What Moved GTM in 2025: Roses, Thorns, and Buds
Working in B2B typically means we measure things in 3-month increments. Three months to hit your goals, and after those three months are up, the scoreboard resets to 0 and we do it all over again.
While our numbers are essential to the growth and overall health of the business, there are so many aspects of our work as marketers and salespeople that matter.
As we come to the end of another calendar year, we thought it would be fun to reflect on the accomplishments and challenges of the past year while not forgetting to look ahead to the initiatives we’re betting on in 2026.
In my house, we do this type of reflection almost daily at the dinner table. It’s something my kids do in school: they share a rose, a thorn, and a bud.
A rose is something great that happened. A thorn is something that didn’t turn out so great or just flat out sucked. And the bud is something you’re looking forward to.
Earlier this month, we asked a group of marketers to share a rose, a thorn, and a bud related to their work. The idea behind it is simple—share:
- What worked?
- What didn’t work?
- What are you banking on working next year?
The responses we got offered an honest look at what this year really felt like in GTM. They captured the highs, lows, and bets shaping GTM right now.
Ann Handley brought joy, humor, and tater-tot-fueled creativity to B2B events.
The takeaway: B2B brands are rediscovering that joy and creativity aren’t “nice-to-haves”—they’re what make experiences memorable.
Brendan Hufford showed what happens when you go big on content and community.
- Rose: Spoke about Content IP to a packed room at Content Marketing World!
- Thorn: Travelled a lot (awesome) but overbooked myself and had to cancel a few events (wanted to spend more time with my kiddos)
- Bud: Going all in on YouTube and my community (allinhouse.co)
The takeaway: Turning your customers' problems into original content can be a powerful foundation for GTM strategy.
Maikayla Desjardins shaped a category narrative that people actually felt.
- Rose: We shaped a category narrative that truly landed - differentiated and anchored in real operator value. Watching the brand continue to earn trust with operators, partners, and the market was incredible!
- Thorn: Scaling fast meant many “build while flying” moments. One we navigated well but definitely felt.
- Bud: 2026 is the year we turn AI & data into our GTM operating system, looking forward to the efficiency jump!
The takeaway: Your narrative is a competitive advantage. Teams that articulate customer-centered value early are pulling ahead.
Sina Falaki took enterprise storytelling from theory to closed deals.
- Rose: Built enterprise narratives that actually close—the kind of pitches and value stories that work in boardrooms with Fortune 500 buyers who've seen everything.
- Thorn: Scrapping all our old messaging and rebuilding from scratch through our customers' lens—unlearning what we thought worked to discover what actually resonates.
- Bud: Proving in 2026 that enterprise storytelling is the new GTM discipline—when you nail the narrative, renewals become expansions and skeptics become champions.
The takeaway: Enterprise deals are increasingly won with clarity, not complexity. The GTM teams that master storytelling are closing the gap.
Maria Bross leaned into the most meaningful work of her career.
- Rose: This year I stopped orbiting GTM and dropped into the engine. I used the voice of the customer, narrative, data, and market insight to help us define who we're really for, how we truly win, and operationalized a strategy where every rep interaction could reflect that with less friction and more honesty.
- Thorn: I'm ending that same year in a layoff, holding the gut-punch of doing the most meaningful work of my career while watching the strategy, product, and story I poured myself into move on.
- Bud: What's left is a pull to continue to build. Remove the barriers between buyers and reps. I want to shift GTM from a world of volume, waste, and prepackaged answers to one built on better questions, real connection, and transparency.
The takeaway: As GTM becomes more automated and efficiency-driven, the teams that ground their strategy in their customers' reality and human connection stand out.
Katya Tarapovskaia put AI-driven GTM orchestration to work.
- Rose: Proved that AI-powered ABM / GTM orchestration can drive smarter account selection, targeting and measurable revenue impact, improved ABM ROI with AI 2x.
- Thorn: Finding the right balance between contact- and account-level targeting while integrating AI daily to automate 40 - 50% of GTM programs execution.
- Bud: Building always-on, signal-based and data-driven GTM programs that trigger the right play automatically with AI.
The takeaway: AI-driven GTM isn’t theoretical anymore. It’s reshaping how targeting, sequencing, and execution actually happen day-to-day.
Canberk Beker tackled the growth ops challenges that often go ignored.
- Rose: Learned my boundaries at work and stopped taking on clients I don’t enjoy.
- Thorn: Untangling broken attribution and conversion architectures across multiple SaaS accounts at once — fixed, but painful.
- Bud: Building and finalizing the SaaS for ROASted that I've been working on.
The takeaway: GTM leaders are increasingly prioritizing focus, and fixing foundational issues that snowball if they’re swept under the rug.
Your turn to share
Thanks to the initial group of people who contributed a rose, thorn, and bud. Let’s keep it going.
Join in by sharing your rose, thorn, and bud on LinkedIn.
- Try to keep each to a headline-length update (the brevity will make you think)
- Use the hashtag #Influ2RTB25
- Tag a coworker or friend to encourage them to share theirs too
Let’s see what we can all learn from each other.
