CEO @GTM Partners | WSJ best selling Author of MOVE | Co-founder @Terminus @Peak Community

10 years ago, found my true passion: Teaching.

1️⃣ Teaching business – How to build and scale companies.
2️⃣ Teaching leadership – How to align teams for success.
3️⃣ Teaching life – Because business without purpose is empty.

That’s why I combine them all to teach the business of Go-To-Market, leadership, and life.

Built and exited two well known companies (Pardot → Salesforce $2.7B, Terminus → acquired twice).
Written 3 books, including WSJ bestseller MOVE: The 4-Question Go-To-Market Framework.
Created the GTM Operating System, now used by thousands.
Hosted 1,000+ podcast episodes on GTM Made Simple.
Taught 70,000+ students through my LinkedIn courses.

I write daily on LinkedIn around the five core truths about Go-To-Market:

🚀 Trust in NRR.
🚀 CEO owns GTM.
🚀 Systems > Goals.
🚀 GTM is a transformation process.
🚀 Business transformation happens in teams.

175K+ people read my weekly research note on GTM: https://gtmonday.substack.com/
11K+ subscribers follow my personal insights: https://becomingintentional.substack.com/
To Book me for speaking, keynotes: https://sangramhere.com/

I’m on a mission to make Go-To-Market simple—for CEOs, founders, and teams. If you want to bring clarity, alignment, and trust to grow your business, let's talk.

Join my MOVE book companion course for CEOs, founders and GTM leaders 
and GTM Operating System Course (Used in two $100M+ exits, rated 4.5/5 stars

DM me. Let’s build something great—intentionally. Join the MOVEment!

Sangram Vajre

10 years. 3 companies. 1 designer behind all of it.

meet Shannel Wheeler, PMP.

she has designed every brand element of three of my most successful businesses:

→ Terminus (by DemandScience) and thru 5 acquisitions — from zero to $100M+ business
→ FlipMyFunnel — 100K+ community that created the ABM category (as stated by Forrester when Terminus was named as a leader back in the day)
→ GTM Partners — helping 100 GTM execs become financially independent by building $300K+ businesses

every deck. every website. every visual that brought these ideas to life.

that work helped create 1000s of jobs and new markets.

as i came across this photo today, it made me smile and appreciate lifelong friendships that make life epic.

she didn't tell me to do this.

but if you need a branding genius or fractional designer — reach out to her. you'll thank me later.

love,
sangram

Built two $100M+ companies | WSJ Best Selling Author of MOVE on go-to-market | GTMonday Editor with 175K+ subscribers teaching the GTM Operating System

*** Fractional CMOs and aspiring Fractional GTM Leaders:

as a 2 time CMO turned Fractional GTM Leader building a $7M advisory business in last 4 years, i finally have something put together.

my step-by-step process of how Bryan Brown and I - 2 people team built a profitable fractional business and how we are scaling it in 2026.

plus as of this morning, 70+ GTM OS Certified Partners who joined in 2025 are already averaging $250K+ based on the recent survey.

after 4 long years and helping 70+ GTM OS certified partners achieve their personal and financial dreams, i am finally sharing my learnings in a keynote to PE firms and Marketing Summit:

Title: How to Build Your Fractional GTM Business in 2026

i also went ahead and did a recording of this so i can run thru key ideas in a bit more depth than the keynote.

as of this morning, i packaged it up in a nice little course with slides, videos, and examples of real fractional success stories from people like Tim Hillison Sarah Allen-Short Sue Foley and a few other leaders on how they went from "should i" to "i make more than a traditional CMO and get my life back"

so... who is it for? 

NOT for everyone. it's for serious GTM leaders who want to build a fractional  business of $250K+/year and know that the old playbooks are not working anymore and are looking to find better ways to build your business and transform your life, not just career.

how to get it:
like and comment "Access" and my EA will dm you the link 

timing: 
after my keynote tomorrow at 11 am EST.

love,
sangram
p.s. follow Sangram Vajre on all things go-to-market and if you are in ATL come say hi!

#CMO #fractional #GTM

$13M CEO: "our ICP is broken."

me: "who built it?"

CEO: "marketing."

me: "that's the problem."

CEO: "what do you mean? ICP is a marketing thing."

me: "no. ICP is a business thing. when marketing builds ICP alone, sales ignores it. product doesn't know it exists. CS is left cleaning up bad-fit customers."

CEO: "but... our marketing team should know our customers."

me: "do they sit on sales calls? do they see the CS tickets? do they know which deals close fast and which ones drag for 6 months?"

CEO: "that's not their job."

me: "exactly. that's why ICP can't be their job either."

CEO: "so what are you saying?"

me: "i'm saying you need to be in the room. you, your CRO, your CMO, your CS leader. ICP is a GTM decision. not a marketing exercise."

CEO: "i don't have time for that."

me: "you don't have time to define who you're building the entire company around?"

CEO: "we're already selling. we just need marketing to fix the targeting."

me: "you're not going to like this… but i don't think we're a good fit."

CEO: "what?"

me: "you want us to fix your GTM. but you're not willing to be part of the fix. that never works."

we walked away from that deal.

and i'd do it again.

because here's the truth:

ICP is not a marketing job.

CEO has to part of this process and it's the foundation of all your GTM.

and when the CEO won't sit in that room, nothing we do will matter anyway.

did i make a mistake by declining to do advisory for this company?

love,
sangram
p.s. if you are CEO and wants a GTM OS Certified Partner to do planning that is expert in your industry, just dm me and i will connect you!

$11M CEO: "i need to hire a CMO, right now."

me: "why?"

CEO: "we need to scale."

me: "you can't afford it."

CEO: "what do you mean?"

me: "hire a seasoned fractional who's been there, done that. 10-20 hours a week. pair them with an implementer to get things moving. scale to $20M+, then think about full-time."

CEO: "i don't believe in fractional."

6 months later, the same CEO calls me back.

they'd fired two full-time CMOs.

now they wanted a referral for a fractional (since we have a GTMarketplace for match making for founder to fractional)

look — i get it. hiring full-time works when you have everything in place.

but sometimes you don't need a full-time exec.

you need a smart, experienced person who's been there and done that.

someone who can move fast, set the foundation, and not burn through your runway while you figure it out.

fractional isn't a backup plan.

for a lot of companies, it's the smarter first move.

your take?

love,
sangram

my 15-year-old son just made 100 sales calls.

got cursed at. hung up on. told to never call again.

then he asked me the question every founder eventually asks: "papa, why is nobody buying?"

here's what broke my heart — and taught us both everything:

he built this beautiful AI website builder. automated booking. slick interface. the simply works.

his pitch was perfect: "i'll build you an AI-assisted website that handles everything automatically!"

business owners' response? 

click.

not because he's 15. not because the product was bad.

because he was in problem-market fit, not product-market fit.

huge difference.

𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺-𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝘁 = selling painkillers to people with migraines
𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁-𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝘁 = selling vitamins to people who feel fine

my son was selling vitamins.

"AI-assisted website" sounds cool to us tech folks.

to a plumber who gets clients from word-of-mouth? 

it's like offering to upgrade the engine on a car that runs perfectly fine.

the brutal truth i had to tell him:

most business owners don't wake up thinking "i need an AI website."

they wake up thinking "i need more customers" or "i'm losing jobs to competitors."

if your first 100 calls feel like pulling teeth...

you're not bad at sales.

you're solving the wrong problem.

find the migraine first.

then build the painkiller.

my son pivoted his pitch last week. instead of "AI website," he now leads with "what if you never missed another customer call?"

3 actually calls in 5 days.

same product. different problem.

that's the entire game.

love,
sangram

p.s. watching your kid learn GTM lessons at 15 that most founders don't get until series B? priceless. he's now teaching me snapchat... we are even.

undefined undefined

about to keynote at my fist RKO at Ignitium: ABX Orchestration 

amazing energy and excitement for the future.

sharing our research why and how  some teams succeed and others don’t, based on:

1,000+ B2B companies…
1,000+ CEO and leader interviews…

it’s magical when a group of people come together and what they can do.

wish me all the best! 

love,
sangram

No alternative text description for this image

for 4 years straight, this is my travel hack.

of course when you travel, a lot falls on your spouse and kids.

it seems infinitely challenging since it’s not normal and everything seems a bit off at home.

so i have been doing this for about 4 years… and it simply works! 

i leave handwritten cards for my wife, son and my daughter.

for my wife: a scripture verse and that she got this!

for my son: i am counting on you and you can rise up to the responsibilities at home and proud of him. 

for my daughter: i am proud of her and she needs to take care of mom while i am gone and hug her a little tighter. 

they typically read it th night i am out at dinner table.

my prayer is that they have fun and my words might replace some of my presence and being normalcy to their day…

what’s your family hack when you travel?

love,
sangram

*** big news for fractional GTM leaders. 

we just unlocked two tools — free for 1 year as our certified partners are making $250K+/year on average. 

if you want to run a real fractional business — not a chaotic side hustle — you need two things from day one:

1️⃣ a simple purpose-built CRM for fractionals to manage deals and delivery

2️⃣ a prospecting tool to start real conversations

GTM OS Certified Partners now get both at no cost for one full year:

Insightly CRM by Unbounce  — manage deals, clients, and landing pages without the enterprise bloat.

SalesIntel.io — verified contacts, clean lists by ICP, and a repeatable way to fill your pipeline.

why these matter together:

prospecting without a CRM = chaos.
CRM without prospecting = empty pipeline.

75+ GTM OS certified partners are already building their businesses on this foundation.

no duct-taped systems. no "i'll set this up later."

fractional freedom doesn't come from hustle.

it comes from leverage.

who: if you're serious about building a $250K+ fractional business in 2026 or have an existing fractional business that you want to scale. 

how to get it: like and comment "freedom" 

timing: my EA will DM you the details in 24 hrs.

love,
sangram
p.s. i wish i had these tools as we built our little $7M advisory business with just Bryan Brown and i doing it. now 75+ other amazing fractional GTM leaders are building their little business and you can too.

most GTM plans fail by Q2.

ours don't. here's the 6-step process we use every quarter.

step 1: identify your GTM valley of death

every company is stuck in one of three valleys — awareness, conversion, or retention. you can't fix all three at once. pick the one that's bleeding.

step 2: know your stage

are you in problem stage, product stage, or platform stage? each requires a completely different GTM motion. most companies run a platform playbook when they're still in problem stage which is killing the momentum.

step 3: name your top 3 GTM problems

we've identified 15 common GTM problems. pick your top 3. not 7. not 10. three for next 90 days and fix it. focus wins.

step 4: run the MOVE framework with your exec team

this exposes the gaps in how your leadership team thinks about GTM. marketing sees one thing. sales sees another. this gets everyone on the same page.

step 5: answer the 8 GTM OS questions

this puts your entire go-to-market on a single slide. who you serve. how you win. what you measure. one page. total clarity.

step 6: build your 90-day project list

not a 12-month roadmap nobody follows. a focused list of projects that move the needle this quarter.

that's it. 6 steps. every quarter.

give it a shot!

love,
sangram

p.s. we have 70+ GTM OS Certified Partners who can run this process for you who have collectively experience of running this a 1000 times. if you're a CEO or GTM exec who wants a facilitator to help — at least once, if not every quarter — comment below.

i'll match you with a GTM OS Certified Partner who specializes in your industry and segment.

love,
sangram

fractional CMO: "i work with B2B SaaS companies."

me: "which ones?"

CMO: "all of them."

me: "that's the problem."

CMO: "what do you mean? i have broad experience."

me: "broad experience doesn't win deals. specificity does. when you say 'all of them,' buyers hear 'none of them deeply.'"

CMO: "but if i niche down, i'll lose opportunities."

me: "you'll lose the wrong ones. and win the right ones faster."

CMO: "how do you know this works?"

me: "because i've watched it work. 5 times. 5 different niches. 5 fractionals building $250K+ businesses."

here's the proof:

→ Alan Gonsenhauser — PE-Backed Companies Over $100M + CMO Coaching

Alan focuses on "PE companies."
he picked $100M+ companies with CMO turnover, board pressure, and scale challenges.
he's a CMO coach specifically for portfolio companies that need strategic maturity, not more tactics. that's a niche inside a niche.

→ Shelli Ryan, APR, Fellow PRSA — Cross-Border GTM + BPO Services

while others stay broad, Shelli went ultra-specific:
helping implement BPO with cross-border companies.
that niche is exploding.
and she owns it.

→ Tim Hillison — Engineering-Led Founders

Tim isn't "GTM for all founders."
he's the go-to partner for engineering-led CEOs who need clarity, confidence, and commercial muscle.
his niche? technical founders who don't speak GTM.
his value? he translates complexity into revenue.

→ Lydia Flocchini — The Queen of Legal Tech (20 Years Deep)

Lydia isn't trying to be a horizontal fractional.
she leaned into who she already is: the most experienced GTM leader in legal tech.
founders listen. buyers trust her instantly.
she doesn't chase business — business comes to her.

→ Sarah Allen-Short — The "Work Doula" for Visionary CEOs

Sarah isn't chasing founders.
she chose to serve a completely different niche:
helping CEOs through growth, change, and chaos — with the frameworks and experience to back it up.
the more she helps, the more people show up.
she created her own category — and it works.

5 people. 5 completely different niches. all winning.

the lesson?

you don't need to serve everyone.

you need to serve someone so well that they can't imagine working with anyone else.

if you are a fractional CMO, CRO or GTM leader, comment your niche below and i will amplify it.

so... what's your niche?

love,
sangram
p.s. give these amazing GTM fractionals a follow!

2026 prediction: small, focused events will outperform big conferences.

here's proof it's already happening.

3 GTM OS Certified Partners — Maria Scheifler, Caitlin Clark-Zigmond, and Newell Falkinburg — are hosting a 90-minute workshop in Denver.

no keynotes. no expo halls. no swag bags.

just 20 GTM leaders working through the 15 most common GTM problems together.

you'll walk away with:
→ your top 3 GTM problems prioritized
→ peer perspectives from leaders in different industries
→ frameworks you can use immediately

small. focused. in-person. high signal.

the pendulum is swinging back from massive virtual events to intimate rooms where real work gets done.

if you're a CEO, CRO, or CMO in Denver — check it out.

link in comments for event and if you think it's a trend, share other events like this.

love,
sangram

i bring work home every. single. day.

but not the way you think.

i don't bring emails, slack, or stress.

i bring the skills.

the same frameworks that helped my two companies scale to over $100M, i've found they work at home too.

so my wife and i built a family operating system.

here's what the Vajre household runs on:

→ "Vajre's always make it thru with God's love, grace and truth" — our family mission statement (every company has mission and core values, why don't my family?)

→ no pay for chores — you live here, you contribute (ownership without entitlement)

→ want to earn real money to buy something?  Read books, serve the community, sell or build something (leaders are readers, does, dreamers and drivers)

→ eat only when mom sits and takes the first bite (mom does a lot, the least we can do is wait for her and honor her)

→ dinner table is tech-free and sacred — memories are made with eye contact (focused convo, no phones)

→ yearly goals + monthly 1:1s date with each kid, weekly 1:1 with spouse — 5 years straight (performance reviews works when done regularly, not once a year)

→ on vacation, only mom has the phone (connection needs disconnection)

we've been doing this for years.

not because we're perfect. we're far from it.

but because the same principles that made my companies great, i wanted to see if that will make my family better and stronger.

we all need an operating system and in absence of it, i have found myself just surviving BUT one day we decided to live like that no more.

mission. ownership. respect. focus. growth. boundaries.

it works in the boardroom.

it works at the dinner table.

so... what's one "work skill" you've brought home?

love,
sangram

1st time when we launched ABM at a $35M company, we thought we had it all figured out.

we didn't.

here's what actually happened:

we picked 100 "dream accounts."
we built personalized ads.
we sent direct mail.
we tracked engagement.

6 months later?

→ 3 meetings booked
→ 0 closed deals
→ $50K+ spent

the board asked: "what went wrong?"

the honest answer? we fell in love with the tactic, not the strategy.

here's what we missed:

1. we picked accounts we wanted, not accounts that wanted us.
no intent signals. no timing data. just logos we thought would look good on our website.

2. we personalized everything except the message.
custom ads with their logo. personalized landing pages. but the value prop? generic. they didn't care.

3. sales wasn't bought in.
marketing ran the show. sales saw it as "marketing's project." when leads came in, follow-up was slow. alignment was broken from day one.

4. we measured activity, not outcomes.
engagement scores looked great. but engagement doesn't pay the bills. pipeline does.

the fix?

we rebuilt ABM from scratch:

→ started with sales and CS input on account selection
→ used intent and signal data to find accounts already in-market
→ aligned on a shared revenue segment, not just MQLs
→ measured ICP-fit pipeline and closed revenue, nothing else

that's when ABM started working.

my lesson: 

ABM isn't broken.
GTM isn't broken.
Marketing or sales isn't broken.

but the way most teams run it? absolutely is.

your take?

love,
sangram

i got rid of all my crazy expensive tech for videos and here’s what i use now:

- iphone for crisper quality video (no lag or worries about quality)
- yeti mic 
- direct light from the sun by facing the window

that’s it!!

what’s your setup? 

love,
sangram

i want to help 100 solopreneurs make $300k+ in 2026.

one catch - you have to have 10+ years of GTM leadership experience.

not a typo. not a flex. a mission.

here's my why.

i became financially free at 41.

and it broke my brain in the best way.

for 15 years, i chased revenue. exits. titles.

built two companies past $100M. got the outcomes everyone says they want.

but when the money stopped being the goal... everything shifted.

work became projects, not obligations.
family became legacy, not "balance."
money became leverage, not the scoreboard.
partnerships became lifelong relationships, not transactions.

i stopped asking "how do i make more?"

started asking "how do i help more?"

that question led me here.

sangram here...

if you're new — i came to America 25 years ago with less than $500.

no network. no playbook. just hunger.

built Terminus to a $100M+ exit. 
wrote a WSJ bestselling book on go-to-market. 
editor of FractionalFreedomFriday with 7K+ subscribers.
editor of GTMonday with 175K+ subscribers teaching the GTM O.S.

but my next chapter isn't about building another company for myself.

it's about helping 100 new solopreneurs build $300K+ businesses.

we're building GTMarketplace — the largest network of certified fractional GTM leaders.

not a job board. not an agency.

a place where PE and recruiting firms  as well as CEOs and founders find proven fractional and interim CMOs, CROs, and GTM operators who've already solved their exact problem.

bcos the smartest execs aren't climbing corporate ladders anymore.

they're building freedom on their own terms.

if you're a fractional leader ready to stop explaining your value...

or a founder who needs GTM expertise without the full-time overhead...

this is what i'm building for you.

welcome to the fractional GTM movement.

love,
sangram

it’s windy.
it’s cold.
it isn’t fair.

that’s what my son told me this morning at his national tennis tournament in Rome, Georgia. 

so i told him what i know best from experience:

there is no perfect day… 
u have to make your day, perfect. 

in life, sports and business… we don’t practice for perfect conditions. 

you just do your best… 

no regrets!

what would you have said?

love,
sangram

"who owns GTM?"

on every podcast. every stage. every exec session — i get asked this one question over and over again.

so i'm here to settle this debate.

this is based on all the research we've done on GTM — the WSJ best-selling book MOVE, and over 1,000 live GTM assessments with exec teams from startups to publicly traded companies.

hint: it's not who you think.

answer in the video 👇

your take...

love,
sangram

CEO of $13M business: "i don't believe in fractional and agencies."

me: "78% of fast growing business CEOs disagree with you."

we just ran this survey at GTM Partners. 

78% plan to increase fractional and agencies GTM investment in 2026. 
only 7% plan to reduce it.

71% said their experience was positive—56% called it a major impact, another 15% said fractionals and agencies fill an important gap.

this isn't a fringe experiment anymore. 
it's an operating model shift.

why it's accelerating:

→ GTM complexity is rising faster than headcount tolerance. companies need alignment across marketing, sales, CS, rev ops, and product—but not all of it full time.

→ experience gaps are widening. many CEOs are scaling in markets they've never been in before. hiring a full-time CRO or CMO is expensive, slow, and risky when the GTM motion isn't clear yet.

→ speed matters more than stability. fractional leaders are hired to diagnose, design, and execute—not to play politics or optimize for tenure.

but here's what CEOs still get wrong:

→ hiring a fractional to "help" without giving them real authority
→ treating the role as advisory when the problem is operational
→ expecting full-time outcomes from part-time access
→ using fractionals to avoid hard decisions about strategy, people, or focus

when fractional fails, it's usually because the CEO wanted optionality instead of accountability.

what good fractional leadership looks like:

→ they diagnose fast. ICP quality, pipeline velocity, messaging clarity, ownership gaps—they know where to look first.

→ they design systems, not heroics. the goal is repeatable motions the team can run.

→ they create leverage. a good fractional leaves the org stronger than they found it.

if you're a CEO exploring this model, start by finding someone who's done the work you're trying to do next.

your take?

love,
sangram
p.s. look out for the full research coming out on GTMonday next week

#fractional #GTM #CEO

why would you turn down $25K newsletter sponsorship, again?

we did. last week. here's why.

a CEO reached out wanting to sponsor GTMonday. good company. real budget. easy yes for most publishers.

we said no. again.

we don't even call GTMonday a newsletter. 
we call it GTMonday, a research note, on purpose.

because the moment you take sponsorship money, you owe someone something. your research gets filtered. your recommendations get influenced. your voice gets quieter.

we wanted none of that.

3 years into writing this weekly research note, every framework we share is original. every insight comes from working with real companies. no sponsor approved it. no brand paid for ad placement.

that decision cost us short-term revenue.

but it built something bigger.

so what's the ROI of the research we publish freely for 3 years straight on a weekly basis? 

it led to a $7M+ advisory business.

175,000 people read is each Monday and share it all over the world.

70+ GTM OS certified fractionals have built their own businesses around our frameworks and the GTM OS.

every week we learn about companies that are now running the GTM Operating System, literally!

turns out, giving away your best thinking attracts the people who actually want to work with you.

not clicks. not impressions. no banner ad. real relationships that turn into real business.

so no — we're not looking for sponsors. 

now.. if you have a unique pov, then let's hear it and may be we will feature you for free.

that's the trade-off we made. and we'd make it again.

what do you think? 

love,
sangram
p.s. if you have haven't checked out GTMonday on Substack - just look it up!

Build Your B2B Content Strategy with my Course

In 2022, I bootstrapped an agency to $1M in 14 months, and sold it in 2023. During this time, I went from 'growth marketer' to 'content marketer' for 1 simple reason: 

B2B buyers educate themselves with content before buying.

- They prefer to discover you with a LinkedIn post
- Then watch a 10-min youtube explaining your POV
- Or reading a newsletter about an in-depth case study

That's how they buy, and you need to adapt.

So you need to create content but the goal is not to become a pop star.

You don't want to follow this weird model where you publish 'engaging stories' and then 'funnel down' people to middle of funnel content.

What you want is to position yourself and your business as an industry authority.

That's why I created the authority-first framework.

To help B2B businesses create content that attract buyers.

- Check out our website here: contentpath.co
- Or you can DM me directly to start working together.

Pierre Herubel

I've been a marketer for 9 years.

This is the most surprising question I've been asked:

"Testing sounds interesting, but it's not for us. Can we skip to the results phase?"

This came right after I explained the "test, iterate, scale" methodology.

It was in 2021.

And after that, I realized something very important for my career.

Marketing is often perceived as a magic button.

Press a button → get leads

Or an alternative;

Press a button → go viral → get leads

But when you're a marketer, you know that:

Marketing is all about patience, iteration, and consistency.

I help B2B businesses get clients with content

In 2026, businesses will have 2 marketing options:

(This decision will shape their entire strategy)

Option 1: Focus on the noise around shiny new tactics

Option 2: Focus on foundations + what will matter in 2026

Because here's the truth:

The last 12 months were very busy in terms of marketing innovations.

- New tools every day
- A lot of content that shares new tactics
- Constant AI updates that unlock new possibilities

It wasn't easy to avoid the shiny object syndrome.

- "Should I try this new tool, or this new process?"
- "We're not using AI for this yet, we're behind!"
- "I heard we can get leads with this hack!"

But the real winners of 2026 will focus on 2 aspects:

1. Keep building and iterating on marketing foundations

- Clear ICP, positioning, and messaging
- Strong offers based on market research
- A brand narrative that makes everything click

2. Adapt their strategy to what matters in 2026

- Use AI for tactical workflows
- Focus on intent signals & warm outbound
- Build a real content repurposing & distribution system

And of course, they'll invest a bit to test innovations.

But they will not lose focus.

Follow me, Pierre Herubel, for daily marketing tips.

I've audited over 500 marketing strategies.

My advice: ask yourself THIS question:

"Do we have a marketing system in place, or just a series of random acts of marketing?"

And here's how to answer:

- Look at the past 12 months;
- List all the marketing actions conducted;
- Analyze if they were connected or disconnected.

It's important.

Because there are only 2 types of marketing approach:

1. Reactive: launching marketing actions based on time-sensitive demand.

2. Proactive: connecting marketing programs together into a system.

And the 2nd type gets more results.

Follow me Pierre Herubel for daily marketing tips.

The B2B Marketing playbook changed a lot in 3 years.

Here are the 3 biggest tactical shifts:

1. Content was a side quest for the marketing team. It's now a crucial part of their day-to-day.

2. Businesses were spending a lot to build an attribution system. Now they're investing into intent signal systems.

3. Cold email was generating pipeline but it became harder. Now signal-based outbound is the best practice.

They reflect a deep shift in B2B marketing.

And if I had to summarize, I would say:

Before: lead generation + attribution 

- "We generated 100 MQLs" 
- "Where do they come from?"

Now: demand generation + intent signals

- "We're creating demand with content"
- "What account is showing intent?"

The new playbook is about consistently creating demand and actively prioritizing who to contact. This became possible thanks to new tech (AI, tools) and new B2B buyer behavior (self-serve buying journeys, social media as a buying channel).

And of course, the foundations remain the same:

- You need a strong strategy (ICP, positioning, messaging)
- You need marketing discipline (test, analyze, iterate)
- You need data efficiency (CRM, analytics, scoring)

So if you want to install the 2026 B2B marketing playbook:

- Invest in content, partnerships, personal brand collabs
- Gather intent signals, and do warm outbound
- Build a demand capture system

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This is the winning B2B Marketing playbook for 2026.

Let me break it down for you with 5 pillars:

1. Create content for passive buyers

Some businesses are not ready to buy (for various reasons) and don't want to be in your linear sales sequence. The best scenario is to build top of mind awareness for these types of buyers through content marketing.

- Develop clear content pillars
- Publish consistently across time
- Vary formats and channels

2. Build a solid intent signals gathering system

For long we thought attribution was the key, but with the new B2B marketing playbook, intent signals are more important. You need to constantly identify a list of prospects that have higher intent than average.

- Track content engagement across channels
- Score prospects based on signals and frequency
- Centralize signals in one CRM or system

3. Use ads to amplify what already works

Ads will not create demand out of the blue but it will expand your reach and reinforce awareness with repetition. 

- Promote top-performing content
- Retarget engaged and high-intent audiences
- Focus on repetition, not aggressive messages

4. Get ready to capture demand from active buyers

When they're ready, businesses want a fast response across channels. If you take 48 hours to reply to an inquiry, you'll lose (especially in red ocean markets). Build an efficient inbound sales system to capture and manage demand.

- Optimized social media profiles
- Dynamic forms to segment leads
- Soft captures like webinars or guides

5. Run warm outreach for potentially active buyers

Some ready-to-buy prospects who like your brand may not contact you. They may be busy, forget, or assume you’ll reach out. Acknowledge this reality and contact them directly.

- Build a social selling routine
- Create warm email sequences
- ABM for larger accounts

And AI is an enabler across the playbook.

***

We are looking to help 3 more B2B businesses to install and run this playbook in Q1 2026, tell me if you're interested.

Many founders want "leads" as fast as possible.

- "Contact everyone in the CRM"
- "Send SDRs to every event"
- "We need leads NOW!"

They want to hit the quarter sales targets.

And I feel the same. Because I'm a founder too.

But I'm also a marketer, so I know that:

- Sales cycles can be very long;
- Not everyone is ready to buy now;
- My prospects have many other things to do.

That's why I don't focus only on "lead generation".

I also do "demand generation":

- Daily content across channels
- Help my team create content
- Test new formats all the time
- Weekly in depth newsletters
- Publish complete guides
- Build micro communities
- Get invited on podcasts

The goal behind this discipline is simple:

1. Help the audience and ICP as much as possible.
2. So they might think about us when they need help.

But I also do lead generation (or you can call it demand capture):

- Host forms on landing pages
- Segment, score, and tier CRM leads
- Do warm outbound for high intent prospects

Once again, it's not about opposing "demandgen" and "leadgen".

The goal is to do both of them correctly.

And combine them into a system optimized for revenue.

Follow me for daily B2B Marketing tips.

Here's your 4-week content creation plan:

(to kick off 2026 with a clear roadmap)

Week 1:

- Top 10 List
- Client Interview
- Before and After Story
- How We (outcome)
- Industry News
- Celebration

Week 2:

- Best Practices
- Industry Trends List
- Industry Report
- Podcast Clip
- How-To Guide
- Company News
- Problem Agitate Solution

Week 3:

- Founders’ Story
- Case Study (Full)
- Expert Tips
- Live Q&A Session
- Results Announcement
- Quote
- Launch Offer

Week 4:

- Case Study (Overview)
- Opinion
- Client Testimonial
- Poll
- Build in Public
- Resource List
- Comparative Analysis

At the end of the 4 weeks you'll have created 27 types of content.

Then, if you follow the 1 = 15 rule, you'll transform those 27 pieces of content into 405 additional pieces.

That's how you start a content flywheel.

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In 2026, best brands mix pull and push marketing.

Because when you combine them, 2 things happen:

1. When your content and online presence is well established, your push marketing actions get better results;

2. Your push marketing actions maximize the ROI of your pull marketing because some people won't contact you directly.

With this mindset, there is no room for:

- "We do outbound only as inbound is uncontrollable"
- "We do inbound only as we attract only"

They are 2 core elements of an ROI formula.

And they also cover different needs:

- Push marketing allows you to get immediate results but you always need to invest to keep results.
- Pull marketing allows you to get long lasting results, but you need consistency and long term investment.

So stop opposing pull and push marketing.

Instead, start combining them into a system.

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- Domino 1: Your ICP is unclear
- Domino 2: Your positioning is broad 
- Domino 3: Your messaging is vague
- Domino 4: Your offer becomes a buffet
- Domino 5: Your sales team struggles to sell
- Domino 6: Your revenue ultimately flatlines

When your target audience is off, everything else collapses.

That's the "ICP domino effect".

And it's the 1st pattern I've identified, working on over 600 marketing strategies. I can almost always trace bad results back to a lack of focus on one clear target audience.

To be exact, there are 3 types of "domino 1":

- Type 1: "We skipped ICP and went straight to tactics"

- Type 2: "We don't want to lose any opportunities"

- Type 3: "We've outgrown our original ICP" 

So here's my advice:

Look at your 10 best customers, find the patterns, and go find 10 more like them.

Marketer: "What should I focus on in 2026?"
Me: "Start with my 4 mandatory rules:"

- Rule (1): You need to know WHO is your audience, before choosing HOW you want to be perceived.

- Rule (2): You need to define HOW you want to be perceived in order to decide WHAT to say.

- Rule (3): You need to know WHAT to say, before choosing WHERE to say it.

- Rule (4): You need to define concretely HOW you're going deliver your value proposition.

It might sound simple.

But it's even easier to mess up.

- Spamming emails without a clear message;
- Hosting webinars without a value proposition;
- Writing a positioning statement without a clear ICP.

And the reason is always the same:

→ "We need quick results"

But the truth is that you can't get long lasting results without the right foundations. It’s like building a sandcastle, you might have something today, but tomorrow, you’ll have to start from scratch.

So remember:

To nail your marketing strategy, you'll need to:

1/ Define WHO your is audience
2/ Choose HOW you want to be perceived
3/ Write WHAT you want to say
4/ Decide HOW you deliver transformation

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In 2026, it's harder to stand out with content.

But it's definitely easier with these 3 rules:

1. Don't think about the format or the hook first. Instead, think about the unique insight you want to share.

2. Always add your point of view (POV) to the insight. When information is available everywhere, your expert perspective matters more.

3. Introduce your insight with a double hook: visual and text. This will allow you to attract attention and frame your point in an interesting way.

This is differentiation 101:

Unique insights + unique point of view + unique formatting.

And that's exactly what you need in a red ocean of generic content.

- You become memorable (top of mind awareness)
- You build an audience that truly wants to read your POV
- You position your brand (or personal brand) as an authority

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In 2026, too many brands still start from "let's run ads".

Here are the 3 strategic layers they're missing:

- A demand strategy with ICP and positioning clarity
- A demand plan with channels, metrics, and sales alignment
- A demand execution roadmap for creation AND capture

They want to "generate pipeline" but:

- Don't know who their buying group is
- Don't know what messaging resonates
- Don't know how to balance creation vs capture

They're missing the foundations of demand gen.

So they end up optimizing small details:

- "Should we gate this ebook or not?"
- "I think it didn't convert because of the CTA"

Now of course the demand gen system in 2026 is about EXECUTION.

- You need intent signals and lead scoring
- You need great content and optimized forms
- You need to combine paid ads, SEO, community, and CRM

But as any other marketing motion, demand gen relies on foundations.

Here are 3 examples on how exactly:

- Solid channel selection → based on ICP definition
- High-converting landing pages → based on messaging
- Effective sales handoff → based on buying group mapping

So let's focus on demand strategy (1) and demand plan (2) first.

Demand execution (3) comes next.

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B2B Partnerships are changing in 2026.

Here's the new playbook explained in 5 parts:

1. Context: from brand partnerships to personal brand partnerships

Marketing is moving from "brand-to-people" (SEO, ads, guides, company pages) to "people-to-people" (personal brands, thought leadership ads, owned channels, creator newsletters). 

Partnerships are also naturally evolving in this direction.

2. Distributing content only through your internal personal brands isn't enough

If you're running an "in-house personal brand program", you're ahead of most competitors. But the top businesses are adding extra layers of distribution.

Here's what they understood:

- Only publishing on 1-2 profiles is limiting
- Using multiple channels increases distribution
- Publishing on multiple profiles amplifies network effects

3. Use the 5 winning partnership tactics for 2026

You can choose from 5 tactics:

- Tactic 1: Your internal personal brands publish on their own channels.

- Tactic 2: Your internal personal brands co-create (and co-distribute) collaborative posts with influencers.

- Tactic 3: Thought leaders in your industry publish content about your brand.

- Tactic 4: You incentivize your clients to show how they use your solution.

- Tactic 5: You co-create and co-distribute content with complementary solutions.

You should always start from tactic 1.

4. Plug your partnerships programs into your GTM system

Partnerships shouldn't be siloed from your main marketing strategy. 

Here's how to connect them:

- Analyze results to identify best marketing messages
- Collect, analyze, and act on engagement
- Plug your warm outbound campaigns (intent-based)
- Boost the best performing content with ads
- Repurpose the best content into other formats

5. Track the impact of this marketing motion

Analyze results on two levels:

- Secondary metrics: impressions, views, engagement, saves, shares, monthly growth.

- Primary metrics: inbound leads, ICP-fit engagement.

Overall the 3 main questions are:

- Are partnerships growing the brand awareness?
- Are we getting inbound leads?
- Is it facilitating warm outbound?

***

We're deploying this playbook for our clients in Q1.

Follow me Pierre Herubel to get the updates on the B2B marketing playbook for 2026.

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