Go-To-Market Made Simple: 3 Myths To Debunk
By Brittany Lieu, Marketing Consultant at Heinz Marketing
“Being intentional is more important than being brilliant.” – Sangram Vajre, GTM Partners
Your go-to-market strategy is NOT a one and done strategy or project. It’s not something that can be “cracked” at an executive offsite or “just how you do sales or how you do marketing.” It’s an iterative and transformative process that supersedes any one department, rooted in intentionality.
I have a newfound understanding of a GTM motion since attending the Go-To-Market Made Simple Roadshow in Seattle, hosted by GTM Partners, a go-to-market analyst firm led by industry experts. The event brought together CEOs, CMOs, VPs, and directors to roundtable GTM challenges with actionable ways to evolve beyond them.
With this newfound definition of GTM, I also have a better understanding of what GTM mistakes that can stand in the way of success. Here are three B2B go-to-market myths that may be holding your business back.
Myth #1: GTM Belongs to Marketing or Sales
Like me, you may think of a GTM as a strategy to bring a new product or service to market but that may be narrow thinking. Your go-to-market strategy is so much more than a single strategy but a unifying force for your business that accelerates your path to market with high-performing revenue teams delivering a connected customer experience.
To achieve this, you can’t just rely on either marketing or sales. In fact, GTM is an operating system that connects the dots between every department in your organization. Alignment of your Marketing, Sales, Customer Success, RevOps, Enablement and Product is the key well orchestrated strategy, planning and execution of a GTM strategy.
Myth #2: There is Only Type of GTM
Circle all that apply. There are many different GTM “types” that qualify how you bring your products and services to the market. From inbound-lead to ecosystem-led and category-led there is a wide range of approaches that may be best fit for your business. Identifying where you fall and the GTM motions or “grouped set of products and segments that must be sold and serviced differently than another group set of products and segments” is crucial to how to strategically match buyer needs to GTM team resources and responsibilities.
Myth #3: GTM is lead by a Single Leader
Just like how GTM is neither a Marketing or Sales initiative, it also can’t be championed by a lone leader. Instead, opt to assign single-owners to a function or task in each of the teams involved. By assigning owners across all teams, you create accountability in a complex system.
According to GTM Partners, the ideal GTM should include individuals that account for 6 different areas of responsibilities.
- Owner – to align executive team
- Galvanizer – to ensure resources are assigned to create a consistent GTM process
- Orchestrator – to deliver experience to current and future customers
- Truth Sourcer – to be the single source of GTM performance data
- Unifier – to ensure that a customer experience will pay dividends
- Enabler – to understand each role in the GTM team and educate on strategy changes
Get Debunking!
Typical sales and marketing funnel frameworks focus on sales and marketing efficiency, but what I’ve learned is go-to-market needs to be intentional and holistic in approach.
Challenge these myths with your team and reveal your business’ growth potential.
Check out related reads below!