After the Sales Enablement Collective event earlier this month in London and dozens of recent conversations with commercial leaders, one trend is becoming unmistakably clear: the go-to-market (GTM) performance gap is widening.
This gap is being driven by several forces all hitting simultaneously: rapid shifts in buyer behavior, accelerating tech evolution, internal misalignment, and increasing execution complexity. Our latest GTM Performance Gap report validates what leaders are feeling intuitively: the pace of change is now outstripping the pace of most organizations’ ability to adapt.
But the most striking pattern isn’t just that the gap exists. It’s how unevenly organizations are responding to it.
AI is becoming the great divider, but not for the reasons people think
Almost every company is exploring AI in some form. Yet their trajectories look radically different.
- The majority are still experimenting: They run small pilots, test AI in isolated pockets, and collect interesting insights that rarely make it into the core GTM rhythm.
- A smaller group is pulling ahead, fast: Not because they use more AI, but because they use it intentionally. They define clear use cases, tie them to measurable outcomes, and build a path that links experimentation to execution.
That intentionality, a strategic view of where AI fits and why, is what turns pilots into progress and progress into advantage.
Why execution maturity now matters more than ever
Across the leaders who are accelerating, a common pattern emerges: They treat strategy and execution as inseparable. They recognize that you can’t solve alignment issues, seller readiness challenges, or inconsistent customer engagement through isolated tools or disconnected workflows. And you can’t navigate constant change without a system that helps teams stay coordinated, informed, and accountable.
In this environment:
- Insights must translate directly into action.
- Actions must connect to measurable outcomes.
- Teams must have a shared view of what “good” looks like.
- GTM functions must operate as one, not as a collection of silos.
This is ultimately a question of maturity: the shift from experimenting with possibilities to executing with purpose.
Unified systems are becoming a prerequisite for modern GTM
One theme came through repeatedly in conversations: leaders don’t need more automation. Instead, they need orchestration.
Automating tasks is easy. Every point tool can do that. Coordinating a modern GTM motion across roles, systems, and customer touchpoints is where organizations struggle. However, unified platforms are emerging as the critical performance enabler because they:
- Connect insights, actions, coaching, and outcomes in one loop
- Provide consistent guidance in the flow of work
- Reduce administrative drag
- Strengthen governance and measurement
- Create the alignment necessary for durable execution
This is why Highspot was recognized by Gartner for leadership in execution, not because of a feature, but because execution maturity is now a strategic capability, and unified systems make it achievable.
Where high-performing organizations start
The teams that are advancing fastest aren’t trying to “boil the ocean.” They begin with the areas of highest friction:
- Seller upskilling and coaching
- Customer engagement consistency
- Real-time answers and guidance in the flow of work
- Reducing time wasted searching for information
These use cases deliver immediate value and build the foundation for scaled, AI-driven transformation. Over time, as organizations mature, the value compounds. Insights improve. Coaching becomes more targeted. Execution becomes more predictable. And strategic decisions become faster because leaders finally see the GTM engine end-to-end.
From experimentation to transformation
The core message for GTM leaders today is that AI doesn’t create maturity — it amplifies it. The organizations seeing real impact are those that pair AI with clarity, governance, and a unified approach to GTM execution. For the rest, the gap will continue to widen. But the encouraging part is that maturity is not a leap — it’s a sequence. Define the right use cases. Measure impact. Build the connective tissue across teams. Let the system handle the orchestration, so your people can focus on thinking.
This is how organizations move from experimenting with AI to transforming GTM performance with it.
