GTM Confidence Index FY26: Why B2B Growth Ambition Is Rising but Execution Confidence Is Falling
Senior go-to-market (GTM) leaders are setting more aggressive growth targets than ever for 2026. But confidence in achieving them is collapsing.
At the launch of Magnus’ inaugural GTM Confidence Index, over 100 senior B2B commercial leaders shared a consistent reality: ambition is accelerating, yet belief in delivery is not.
Only 9% of leaders feel highly confident they will hit their 2026 targets.
This widening gap between ambition and execution is now one of the biggest risks to B2B growth. The GTM Confidence Index reveals why, and what separates organisations that feel in control from those operating in permanent uncertainty.
Below are the five structural drivers that most strongly determine GTM confidence.
1. Pipeline Predictability Is the #1 Driver of GTM Confidence
Pipeline quality, not pipeline volume, determines confidence.
Leaders who trust their current-quarter pipeline are 9× more likely to be confident in achieving their 2026 goals. Yet most organisations struggle with:
- Weak qualification
- Conversion inconsistency
- Leakage between sales stages
- Poor handoffs between marketing and sales
- Inaccurate forecasting
High-confidence organisations show the opposite:
- Clear Ideal Customer Profiles (ICPs)
- Tight sales–marketing alignment
- Rigorous deal qualification
- Disciplined forecasting and review cadences
When pipeline predictability breaks, confidence collapses first.
2. Rising Revenue Targets Without Budget Increases Destroy Confidence
The Index exposes a structural imbalance in modern GTM teams:
- Over 50% of leaders report flat budgets
- Growth expectations continue to rise
When targets increase without matching investment, 63% of leaders fall into the low-confidence group.
The result:
- Overstretched teams
- Excessive focus on top-of-funnel activity
- Underfunded enablement
- Systems that cannot scale
Where budgets align with ambition, confidence more than doubles (to 20%).
This has become a defining leadership question:
Do we have the resources required to achieve the targets we’ve set?
3. AI Adoption Is High, But Real GTM Impact Is Still Rare
AI is no longer optional in B2B GTM.
- 88% of organisations are experimenting with or using AI
- Only 12% report transformational impact
Most usage remains concentrated in content creation, not in the workflows that drive predictable growth:
- Segmentation
- Account prioritisation
- Personalisation
- Qualification
- Forecasting
- ABM orchestration
The biggest blocker is capability:
- 33% cite lack of internal AI expertise
The data is clear:
GTM confidence rises only when AI is embedded into core revenue workflows, not when it remains a side experiment.
4. Disconnected GTM Tech Stacks Quietly Undermine Execution
Despite years of investment:
- Only 11% of leaders say their GTM systems are fully integrated
Most organisations operate with:
- Fragmented tools
- Partial reporting
- Manual workarounds
- Conflicting data
The consequences:
- Poor visibility
- Slow decisions
- Broken customer journeys
- Inconsistent execution
Leaders with integrated GTM stacks are 5× more likely to be confident in hitting their 2026 targets.
Confidence grows when teams operate from a single source of truth.
5. Sales and Marketing Alignment Is a Commercial Requirement, Not a Cultural Nice-to-Have
Only 27% of organisations report full sales and marketing alignment.
In siloed organisations, confidence in hitting 2026 targets drops to zero.
Misalignment shows up as:
- Conflicting goals
- Inconsistent pipeline definitions
- Weak operating cadence
- Lack of executive sponsorship
High-confidence teams operate with:
- Unified revenue goals
- Shared KPIs
- Joint forecasting
- Regular cross-functional rhythm
Alignment is not cultural. It is structural. And it directly drives growth reliability.
What the GTM Confidence Index Really Reveals
Confidence is not emotional.
It is operational.
Leaders gain confidence when the GTM system becomes:
- Predictable
- Resourced
- Integrated
- Data-driven
- Aligned
Confidence is simply a proxy for growth readiness.
Across the data, five characteristics consistently separate high-confidence organisations:
- Predictable, high-quality pipeline
- Budgets aligned to ambition
- Integrated GTM technology stacks
- AI embedded into core workflows
- Unified commercial operating rhythm
Building a GTM Engine for Confident Growth in 2026
The GTM Confidence Index confirms what many B2B leaders already feel:
the gap between strategy and execution is widening.
But it also shows how confidence is rebuilt through stronger systems, clearer structure, and disciplined operations.
At Magnus, this is our daily work: helping B2B organisations design GTM engines that turn ambition into predictable growth.
To benchmark your own organisation, explore the full GTM Confidence Index FY26 and see exactly where confidence comes from, and how to build it.
