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This week’s research note includes:

• GTM Research: Why 2025 Will Be Defined by the Leaders You Hire

• Spotlight: Punch!

• Event: Better Together Leadership Summit

Research: Why 2025 Will Be Defined by the Leaders You Hire

We’ve endured more whiplash than our metaphorical necks could handle—some companies didn’t just strain; they broke.

At times, exceptional GTM talent flooded the market faster than we could absorb; at others, we found ourselves locked in fierce competition amid historic shortages. Unpredictability became our norm.

Through it all, one lesson rings true (and rings in the new year) above the rest: Winning in business simply comes down to hiring the right leaders.

We already know the CEO owns GTM and should be the dreamer and driver behind all the parts of GTM (Total Relevant Market, Market Investment Map, etc.)

But what about the leaders who are making GTM happen? Leaders in sales, marketing, product, customer success, and more…

All of us will be aligning our go-to-market strategies and making calculated bets, and we need talented, experienced executive leadership to make it all happen.

A company’s willingness to challenge its own status quo, rethink outdated strategies, and find new, bold ways to think about executive leadership can be a game changer.

To help, we worked with Hunt Club to share some of the most critical insights and data-backed trends shaping executive search in today’s market.

Hiring Executive Talent: A Top Priority for 2025

A recent Hunt Club market survey revealed that hiring executive talent is the #1 priority for companies looking to drive transformation and achieve their 2025 goals.

Pretty straightforward. Except...

Hiring executive leadership has turned into a perplexing, frustrating, high-stakes game of chicken.

Companies and candidates alike hesitate, hold out, overshoot, or lowball, creating a maze of missteps and missed opportunities. Add short-fuse business growth expectations, macroeconomic uncertainties, and unrelenting pressure to deliver, and the hiring landscape has completely reshaped.

Here’s what’s happening:

• Candidate profiles now demand a mix of nuanced expertise and intangible qualities.

• Job descriptions grow more granular by the day.

• The hiring process has become cautious and risk-averse.

A “bullseye” candidate? Now a moving target.

Without the right approach, finding the ideal executive becomes one of the most complex challenges companies face.

Do You Have the Right Leadership to Execute in 2025?

To illustrate the stakes, Hunt Club’s survey found that 61% of organizations, despite having clear strategies for growth in 2025, admit they do NOT have the executive leadership needed to turn ambitions into reality.

Without leadership horsepower, companies risk falling short on pivotal initiatives like scaling operations, launching products, and expanding into new markets.

In fact, most companies are heading into a pivotal year without the leadership horsepower required to execute their most critical initiatives. Whether it’s scaling operations, launching new products, or expanding markets, companies are finding themselves operating at, well, a loss.

💡 Ask yourself: Do you have the right GTM executives to drive your 2025 strategy? If you had to execute a new initiative tomorrow, would your team be ready?

5 Transformations Driving the Need for Executive Talent

Organizations are attempting to execute major transformations that require experienced executives at the helm.

The 61% of organizations that report they lack the right executive leadership are the same who have set their sights on these top five (ranked) critical transformations in 2025:

1. Implementing a new revenue model.

2. Expanding into new markets.

3. Launching new products.

4. Achieving profitability goals.

5. Shifting workplace culture.

When organizations want growth, strong leadership is critical.

3 Hiring Barriers Companies Face in 2025

Despite the urgency, companies encounter significant challenges when hiring executive talent:

1. Limited Internal Expertise: 56% of companies lack confidence in their ability to scope, vet, and hire executive leaders with the necessary skills.

2. Knowledge Gaps: 1 in 3 companies struggles to define roles, responsibilities, and organizational hierarchies that align with business goals.

3. Over-Reliance on Traditional Methods: Outdated approaches often fail to attract top-tier candidates.

2 Fresh Ways to Rethink Hiring in 2025

1. Reassess the Importance of Industry Experience

When Hunt Club asked companies what they looked for most in a strong executive candidate the #1 answer was industry experience. But should it be?

Industry experience is valuable, but it’s not always the best predictor of a leader’s ability to drive transformation.

Surprisingly, experience steering companies through pivotal change ranks last among desired leadership qualities. Is it any wonder so many organizations lack the right leaders?

2. Leverage Trusted Networks

Relying on trusted referrals outperforms traditional recruitment methods:

• For Companies

  • The majority (68%) of hiring managers found that candidates who have been personally referred performed better than candidates found through traditional recruitment methods (e.g., cold outreach, sourcing on social media, and inbound applicants).

  • 61% of hiring managers claim an employee hired through a trusted referral stayed at the company longer than non-referred employees.

  • Also consider: Only 13% of top candidates are successfully sourced through LinkedIn job postings, while 5% are sourced through cold outreach.

  For Candidates

  • 88% more job seekers report it took less than 1 month to receive an offer by leveraging a personal connection than not.

  • Job seekers also reported receiving an offer 20% faster on average when leveraging a personal connection in their search.

We lead specialized workshops for B2B companies who want to transform inefficient silos into collaborative, high-performing GTM teams.

Our only requirements are 1) that the CEO must be involved in the process and 2) you must be $10M+ in revenue.

We have three spots left for Q1.

Book a Call to See if You Qualify

Spotlight: Punch!

Punch! is one of our GTM-certified partner agencies that delivers predictable pipeline growth through a combination of expert SDRs and powerful sales technology.

Their track record speaks for itself: £1bn+ pipeline generated, 12x average ROI, and 3x industry standard lead-to-close rates for leading B2B brands across US and EMEA.

Here is the four-part approach they use:

1. Real pipeline, not just leads

• Expert SDRs deliver qualified opportunities within 30 days

• Full-cycle team that stays through deal close

• Weekly coaching maintains continuous excellence

• Strategic conversations that drive deals forward

2. Perfect timing engagement

Their priority ABX™ technology tracks real-time buying signals across your target accounts. This means we catch prospects exactly when they're ready to buy—before your competitors do.

• Priority ABX™ technology tracks real-time buying signals

• Catch prospects exactly when they're ready to buy

• Immediate access to 100,000+ verified decision makers

• AI assists their SDRs but never replaces them, protecting brand reputation while maximizing effectiveness.

3. Full buying committee engagement

They engage entire buying committees through strategic, multi-channel outreach that includes phone, email, video, LinkedIn, voice notes, and smart gifting via their Barney™ platform. This approach doubles meeting acceptance rates and accelerates deals.

• Multi-channel approach: phone, email, video, LinkedIn, voice notes

• Smart gifting through Barney™ platform doubles meeting acceptance

• Strategic multi-threading across entire committees

• Proven workflows for consistent results

4. Support through to close

They provide true full-cycle support, with SDRs who attend discovery calls and nurture deals through to close. Unlike agencies that disappear after booking, Punch!'s team maintains engagement with buying committees throughout the entire process.

• SDRs attend discovery calls and join customer meetings

• Digital sales rooms keep buying committees engaged

• Champion development accelerates deals

• Full nurture support through to close/won

Some of their results include:

• Basware (£760k pipeline in 3 months entering a new vertical)

• Lumi (56 sales opportunities in 4 months)

• Crown Worldwide (80x ROI in 12 months).

Learn how to build a winning SDR team.

Event: Better Together Virtual Summit

Discover the secrets to Go-to-Market success in this two-part virtual series. Learn how industry leaders leverage key GTM metrics to drive growth and align teams, and explore the tech stacks powering enterprise efficiency and ROI.

This is a two-part event to be hosted on February 13 and March 13. Please join us!

• Part One (February 13) - Top 5 GTM Metrics used by CXOs

• Part Two (March 13)- 6 Enterprise Tech Stacks

Learn More & Register

Love,

Bryan and Sangram