Winning Deals in Volatile Markets

Marketing Execution with Mark Donnigan · Aug 4, 2026 · 21m

"Don't confuse a bull market with brains." That line from Jeb Blount hits different when your pipeline is drying up and every deal suddenly needs C-suite sign-off. After two years of order-taking disguised as selling, most B2B teams are exposed. Blount's framework is blunt: you control exactly three things: your actions, your reactions, and your mindset. Everything else is noise.

Here is what caught my attention as a CMO. During a downturn, decision-making authority migrates upward inside buyer organizations, which means the stakeholders your reps cultivated last quarter are now powerless…