Sales in 2026: Accountability, AI, and What Actually Matters

Hey friends,

This week, I had the chance to step outside my normal client work.

I taught my second session at the ​Master's in Strategic Account Management & Sales Technology at Talent Garden​.

And yesterday I spoke with Rebecca, a student doing her master's degree thesis on AI in sales who interviewed me.

These moments always make me reflect.

Moments where I step out of my daily grind of calls, clients, numbers, invoices...and all the hours put on running Inscaler alone.

Here is what I told Rebecca, the class and what I’m thinking about sales in 2026 and beyond:

Accountability Is Everything

If you are a person who does what they say, you will always be rewarded.

There are many ways to show this:

• If you are an SDR and you commit to 50 calls per day, you do 50 calls per day.
• If you are an AE and you commit to prospecting 40% of your pipeline through cold calling or social selling, you do that.
• If you are a founder hiring your first sales rep, you deliver the best hiring experience, the best onboarding, and the fairest compensation on the market.

Accountability is the foundation.

You will be remembered years after.

No Room For Underperformance

In this world of AI, sales data and CRM are now up-to-date at speed.

You can take a call today.

I can score that call through BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline).

I can upload the scoring to your CRM. And we can go from there.

Which means if you are an underperformer, it is very easy to see.

That changes how we have to deal with it:

• First, compassion --> We try to help you become a top performer.
• Second, a clear plan --> Specific next steps, tasks, and performance management are in place,
• Third, if those things did not work, we exit you --> With respect and a comfortable transition.

Underperformance in 2026 becomes visible quickly.

Which means you can fix it quicker than the past.

Harder for those who are lazy, easier for those who thrive in high pressure environments.

Your Personal Brand Has Never Been More Important

I told Rebecca something I believe strongly: I would rather stop all the AI outreach out there.

All the emails. All the WhatsApp messages. All the LinkedIn messages with poor copy were sent to 1000 people with zero relevance.

What I would do instead:

• Go on Sales Navigator every day.
• Based on a strong LinkedIn profile and real content you have put out there.
• Engage with 10 prospects per day for a year.

Do not grab attention. Do not ask for meetings. Give value. Add your perspective, your insights.

If we keep going like this, in a few years, if you send an email to somebody outside your contact list, that email may be blocked by spam.

Your content and your personal brand are your best outbound channels now.

Stay Curious, Stay Sceptical.

I spend most of my time learning.

YouTube, reading, experimenting. I am curious about sales, productivity, technology, and AI.

If you are a fly in my house past 9.30 pm after the kids are in bed, I’m either reading a book or on YouTube.

I’m curious, but I am not the person who jumps on the next shiny train.

I always ask questions and challenge what comes my way.

Because it is easier to build your practice on a trend.

You can jump on the shiny object or trend in front of you and build a career from 0 on it.

But in 5 years, that trend may be replaced by the next thing. And you will be starting from zero.

Stay true to your principles.

Be open to what is new.

But always ask: Does this actually work, or does it just look good right now?

That is the balance I try to keep every day.

Hope it helps, thanks for reading. See you next week!