UK Go-to-Market Salary & Hiring Trends 2026

UK Go-to-Market Salary & Hiring Trends 2026

As we move through 2026, the UK Go-to-Market hiring market is becoming increasingly selective. While employers have more choice than during the post-pandemic hiring boom, strong Sales, Marketing and Customer Success professionals with proven commercial results remain in demand.

The latest Certus Recruitment UK Go-to-Market Salary & Hiring Report 2026 provides an overview of salary benchmarks, compensation structures and hiring trends across the UK technology and technology-enabled sectors.

Here are some of the key insights.

Salary Trends Across GTM

Sales

Sales compensation continues to vary significantly depending on seniority, market segment and commercial responsibility.

• SDRs: £33,000–£40,000 in London, with typical variable compensation of 30–60%.
• Mid-Market Account Executives: £60,000–£85,000 base, with typical variable compensation of 70–100%.
• Enterprise Account Executives: £85,000–£125,000 base, with 80–100% variable.
• Strategic Account Executives: £110,000–£160,000+ base, with 80–100% variable.
• Sales Directors / VP Sales: £125,000–£200,000+ base, with 50–100% variable.

The report highlights that salary alone doesn't tell the full story. Candidates are increasingly assessing quota attainment, territory quality, ramp periods, accelerators and whether advertised OTE is genuinely achievable.

Marketing

Marketing salaries are increasingly influenced by how directly a role contributes to commercial performance.

• Demand Generation Managers: £60,000–£85,000 in London.
• Growth Marketing Managers: £60,000–£90,000.
• Product Marketing Managers: £60,000–£90,000.
• Senior Product Marketing Managers: £80,000–£110,000.
• Marketing Directors / VP Marketing: £115,000–£180,000+.

The strongest salary pressure is around areas such as product marketing, demand generation, attribution, marketing operations and technically credible content.

Customer Success

Customer Success continues to become more commercially focused, particularly where teams own retention, renewals and expansion.

• Mid-Market CSM: £52,000–£72,000.
• Enterprise CSM: £65,000–£90,000.
• Strategic CSM: £80,000–£110,000.
• Technical CSM: £65,000–£95,000.
• Head of Customer Success: £90,000–£135,000.

As commercial responsibility increases, so does the importance of expansion, customer value and portfolio complexity.

What Is Driving Premium Salaries?

The market is no longer rewarding simply having the right job title.

Employers are paying premiums for proven outcomes and specialist expertise, including:

• Enterprise and strategic selling
• Complex, multi-threaded deals
• Technical discovery and value selling
• Product marketing and positioning
• Demand generation and attribution
• Commercial expansion and renewal
• Vertical or regulated-market expertise
• AI-enabled GTM capabilities
• Cross-functional GTM leadership

The common theme is evidence.

Employers increasingly want candidates who can demonstrate what they actually achieved — revenue generated, quota attainment, pipeline created, retention improved, expansion revenue, conversion gains or productivity improvements.

London vs the Wider UK

London continues to set the upper salary benchmark, particularly for enterprise sales and leadership roles.

However, the gap is not always straightforward. Manchester, Leeds, Bristol, Bath, Edinburgh, Glasgow and other specialist markets can offer competitive packages where skills are scarce. Fully remote roles also create access to a wider candidate pool while increasing national competition.

AI Is Changing GTM — But Not Removing the Need for Talent

AI is increasingly supporting research, personalisation, CRM administration, content creation, campaign optimisation and customer analysis.

At the same time, human capabilities such as commercial judgement, customer insight, stakeholder influence, problem diagnosis and creativity are becoming more valuable.

For employers, the question is increasingly not “Does this person use AI?” but “How effectively do they use it to improve performance?”

What Does This Mean for Employers?

The 2026 market gives employers more choice, but that doesn't mean the best candidates can be taken for granted.

The report highlights several practical priorities:

• Benchmark the total compensation package, not just base salary.
• Define the commercial problem before defining the job title.
• Be transparent about targets, attainment and expectations.
• Keep recruitment processes proportionate and well coordinated.
• Assess measurable evidence rather than interview presentation alone.
• Agree salary, remit and decision criteria before going to market.

The market may have shifted in favour of employers, but strong GTM talent still has options.

The businesses that understand what the market is paying — and what candidates actually value — will be better positioned to attract and retain the people who can make a measurable difference.

Obtain a copy of the full report here...