Question 1

What do Sales & Revenue leaders say about the future in September 2026?

Accepted Answer

Across 17 executive interviews, Future Outlook sentiment reads 85.3/100 — net-optimistic, up 4.5 vs. quarter ago. Here's the range of what they're actually saying: Bullish: "Mike describes his role at Raybine as "incredibly exciting" and speaks with clear enthusiasm about scaling the company and his career trajectory." (C-Suite Sales & Marketing Perspectives) Mixed: "Matt is confident in his company's ability to solve problems ('we love problems, we love when fires arise') but is neutral/resigned that the broader tariff complexity 'won't be solved anytime soon'." (Industrial Talk)

Question 2

What do Sales & Revenue leaders say about the economy in September 2026?

Accepted Answer

Across 17 executive interviews, Economy sentiment reads 42.6/100 — net-cautious, down 4.5 vs. quarter ago. Here's the range of what they're actually saying: Bullish: "He notes they've insulated themselves from external cost pressures like energy and steel costs via local suppliers, delivering faster lead times than ever." (The New Warehouse) Mixed: "Only briefly touches macro conditions ("price does matter," buyers waiting longer to engage sales) without strong optimism or pessimism—largely neutral/hedged." (C-Suite Sales & Marketing Perspectives) Skeptical: "He cites tariff-driven supply chain inflation, long lead times for transformers/turbines, and says the loss of tax credits 'has definitely dampened the demand,' painting a strained macro/policy backdrop." (POLITICO Energy)

Question 3

What do Sales & Revenue leaders say about their industry in September 2026?

Accepted Answer

Across 17 executive interviews, Industry Forecast sentiment reads 67.6/100 — net-optimistic, down 1.6 vs. quarter ago. Here's the range of what they're actually saying: Bullish: "Very bullish on ERP/SaaS space as 'one of the last software moats,' huge TAM, and safe from AI disruption ('no one's going to vibe code it'), tempered by skepticism toward AI-SDR hype in sales specifically." (GTMnow Podcast) Mixed: "Acknowledges sales playbooks are "being rewritten faster than ever" and B2B buying behavior is shifting, framed as a challenge to manage rather than a clear positive or negative trend." (C-Suite Sales & Marketing Perspectives) Skeptical: "Host notes it's 'really hard to be a sales leader... because AI slop is filling inboxes' and SDRs are pushed for 4x meetings, framing outbound sales as an increasingly challenging environment." (30 Minutes to President's Club)

Question 4

What do Sales & Revenue leaders say about AI in September 2026?

Accepted Answer

Across 17 executive interviews, AI sentiment reads 64.7/100 — net-optimistic, up 5.1 vs. quarter ago. Here's the range of what they're actually saying: Bullish: "Praises AI for slashing pre-call planning time ("this is strategic sales planning 101 that used to take a week") and building dossiers, though he flags concerns about misinformation and "mistrust" it can create." (C-Suite Sales & Marketing Perspectives) Mixed: "Expresses strong enthusiasm for AI boosting individual productivity ('10x salesperson') and being essential to stay employable, but is explicitly skeptical of AI outbound/SDR tools calling them 'spam tools' that don't work for complex B2B…" (GTMnow Podcast) Skeptical: "AI is framed mainly as a risk multiplier—enabling 'vibe coding' that increases vulnerabilities and empowering 'AI engines in the hands of threat actors'—more cautionary than enthusiastic." (Outcomes Rocket)

Question 5

What do Sales & Revenue leaders say about innovation in September 2026?

Accepted Answer

Across 17 executive interviews, Innovation sentiment reads 80.9/100 — net-optimistic, up 8.8 vs. quarter ago. Here's the range of what they're actually saying: Bullish: "Excited about new prospecting tools and drone imagery ("nobody else is doing that right now... it's really cool stuff") and pushes his team to embrace new approaches." (C-Suite Sales & Marketing Perspectives) Mixed: "Rapid technological and product innovation is described as a competitive pressure ('everybody's catching up') but also as something to be managed through trust rather than embraced outright—balanced framing." (C-Suite Sales & Marketing Perspectives) Skeptical: "His own origin story centers on being disrupted and put out of business by the internet ('the internet was part of it... it was a real humbling experience'), and he describes himself as intentionally 'old school' with tools, showing more…" (Sales Success Stories)

VP Sales × Direct to Consumer: How the Conversation Is Moving

Topic Indexes — Sales & Revenue

In their own words — Sales & Revenue

What do Sales & Revenue leaders say about the future in September 2026?

What do Sales & Revenue leaders say about the economy in September 2026?

What do Sales & Revenue leaders say about their industry in September 2026?

What do Sales & Revenue leaders say about AI in September 2026?

What do Sales & Revenue leaders say about innovation in September 2026?

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