Operating in a Sales-Led, Lead-Hungry Reality
Across the U.S., hiring is still slower than last year, yet the revenue bar keeps climbing. LinkedIn reports hiring remains nearly 5% lower year over year and ~20% below pre-pandemic baselines, while many companies are getting stricter about tying every activity to pipe and bookings.
Revenue leaders are tightening the loop.
Demand-gen benchmarks show marketers doubling down on personalization and operations to tie strategy to revenue, reflecting CRO-level scrutiny. Meanwhile, marketing budgets are flat for a second year, forcing sharper prioritization. Locally, we are seeing budgets flat for 2026 or cut as we get ready for the new year.
AI is changing the operating model, but only if you redesign process.
Microsoft’s 2025 Work Trend Index highlights the “capacity gap”: 53% of leaders say productivity must increase, while 80% of workers say they lack time or energy to do their jobs. AI can help, but without workflow redesign, benefits stall. McKinsey adds that firms are adopting AI broadly, but few are mature in embedding it into day-to-day processes.
What high-performing MN teams are doing
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Revenue-aligned pods. They are building cross-functional “pods” (demand gen + content + design + MOPs + SDR enablement) staffed with a contract content strategist or designer 10–15 hrs/wk to keep velocity without adding headcount. This mirrors staffing industry forecasts from Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA) that contingent models will grow modestly.
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Ops before ads. They are focused on tightening attribution, lead flow QA, and dashboards before pouring dollars into media.
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AI roles with a mandate. The really forward thinkers are adding a AI workflow strategist to build an operating rhythm (prompt libraries, content QA, approvals, data guardrails) to move smarter and faster. Evidence shows AI mentions in U.S. job listings surged again this year, making AI fluency table stakes across design and marketing.
True Talent Group Can Help
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Build your POD (5–20 hrs/wk): We can help you find TRUE FIT Paid social optimizers, lifecycle and email pros, conversion copywriters, designers, marketing & rev ops admins.
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Wrap up your projects or prep for new ones. We staffing a lot of short-term FTE contractors (4–12 weeks): Think Product launch blitzes, site migrations, ABM sprints, Q1 promo calendars, and anything on your long-list of to-do’s. We can onboard fast!
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Set your AI strategy. Contract AI workflow strategists to design smarter processes, SOPs, enablement sessions, or pilot designs—tool-agnostic and KPI-anchored.
We’re here to help any way you need. Best of all, we can help you strategize on what moves to make to augment your team for 2026.