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More tools. More complexity. Longer cycles. AI gave sellers superpowers but created a capacity crisis that's costing deals every quarter.
In 2026, B2B sales roles are being reshaped by three colliding forces: AI-powered automation is accelerating the sales process, product complexity is increasing technical demands, and technical resources remain fixed—creating a bottleneck that's costing organizations $1-2M annually. Account Executives, Sales Engineers, and Chief Revenue Officers are each adapting differently to solve this capacity crisis.
AEs are prospecting smarter, booking meetings faster, and getting to decision-makers earlier than ever.
Products are more technical, buyers demand deeper proof, and the bar for "winning" is higher than ever.
Technical resources haven't scaled with demand. They're the bottleneck between "ready to buy" and "closed-won."
We surveyed 200 B2B sales professionals to understand how this bottleneck is impacting different roles. The same problem looks very different depending on where you sit.
Your reps are booking meetings and qualifying opportunities faster than ever. But when they need technical support to close, everything stops. Here's what it's costing you—and how AI-powered sales workflows are reshaping the future of enterprise selling.
The role of the SE is evolving faster than ever. Demos now rank fifth in priorities. Here's what actually matters—technical presales automation, AI for solution engineering, and how top SEs are becoming strategic revenue drivers in 2026 and beyond.
Your AEs are crushing quota on activity. Your SEs are maxed out. But 64% of deals are stuck waiting. Here's the math that should concern every CRO—and how AI-driven revenue operations and cross-functional revenue strategy are transforming leadership in 2026.
Explore how AI and technical complexity are reshaping each role in the modern sales organization
Each perspective reveals a different piece of the puzzle. Read all three to understand how the bottleneck is impacting your entire sales organization—or download the complete research.
Download Complete Research ReportContent Freshness: Updated for 2026 based on research from 200 B2B sales professionals. Last reviewed: January 2025. Next update planned: 2027 edition.
Topics: Future of Sales Roles | AI-Powered Sales | Technical Sales Automation | Revenue Operations 2026
