The headlines say one thing. The data says something more nuanced. Here's what mid-market CEOs should actually be paying attention to right now. This two-part series from Chief Outsiders Founder & CEO Art Saxby explores what the data actually shows about CEO confidence, why this moment is different from past disruptions, and where mid-market companies are finding real growth opportunities right now.
By Art Saxby, Chief Outsiders Founder & CEO
In our last post, we made the case that mid-market CEOs have more control than the headlines suggest, and that waiting for certainty is a strategy with real costs.
Now let's talk about what to do instead.
The question, then, is not whether to act. It's where to focus. And for most middle-market companies, the answer doesn't require reinventing the business. It requires concentrating resources on the markets, customers, and commercial capabilities most likely to drive growth.
Not every sector is facing the same headwinds. ITR Economics' 2026 outlook identifies a number of markets that are strong or accelerating right now, including medical equipment and supplies, vehicle production, commercial construction, industrial machinery, and electrical equipment and electronics.
If your business serves these sectors—or could serve them, their suppliers, or adjacent markets—now is the time to lean in rather than pull back. Periods of uncertainty often create competitive openings because many companies become overly defensive precisely when demand still exists.
If your business doesn't naturally align with these areas, the question I'd be asking is: which parts of our existing markets are still moving, and are we fully committed to winning there? Growth rarely disappears evenly across an industry. Often, it becomes concentrated in specific customer segments, applications, geographies, or use cases.
In nearly any market, customer retention and expansion is the highest-ROI growth motion available to most mid-market companies. Numerous studies have found that acquiring a new customer can cost five to seven times more than retaining an existing one, making customer expansion and retention among the highest-return growth investments available to most businesses.
This is the moment to deepen those relationships: understand where their priorities have shifted, identify where you're solving problems they're struggling to solve, and make sure your competitors aren't quietly having conversations you don't know about.
A structured voice-of-customer effort — even a lightweight one — can surface expansion opportunities and early warning signs at the same time. Many of the companies we work with find that their most reliable near-term growth is already sitting inside their current book of business.
Instead of asking where to add headcount, CEOs should ask where existing commercial investments are underperforming. Which sales and marketing activities produce the highest returns? Which processes create friction? And where can AI improve productivity, speed, or decision-making in ways that compound competitive advantage?
The AI applications that tend to move the needle fastest in sales and marketing include account research and prioritization, competitive intelligence, search visibility in AI-driven platforms, sales enablement and proposal support, and outreach personalization at scale.
None of these require a large technology budget or a long implementation timeline. Many can be piloted in 30 to 60 days with measurable results. The point is not to transform your commercial model overnight; it is to focus on the commercial motions that win and scale them without added headcount.
The question isn't "How do we implement AI?" The better question is "Which parts of our commercial model already work and can be amplified through AI?"
According to Chief Executive's June CEO Confidence Index, a meaningful share of CEOs describe the current environment as a period of delayed demand: buyers waiting for greater clarity on tariffs, rates, and policy before committing. But that may not be far away. After all, 57% of CEOs polled the same study forecast economic growth by the end of 2026. When that clarity comes, buyers will move quickly. The question is whether your pipeline, your messaging, and your sales team are ready to capture them, or whether a competitor who kept moving will be better positioned. In other words, if you wait until demand and confidence are high to prepare, you might not be ready to capture it.Using this period to sharpen focus, strengthen customer relationships, and build commercial productivity will allow you to be the company that can break out when conditions shift.
One of the biggest challenges CEOs face during uncertain periods is balancing speed with financial discipline. Companies want to move quickly, but they also want to avoid unnecessary fixed costs and long-term commitments.
That's one reason many companies are turning to fractional teams. It allows them to add experienced sales and marketing expertise with leaders who have grown through uncertainty before - resources who can focus quickly on the highest-return opportunities and adapt as conditions change - without a long-term commitment..
Uncertain markets reward focus, speed, and disciplined execution. The question isn't whether opportunity exists. It's whether your organization is positioned to capture it.
Economic uncertainty doesn't eliminate growth opportunities—it changes where they exist. Learn how experienced fractional growth leaders can help identify the markets, customers, and commercial investments most likely to drive growth in uncertain times.
What CEOs Are Asking About Growth in Uncertain Markets
Companies can grow during uncertain markets by focusing on the areas where demand, customer relationships, and competitive advantages already exist. Rather than pursuing broad expansion, many successful middle-market companies prioritize four areas: expanding existing customer relationships, pursuing opportunities in resilient markets, improving commercial productivity, and preparing to capture demand when conditions improve.
For many companies, the highest-return growth opportunity is already within their existing customer base. Existing customers have established trust, understand the company's value proposition, and often present opportunities for expansion. Research by Rob Markey and Frederick Reichheld of Bain & Company found that increasing customer retention rates by just 5% can increase profits by 25% to 95%, highlighting the outsized impact of strengthening existing customer relationships.
The key during uncertain times is not to stop investing, but to focus investments where they are most likely to drive measurable growth and competitive advantage.
AI can help sales and marketing teams become more productive by accelerating existing workflows and improving the effectiveness of activities that already drive results. The question for most companies is not, "How do we implement AI?" It's, "Where do we already have commercial processes that work and can be amplified through AI?"
Some of the highest-impact applications include account research and prioritization, competitive intelligence, content development, proposal creation, customer insights, sales enablement, outreach personalization, and administrative task automation. By reducing the time required for research, content creation, analysis, and execution, AI enables existing teams to focus more of their time on high-value activities such as customer engagement, strategic decision-making, and revenue generation.
Many AI applications can be piloted in 30 to 60 days without significant technology investments or organizational disruption. For middle-market companies facing pressure to grow efficiently, AI offers an opportunity to improve commercial productivity, increase speed, and scale successful sales and marketing motions without adding headcount.
When demand slows, CEOs should focus on strengthening the areas of the business that will create the greatest competitive advantage when growth returns. Rather than reducing investment across the board, many successful companies prioritize four areas: pursuing opportunities in sectors that continue to show strength, protecting and expanding existing customer relationships, improving commercial productivity, and preparing their organizations to capture demand when market conditions improve.
Periods of slower demand can also create an opportunity to improve sales and marketing effectiveness, strengthen customer relationships, refine market positioning, and invest in productivity-enhancing technologies such as AI. Research and business history consistently show that companies that continue making focused investments during uncertain periods often emerge with stronger competitive positions than those that wait for conditions to improve.
The key is not to wait for certainty. It is to use periods of uncertainty to build the capabilities, customer relationships, and commercial advantages that position your company to outperform when demand returns.
For many middle-market companies, the answer is yes. Fractional leaders allow companies to quickly access experienced growth executives who have successfully navigated economic uncertainty before—without the cost, risk, and long-term commitment of a full-time hire.
During periods of uncertainty, companies often need to move quickly while remaining financially disciplined. Fractional leaders can help identify growth opportunities, strengthen customer relationships, improve commercial productivity, evaluate new markets, and prepare organizations to capture demand when conditions improve. Because they have led organizations through previous market cycles and periods of disruption, they can often accelerate decision-making and execution while reducing risk.
Learn more about how Chief Outsiders' experienced fractional CMO and fractional CSO services.
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