Where Does B2B Growth Really Come From? 300 Companies Answer

A new report of 300 B2B software firms ranks networks, AI search and signal-based outbound as the bets for 2027. Here is what to change in your GTM plan.

If you sell to other businesses, you have probably spent this year adding tools, channels and AI features to your go-to-market plan. A new benchmark suggests the winners are doing something simpler: fewer, sharper bets, aimed at the moments buyers actually make decisions.

The 2026 State of B2B GTM report, published in October 2026 by Kyle Poyar and Maja Voje, surveyed 300 B2B software and AI companies about what is working. Read next to G2's 2026 Buyer Behavior Report, it gives founders and revenue leaders a useful picture of where to put money next quarter.

What 300 B2B companies say is working

The headline numbers from the GTM report are worth knowing, with one caution: the full 41-page report is gated, so these come from the public summary and not the underlying data.

• Network and introductions: 62% of companies say it is core to growth, and it ranks as the number one GTM channel.
• AI search: 50% plan to invest more in AI search (answer engine optimisation) in 2027.
• Signal-based outbound: 48% will invest more, meaning outreach triggered by a real buying signal and not a cold list.
• Intimate events: 42% will invest more in small, relationship-led events.
• AI inside the GTM team: 43% report a big impact from AI, up from 24% the year before.

Founder-led sales also shows up as the most common primary GTM motion in the sample. And seven of the top 10 "must-try" GTM tools were not on last year's list, which tells you how fast the toolbox is turning over.

The pattern: trust first, scale second

Look at that list again. Introductions, small events and signal-triggered outreach are all about reaching the right person at the right moment with some existing trust. Even AI search fits: it is where buyers form opinions before they ever speak to you.

G2's survey of 1,038 B2B decision-makers backs this up. Review sites (38%) and AI chatbots (37%) are the top sources influencing shortlist decisions, and more than 80% of buyers used an AI chatbot to source software recommendations in the last two years. Buyers who did so were more likely to buy from their initial shortlist (80% did so in at least three of their last five purchases, against 65% of those who did not).

So the shortlist is forming before your sales team is involved. If you are not named in AI answers and on review sites, no amount of outbound fixes that. Our AI brand visibility audit shows where you appear today, and GEO optimisation is how you improve it.

The warning sign: most teams ignore their own signals

One partner comment in the report stands out. Civic notes that fewer than half of the companies in the study act on website visits, regardless of potential deal size. That is commentary from a vendor, not a survey result, but it matches what we see in audits: a high-intent visit to a pricing page goes into an analytics report and nobody follows up.

Signal-based outbound only works if the signals reach a person quickly. That is a data and process problem, solved with CRM integration and marketing automation, not another prospecting tool.

Your deal can still die after the buyer says yes

G2 found finance involvement in software decisions rose from 31% to 46% in a year. And 49% of buyers say their CFO reversed an already-approved purchase in the last 12 months. Evaluation is also the longest stage for 40% of buyers, and IT security review is the biggest delay after vendor selection (39%).

G2's interviews with marketers suggest sales teams are sharing pricing, ROI calculators and case studies earlier. If your content assumes the champion will sell internally, give them what a finance lead and a security reviewer will ask for, before they ask.

What this means for smaller teams

Most of the companies in this study are software businesses with a funded GTM team. If you have a lean team, the lesson is not to copy every motion. It is to pick the two or three that match how your buyers already behave.

Start with your last ten won deals. Ask each customer how they first heard of you, who recommended you, and what they checked before they called. You will usually find a few repeated paths: a referral from a peer, a review page, a search or chatbot answer. Those paths are your real channels, whatever your dashboard says.

Then check that your website supports them. A referred buyer will look you up, so your positioning, proof and pricing story must hold up in thirty seconds. That is where conversion rate optimisation and clear messaging earn their keep, because every channel in the list above ends on the same few pages.

Finally, set one measure per bet. Network: introductions that become meetings. AI search: how often you appear in answers to your ten buying questions. Signals: time from signal to first human response. Small, honest numbers beat a sprawling dashboard.

What to do next

Here is a practical order of work for the next 90 days:

1. Audit your shortlist presence. Ask the main AI chatbots the questions your buyers ask. Note whether you appear, who does, and which review sites get cited.
2. Map your signals. List the five behaviours that mean a buyer is close (pricing page visits, repeat visits from one account, demo page views). Route each to a named owner with a response time.
3. Build a network plan. Pick 20 customers, partners and advisors who know your buyers, and make a specific ask of each. Treat it like a channel with a target.
4. Add finance and security assets. An ROI calculator, a clear pricing explainer and a security overview page remove two of the biggest late-stage delays.
5. Cut one channel. If you add AI search and signals, something else loses budget. Decide what, with data.

A caution on all of this: 300 software and AI companies is not every business. If you sell services or to a narrow niche, treat the numbers as direction, not a target. Test one change, measure pipeline, then scale.

Binatec builds these plans for B2B teams, from ideal customer profiles to measurement, as part of our go-to-market strategy work. If you want a second pair of eyes on yours, get a free quote.

Sources

• The 2026 State of B2B GTM Report
• G2 2026 Buyer Behavior Report