us there?

If you’re looking for momentum, here are three areas where leading teams are already moving:

1. Codify what works, and cut what doesn’t.

- Shrink your stack, simplify your process, and eliminate internal friction.
- Systematize repeatable success. Build around outcomes, not individuals.

2. Reskill your team for AI-native GTM.

- Turn AI from theory into workflow.
- Focus on enablement, adoption, and leadership fluency.

3. Rebuild outbound and buyer engagement around psychology.

- Stop playing the numbers game. Start getting strategic about timing, tone, and intent.
- Let data guide who you reach and how you show up.

If you’re ready to operationalize change, Skaled can help. From AI GTM enablement to fractional revenue leadership, we focus on what will help you move the needle.

Trends Report 2025: Lessons in RevOps, AI GTM, and Outbound Shifts

RevOps gets a seat at the table

1) Systematize Your Way to Growth (PE partner POV)

Implications on the market:

Did this continue throughout 2025? Yes.

Will it continue into 2026? Very likely.

2) Stop Adding Tools to Broken Processes (Tool Sprawl vs. Process)

Implications on the market:

Did this continue throughout 2025? Strongly yes.

Will it continue into 2026? Yes.

3) The CFO Productivity Paradigm Shift (Optimize Before Hiring)

Implications on the market:

Did this continue throughout 2025? Yes.

Will it continue into 2026? Yes.

Related Content: Should You Double Your Sales Headcount or Double Your Productivity?

4) 3 Leadership Behaviors that Kill Sales Productivity (Manage for Outcomes)

Implications on the market:

Did this continue throughout 2025? Yes.

Will it continue into 2026? Yes.

AI in sales goes from experiment to engine

5) ChatGPT Is Not Cheating. It’s the New Google for Sellers

Implications on the market:

Did this continue throughout 2025? Yes.

Will this continue into 2026? Yes. And it will normalize.

6) The ChatGPT Prospecting Prompt that Saves Hours

Implications on the market:

Did this continue throughout 2025? Yes.

Will this continue into 2026? Yes. It will move from prompts to packaged assistants.

Related Content: A Day in the Life of an AI-Powered SaaS Seller in 2026

7) AI Might Replace Enablement (Unless It Evolves)

Implications on the market:

Did this continue throughout 2025? Partially. Pressure rose and maturity lagged.

Will this continue into 2026? Yes. Survival will come from reinvention.

8) Losing to Nostalgia: GenAI and the B2B Sales Crisis

Implications on the market:

Did this continue throughout 2025? Yes. Adoption rose, but many stalled.

Will this continue into 2026? Yes. But leaders will force the issue.

9) Execs Must Learn AI Tools Themselves

Implications on the market:

Did this continue throughout 2025? Yes.

Will this continue into 2026? Yes. Leadership tech literacy will become a baseline competency.

Related Content: 27 Best AI Sales Tools for 2025

Outbound becomes a performance channel again

10) The Death of Cold Outreach (and Rise of Relevance)

Implications on the market:

Did this continue throughout 2025? Yes.

Will this continue into 2026? Yes. And it will become more automated.

Related Content: How to Prompt ChatGPT to Profile Your Prospects

11) The Psychology of High-Performing Outreach

Implications on the market:

Did this continue throughout 2025? Yes.

Will this continue into 2026? Yes.

12) Buyers Don’t Want to Hop on a Call

Implications on the market:

Did this continue throughout 2025? Yes.

Will this continue into 2026? Yes. Digital experience will be a differentiator.

13) Sales Qualification Is Killing Your Deals

Implications on the market:

Did this continue throughout 2025? Yes.

Will this continue into 2026? Yes.

Related Content: VECS: Identifying Vetted, Educated, and Cold Buyers

Sales process breaks away from frameworks and toward buyer alignment

14) Our Sales Team Isn’t Bad at Closing. They’re Bad at Qualifying.

Implications on the market:

Did this continue throughout 2025? Yes.

Will this continue into 2026? Yes.

15) Stop Waiting for the Big Close

Implications on the market:

Did this continue throughout 2025? Yes.

Will this continue into 2026? Yes.

16) The Hidden Pipeline Killer: Competing Initiatives

Implications on the market:

Did this continue throughout 2025? Yes.

Will this continue into 2026? Yes.

17) Old Methodologies Are Costing You Million-Dollar Deals

Did this continue throughout 2025? Yes.

Will this continue into 2026? Yes.

Related Content: Engineering Your Sales Process for Speed Using NTENT

18) Cut the Fluff from Your Pipeline

Implications on the market: