What's up everyone! Welcome to the ForgeX Files, our monthly newsletter.

We have officially launched our FIRST newsletter of 2026!

I (Davis, not AI) will be personally writing these each month, so please forgive a typo here and there. ForgeX is a B2B market research and advisory firm, with a mission to forge the future of Account-Based GTM. We will continue to do so throughout the next 12-months and beyond…

We are going to use this newsletter to accomplish TWO things:

1. You will get a glimpse into our research-backed insights around what we’re seeing / hearing across the ABM and GTM world. You will STAY AHEAD - in a time where things seem to change every other week (*cough AI *cough).

2. We lead the fastest growing community of ABM leaders, and are actively building the largest library of resources, templates and benchmarks so that you can build a stronger program and career. We will share community / event updates here.

If you aren’t part of our ForgeX Community…….. you need to join here (there is not, and NEVER will be a cost to join).

5 ABM Trends You Need To Maniacally Watch Out For:

The GTM world in which we KNEW it, were comfortable in, and thought we had all figured out???

Is completely and entirely evolving.

• It’s (almost) universally agreed upon that “MQL-based” attribution models of the 2010’s are giving you poor data to make million dollar budget decisions and can be gamified (obviously).

• ChatGPT was released into the world back in 2022.

• ABM as a strategy is no longer some “little buzzword” and >79% of organizations have deployed it for at least 1 year (Read our research on ABM Maturity here).

Below I break down 5 critical trends that will perpetuate throughout 2026. They are informed through what we saw budding in 2025, and will carry over and emerge HEAVILY in the next 12-months.

Additionally, I recorded a new Revenue Xchange Podcast on these in more depth here.

Side Note: if you aren’t excited to be an ABM practitioner, you need to change your mindset NOW. We are beginning to enter the golden era of Account-Based GTM, and YOU are going to lead it.

Prepare for a career-defining run = CMOs, VPs, new Agency Founders will emerge from this.

1.) Stand-Alone ABM Teams Are Re-Embedding into Integrated Campaigns Teams

First off, I want to be incredibly crisp and clear in the way in which this insight is delivered.

I'm not saying that stand-alone ABM teams are going away… the need to “pilot” an ABM strategy is still alive and well in organizations who are early in maturity (especially the 19% who have been deploying ABM for 0-1 years).

But there IS an early trend that some of the leading practitioners are screaming at ForgeX to begin sharing out in the world more broadly.

Some of the larger, mature ABM programs that had previously piloted their program, realized success and built out a dedicated team are now being re-integrated into the broader “Integrated Campaigns” or “Demand Gen” teams.

Here are 4 companies where this has occurred in the past 6-months (in order to remain anonymous, we have used revenue bands):

• $1B - $2B in most recent fiscal year revenue

• $2B - $4B in most recent fiscal year revenue

• $10B - $15B in most recent fiscal year revenue

• $30B - $45B in most recent fiscal year revenue

(The above might include some the most widely know ABM programs of all-time… FYI)

Yet, there are different approaches being taken to the re-integration by each organization.

Some have done this MUCH better than others - we will most likely write our next newsletter entirely focused on this topic so stay tuned. It is a core pillar theme for our research this year.

2.) Account-Based Principles have Leaked into ALL Revenue Teams

In 2026 you MUST unify your marketing, sales and customer success teams around a shared and agreed understanding of the investment level of budget, capacity and resources that each target account should yield.

Prioritizing around a target account portfolio.

Demand Gen / Integrated Campaigns teams are now adopting account-based principles at scale, and will continue to do so (see Trend #1 above).

Here is a LinkedIn post I wrote that breaks down how modern B2B marketing functions are organizing.

3.) The Historical Run of “MQLs” is Now Over

Yes = We all get it at this point, MQLs are incredibly misleading and fail to reflect the best way to properly measure B2B marketing for complex, enterprise deals.

No = Do not entirely pivot away from contact-level engagement insights and only implement an “MQA” (Marketing Qualified Account) model.

You must consider all of the various layers of buying complexity:

• Account → Business Unit → Buying Group → Contact.

(Even the above is a simplification… there can be other layers too)

4.) Buying Groups are Welcomed Into the Spotlight

Buying Groups are not being “welcomed into the spotlight”, they were ALWAYS there. The buying process is not completed by 1 person (on avg. 10), and failing to properly integrate this concept into your revenue function is a miss of massive proportions.

(Unless you sell a highly transactional product, with a really low ACV - of course).

The non-obvious insight here, is that I had originally hypothesized that the majority of advisory conversations / asks for research would revolve around systems and processes for implementing this in your tech stack…

I thought wrong. The conversation is abundantly around = “How do I actually identify who is most likely to make up the buying group from a title and persona perspective? Especially given how we have different products, industries, geos, etc.”

5.) AI Begins to Move from Isolated Pilots to Workflows Across GTM Teams

Around this time in early 2025, here is what we saw (full Research Report here):

• 91% indicated that their organization has adopted AI to support Account-Based GTM efforts

• 52% are satisfied with their organizations progress in adopting AI to support Account-Based GTM

• Top 3: Current Use Cases of AI in ABM (from early 2025)

  • Copywriting (68%)

  • Research (47%)

  • Predictive analytics for account selection and/or prioritization (46%)

So what are we seeing in 2026?

We are currently gathering data for our upcoming 2026 State of AI in ABM Report, and will have further context then.

Yet what we ARE beginning to see in more mature organizations, is a shift from merely isolated AI use cases in one revenue team, to expanding past this into AI workflows that span across MULTIPLE revenue teams. The clearest is marketing + sales.

More on all of the above soon!

P.S. we’re working on an updated AI in Account-Based GTM Maturity Model as well, so hang tight.

What’s New at ForgeX?

Research & Insights

We analyzed what separates advanced ABM programs from the rest. This report breaks down the maturity markers, operational practices, and common gaps across Enterprise ABM, Growth ABM, and Deal-Based ABM programs. Use it to identify what's limiting your ROI, understand how the leading programs operate, and chart your path from early stage to advanced.

Upcoming Research & Insights:

• The AI+ABM Inflection Point - Launched 

• 2026 State of AI in ABM - coming soon… we are currently collecting insights that will shape this report, would love to hear from you! TAKE THE SURVEY HERE

Events

Podcasts

• 🎙️ 5 ABM Trends from 2025 Shaping the Future of B2B Marketing in 2026 | Davis Potter

• 🎙️ How to build a unified account-based GTM that aligns marketing and sales around the right accounts and buying groups| Dan Sperring, CEO & Founder, Align ICP

• 🎙️ Building a 1:few ABM Program: How to Lead with an Iterative Mindset | Marlee McDonald-Yepes, Account-Based Marketing Manager, Global Enterprise, Coursera

Have any questions about this episode or suggestions for future topics? Feel free to share them here.

ForgeX ABM Advisory Services

Research-Enabled ABM Advisory Services:

• Modern ABM Programs Require a Modern Operating Partner

• ForgeX combines benchmark data and hands-on expertise. You'll partner with senior analysts who've built and scaled ABM in complex enterprises.

How We Help Enterprises Operationalize ABM

• Diagnose Your ABM Program and Isolate Hidden Gaps

• Deploy Proven Frameworks, Models & Templates

• Hands-on Advice from Experienced Practitioners

Delivered By a Custom Scope Of:

• Workshops

• Training Sessions

• Expert Guidance Hours

Have an awesome rest of the week y’all!

LFG,

Davis