AI is forcing GTM leaders to rethink their Value Automation strategy, but the real question isn’t build vs. buy. It’s who owns the workflow that defines, proves, and delivers value.
For years, the role of the Value Engineer or Value Consultant has been a cornerstone of modern go-to-market teams. Helping quantify ROI, build business cases, and justify decisions has become essential in complex B2B sales.
But as the market shifts toward an Outcome Economy, it raises an important question: Is the role itself evolving beyond its name?
The software industry is entering another period of transformation. According to Deloitte’s 2026 Software Industry Outlook, financial pressure, AI-first products, and new competitors are reshaping how software companies operate and compete.
But beneath these technology trends is a deeper shift that every go-to-market leader should understand: The market is moving toward an Outcome Economy.
According to recent benchmarks, quota attainment has settled into a lower “new normal,” well below the highs of 2021. Across roles, fewer than half of sellers are consistently hitting their targets. This is not a temporary dip. It is a structural shift.
And it raises an important question: Why are so many go-to-market teams still missing quota, despite more tools, more data, and now, more AI than ever before?
Despite years of emphasis on value selling, fewer than one in five sellers consistently apply it in customer conversations. Closing this adoption gap through structured training and practice may be one of the most effective ways for B2B organizations to drive revenue growth.
CFOs are no longer passive approvers at the end of the sales cycle. They are active architects of enterprise strategy, capital allocation, and value realization.
The buying landscape has fundamentally changed. We are firmly in the Outcome Economy, where results are the currency of trust, renewal, and growth.
CFOs are no longer passive approvers at the end of the sales cycle. They are active architects of enterprise strategy, capital allocation, and value realization.
For years, the business case was the centerpiece of the value selling motion.
But with AI and the need for continuous realized value this leads to the question: Is the traditional pre-sales business case obsolete?
New research offers a good snapshot into how value management is actually being practiced inside B2B organizations today.
The research reveals an industry at an important crossroads: value is widely recognized as critical, investment is growing, but execution and adoption still lag far behind intent.
Our most popular 2025 insight articles, podcasts and resources – Value community, strategies and best practices, wrapped up just for you.
Checkout our 2025 Year in Review.
If 2024 and 2025 were years defined by economic pressure and buyer skepticism, then 2026 will be the year revenue organizations finally pivot from talking about value to operationalizing it.
Here are the five major predictions for how Value-Led Growth will transform in 2026.
Realized value is no longer optional. It’s the engine that drives renewals, expansion, advocacy, and even future outcome‑based pricing.
In this article we take the concepts of Realized Value and convert them into a practical, repeatable system you can deploy across your entire go‑to‑market motion: showing you exactly how to make it real.
Customer acquisition is getting harder. Renewal and expansion are getting more important. CFOs are becoming gatekeepers. And buyers are demanding proof, not promises. In this environment, realized value isn’t a “CS function” or “value engineering nice-to-have.” It’s the commercial operating system that determines whether companies grow efficiently or stall.
