The Optimism Gap: 57% Expect Growth… But Only 7% Have the Pipeline to Back It Up
As we head into the final stretch of 2025, optimism is rising.
In our latest survey report (2025 RSW/US Survey Report – Rolling Into 2026), 57% of firms told us they expect their overall business performance in the second half of the year to outperform the first.
After 24+ months of budget constraints, longer sales cycles, and economic uncertainty, this renewed confidence is significant.
It reflects what we’re hearing day to day from agencies, professional services, and software firms: the market feels more open than it has in a while.
And there’s data to back that up.
45% of firms report that prospects are “much more” or “somewhat more” serious about making a change compared to this time last year, while only 20% say the opposite.
This is encouraging, but only one side of the story.
Optimism vs. Infrastructure
When we asked firms to rate the strength of their current new business pipelines, only 7% said their pipelines are strong and growing.
That’s a big gap between confidence and capability.
Firms are betting on growth, but most haven’t built the structure needed to make it happen.
The traditional safety net, existing clients, is not expected to carry the weight this time.
Only 32% of firms expect current client spending to increase in the second half of 2025, while 68% say it will remain flat or decline.
If prospects are more open and clients are not spending more, then net new business becomes the growth engine.
A Market That’s Moving and Getting More Competitive
Another dynamic is at play.
Your peers are not standing still.
48% of firms plan to increase their marketing and business development investment, with 58% focusing that spend on content, events, or outsourced business development.
This signals two things:
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Firms are sensing opportunity and moving aggressively to capture it.
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If your pipeline is underdeveloped, you are not just at risk of missing the market. You may also be getting outpaced by competitors who are ramping up their outreach infrastructure.
Bridging the Gap
We’ve been doing outsourced business development for agencies and professional services firms for 20 years.
One thing we see consistently is that optimism without a plan is just a forecast.
Markets turn, prospect behavior shifts, and the firms that invest early in pipeline development are the ones setting meetings while others are still getting ready.
If 2025’s optimism is going to turn into real growth in 2026, agencies and professional services firms need to close the gap between market sentiment and business development structure.
That means building consistent outreach programs, nurturing over time, and not relying only on referrals or existing relationships to fill the funnel.
Bottom Line
This is a moment of opportunity, but optimism alone will not drive growth.
A strong, disciplined pipeline will.
If your forecasts are strong but your pipeline is not, now is the time to tighten the connection between the two.
