After reviewing $2B+ in deals and working with hundreds of sales leaders, I’m sharing what I call my annual 20-percent actions that deliver 80-percent results.

The growth multipliers, blindspots, and little hinges that can swing open the big doors.

2026 demands a sharper edge. Buyers are more sophisticated, internal scrutiny has intensified, and the bar for what it means to be a trusted partner has never been higher.

The teams that will thrive this year share something in common: they master five fundamentals that others overlook.

Let me share these 5 game-changing insights to help you drive larger deals and transform your sales outcomes from good, to great, to outstanding in 2026.

Let’s dive in.

1. See the Bigger Picture… Now More Than Ever

When I review deals with sales teams, most still focus solely on matching their solutions to functional requirements. In 2026, that’s a critical liability.

Buyers are under more internal pressure than ever. Board conversations have shifted – they’re not just asking “does this work?” They’re asking “does this position us for what’s coming?”

The real transformation happens when you connect your solution to that larger narrative.

Think consciously about how what you offer shows up in organizational priorities, digital agendas, and board-level conversations about resilience and growth.

I’ve seen deals multiply in size when sales teams make this pivot – from solving a departmental need to enabling organizational transformation. That shift is available to you right now.

2. Create Measurable Business Value With AI in the Room

Here’s something that still surprises me in deal reviews: the absence of measurable, monetizable business value.

In 2026, this gap has a new dimension.

Your customer’s stakeholders are now walking into approval conversations armed with AI-generated benchmarks, competitive comparisons, and ROI models. If you haven’t built the case first, someone else’s numbers will fill the void.

Creating real value is about:

• Driving specific, quantifiable achievements your customer can present with confidence to their board
• Getting clear attribution for the results you enable, not just implied credit
• Securing meaningful acknowledgments that become proof points for their next initiative

Remember, unless your customers can calculate the value you bring, they can’t sustain momentum, justify renewals, or advocate for your expansion.

Make it easy for them to make the case.

3. Build Organizational Consensus Across a More Complex Table

The larger the deal, the more critical organizational consensus becomes. And in 2026, the table has more seats.

Digital transformation initiatives, AI governance, procurement reform – these have added new stakeholders with new veto power. Legal, IT, data privacy, and finance are no longer secondary conversations. They are primary ones.

Think about consensus across multiple dimensions:

• Is there alignment on the business case  and who owns it internally?
• Is there financial justification that survives CFO scrutiny?
• Do you have buy-in for change management and adoption?
• Have you secured platform and vendor selection consensus at every level?

Without this, you will have qualified opportunities that go nowhere.

4. Proactively Address Future Risks Before They Surface

The sales process is the systematic elimination of risk. This truth hasn’t changed but what your customers are worried about has.

In 2026, the risk conversations your customers are having internally are different.

They’re asking:

What happens if this doesn’t scale?

What if our compliance requirements change?

What if the board pulls back on discretionary spend mid-year?

Have these conversations early. Ask directly:

→ What could slow down this project  internally or externally?

→ What might prevent investment approval in the current climate?

→ Where could consensus break down as priorities shift?

→ What deployment or adoption challenges keep you up at night?

Your customer’s risks are your opportunities in disguise.

When you surface them early, you transform potential roadblocks into accelerators and you distinguish yourself as someone who thinks like a partner, not just a vendor.

5. Elevate the Quality of Customer Experience

There’s a saying that has served me well across decades in sales: “The way you sell is a free sample of the way you solve.”

In a world where AI can draft a proposal, generate a case study, and simulate a discovery call in minutes, the human dimension of your customer experience has never mattered more.

Ask yourself honestly:

→ Are your engagements distinct, differentiated, and memorable  or are they becoming templated?

→ Does your customer feel genuinely elevated in your presence?

→ Do they invite other stakeholders because they find remarkable value in your conversations?

This experience-driven differentiation is the one thing that cannot be easily replicated by a competitor or an algorithm.

It becomes your unique signature. Protect it. Develop it. It may be your most durable competitive advantage in 2026.

2026 presents immense opportunities for those who return to these fundamentals but with sharper tools, deeper intent, and greater discipline.

I’ve seen sales teams transform their results by mastering just one or two of these areas. Imagine what becomes possible when you elevate all five.

The landscape has changed. The principles haven’t. And that is exactly where your advantage lies.

Here’s to your most outstanding year yet.

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