Best of LinkedIn: Go-to-Market CW 36/ 37

00:00:00: Provided by Thomas Allgaier and Frennus, based on the most relevant LinkedIn posts about go-to market in calendar weeks thirty six and thirty seven.

00:00:07: Frenness is a B to B Market Research Partner helping ICP and tech providers identify niche channel partners By compressing the full journey from identification To qualified first meeting into four or five weeks.

00:00:19: Define more info in description.

00:00:22: For decades when a B-to-B company wanted to grow faster, I mean the solution was basically just brute force.

00:00:28: Right?

00:00:28: Like hitching more horses?

00:00:30: Yeah, exactly.

00:00:31: It was an absolute volume game!

00:00:33: You assumed a certain percentage of cold calls would turn into meetings.

00:00:36: so missing your revenue target just meant you didn't hire enough people to make enough noise.

00:00:40: but uh welcome to the deep dive.

00:00:42: by the way our mission today is to really unpack the most critical go-to market trends circulating right now for strategic B-to-B marketing professionals.

00:00:50: we're looking at how top teams are just completely rearchitecting their growth engines.

00:00:54: Right because you can't execute a modern strategy with a legacy engine.

00:00:58: Okay let's unpack this.

00:01:00: The insights from Omar Hamami really highlight this shift.

00:01:03: He points out that the old playbook, you know Hiring a bunch of reps buying whatever software is leading the category and having marketing in sales work in total isolation.

00:01:12: It's just completely broken now

00:01:14: Oh it shattered!

00:01:29: before a human being ever even steps into the process.

00:01:32: Wait, walk me through the nuts and bolts of that?

00:01:34: Like what does this nine step process actually look like on a random Tuesday

00:01:38: morning?".

00:01:38: Well it starts with historical truth.

00:01:40: they export all their closed one-and-closed loss data from their CRM then take that raw data feed in an AI tool to identify actual bonding patterns.

00:01:52: humans just completely miss.

00:01:54: Oh wow.

00:01:54: so there building multi layered ICP

00:01:57: Exactly, an ideal customer profile.

00:02:00: But they aren't just looking at basic thermographics like company size anymore.

00:02:04: They map three distinct layers.

00:02:06: You've got thermographics account signals Like recent hiring sprees And then technographics The existing software stack that the company uses.

00:02:14: So they're building a highly specific filter Based on what has historically worked Rather than Just kind of guessing who might want to buy from them.

00:02:22: Precisely and once That model is built They mapped the total addressable market against it.

00:02:27: They run automated AI account research to enrich every single target account with fresh data.

00:02:33: Then they score them based on likelihood-to-buy, and automatically source the contact info for the exact buying

00:02:39: committee.".

00:02:39: That's incredible!

00:02:40: And I'm assuming it is only after that entire Data Foundation has laid that actually turned down the demand generation engine right?

00:02:45: Yeah Like the content...the outbound emails..the ads….

00:02:48: Yeah exactly….and all of this runs in a single unified RevOps foundation

00:02:53: Which brings up really fascinating observation from Gerlaine Nerestam regarding the actual software tools these teams are using.

00:03:00: We're seeing this massive consolidation in the tech stack right now.

00:03:03: Oh, definitely.

00:03:04: It used to be that running a comprehensive GTM motion required jeveling what, maybe fifteen different completely disjointed tools?

00:03:12: Yeah exactly.

00:03:13: You'd spend eight thousand dollars a month and none of the software talked with each other without just massive headache!

00:03:19: It created terrible bottlenecks.

00:03:22: I mean if your data orchestration platform doesn't talk seamlessly to email sending tool every single new campaign requires manual data export You're formatting in a spreadsheet, re-uploading.

00:03:34: It's a nightmare.

00:03:35: that means the simple experiment takes two weeks just to get wired up and approved

00:03:39: right.

00:03:39: but The new architecture changes that completely.

00:03:42: startups are swapping those fifteen disjointed tools for about twelve tools That our API wire into one fluid system And they're doing it often for under two thousand dollars a month.

00:03:51: Wow!

00:03:52: And because of the data flows seamlessly A single GTM engineer can conceptualize a campaign Source the leads track the signals and launch the outbound sequence all in the exact same afternoon.

00:04:04: Exactly, it's a total game changer!

00:04:06: But hold on let me push back to this sequence.

00:04:08: for second... If I'm startup founder right?

00:04:10: And my board is breeding down my neck for pipeline this quarter…I don't feel like i have time to re-architect a nine step data foundation and wire twelve tools together.

00:04:19: Yeah that's fair point.

00:04:21: Why shouldn't just buy one of these new AI Outbound Agents plug into current CRM and start emailing thousands prospects today.

00:04:30: Well, Alex Choi has a brilliant analogy for why that instinct is actually incredibly dangerous.

00:04:35: he points out the early-stage founders often prioritize in that exact reverse order

00:04:39: because they're desperate for pipeline

00:04:40: exactly!

00:04:41: They want it outbound right now.

00:04:42: then they want

00:04:43: AI

00:04:44: and they figure uh...they'll get around to cleaning up their CRM architecture someday down the road.

00:04:48: It's the literal equivalent of trying to build a ten story high rise on a concrete foundation meant for two storey house

00:04:56: Because The AI Is Just A Multiplier.

00:04:58: If your data foundation is broken, the AI just accelerates and scales.

00:05:19: It doesn't magically fix the underlying logic, does it?

00:05:22: Not at all.

00:05:23: It just generates broken output at an incredible speed.

00:05:26: You end up burning your domain reputation by blasting your relevant emails to the exact wrong people.

00:05:31: you have To clean the motion and data first

00:05:34: Which leads right into the concept of signal logic.

00:05:36: Marcos stew highlights that companies love buying AI tools in deploying agents But nobody internally actually owns this signal logic.

00:05:44: Yeah That is a massive structural gap.

00:05:46: Signal logic is basically the set of rules that tells your system when an account is ready to hear from you.

00:05:51: Who would find what signals matter?

00:05:52: who updates the logic, When macroeconomic climate shifts?

00:05:55: Right because if nobody owns it Your AI's essentially flying blind.

00:06:00: RevOps really needs to own this Because they control data infrastructure

00:06:05: And the competitive advantage here is just staggering.

00:06:07: Scott Clark points out that only seventeen percent of organizations are using current state signals, things like leadership changes recent funding rounds or specific hiring activity.

00:06:18: So if you know who fits your profile?

00:06:20: That's great.

00:06:21: But knowing why they need you now Is the actual trigger that gets a meeting booked

00:06:25: exactly?

00:06:26: let's follow that thread though.

00:06:28: You can engineer the most sophisticated, highly-signaled AI driven machine in your industry.

00:06:34: It will find the perfect buyer at the exact right millisecond.

00:06:38: but what happens when they email?

00:06:39: it sends them is just completely generic?

00:06:41: Well...the

00:06:41: entire system fails!

00:06:43: The Machine is totally useless if the message falls flat which means we really have to look how teams are actually positioning their products

00:06:50: From the Machine To The Message.

00:06:52: It's exactly.

00:06:53: Heel Lauderbach shared an AI-PMM positioning checklist for product marketing managers, and the core lesson there is just ruthless painful focus.

00:07:03: when a team looks at their products they usually have a slide with like thirteen vague features that are super proud of.

00:07:09: Oh

00:07:10: yeah!

00:07:10: The dreaded feature dumps slide.

00:07:12: You have to cut it down into three specific things your customers actually care about

00:07:16: And you have to define your real competitive alternatives.

00:07:20: Usually, product marketers only look at their direct software rival but in the real world... ...your biggest competitor is The Do Nothing option—the status quo.

00:07:29: Yeah!

00:07:29: The status quo…is undefeated.

00:07:31: Which actually brings up a really brilliant analogy from Patricia Blyker.

00:07:35: She says that value selling is essentially couples therapy for B-to-B.

00:07:39: That's perfect.

00:07:39: Think about the mechanics of how a deal actually progresses, go-to market is often treated like matchmaking you know?

00:07:45: You find the right products to the right markets

00:07:47: Right but in any relationship just because your match doesn't mean that you stay together The honeymoon eventually ends.

00:07:52: Exactly!

00:07:53: In B-to-B sales... ...that moment when procurement opens up a spreadsheet or when CFO joins Zoom call Or when your internal champion has to go their boss and defend why they are spending budget on software.

00:08:05: So how does a team actually operationalize that couples therapy in that CFO meeting?

00:08:10: Well,

00:08:11: by moving away from subjective feelings and getting into hard math.

00:08:14: deals rarely fail late on the pipeline because your future list wasn't long enough.

00:08:18: They failed because nobody could make value tangible.

00:08:21: A strong GTM team maps the specific value, quantifies it into a defensible business case and gives their champion the exact financial narrative they need to defend the purchase.

00:08:32: You don't win because you match—you win because your are demonstrably worth investment!

00:08:36: So let me ask this then... Because I see this scenario all of time….

00:08:39: Marketing ships have beautifully designed pitch deck, sales takes one look at it completely rips apart in field and builds their own Frankenstein slides….

00:08:48: When that happens who is actually failing?

00:08:50: Andrew Meliband views that exact scenario as a critical diagnostic signal.

00:08:55: It's not a copywriting failure on marketing part, and it is not sales just being stubborn!

00:09:00: Okay, so what is it?

00:09:02: It means that the fundamental customer problem—the actual source of value and the proof points were never settled upstream by leadership.

00:09:10: If a sales rep has to constantly reconstruct why this matters narrative on-the-fly….

00:09:15: The GTM system has massive structural gaps.

00:09:18: Oh!

00:09:18: That makes sense.

00:09:20: And this ties right into what Agnan Morozanov calls Value Management.

00:09:24: When companies say, you know value is everyone's job it inevitably dilutes into generic slop.

00:09:29: Yeah exactly Value management needs a named owner.

00:09:32: It needs a specific person whose day-to-day job Is conducting brutally honest postmortems on one and lost deals

00:09:38: Right!

00:09:39: And that owner has to ruthlessly eliminate generic claims.

00:09:42: You can't walk in modern buying committee promising ten X productivity

00:09:45: Because the CFO will apply a hundred percent discount To acclaim vague.

00:09:50: just throw proposal in trash.

00:09:52: Exactly You have to speak the language of real economics.

00:09:55: You have talk about avoided downtime in the manufacturing line, deferred capital expenditures, redeployed engineering capacity... Real numbers that hit a balance sheet!

00:10:05: Absolutely.

00:10:06: By the way if you are listening and finding this breakdown helpful for your own strategy make sure you subscribe so catch our future deep dives.

00:10:14: We had more ground today.

00:10:18: To summarize this foundational piece Clayton Pritchard puts it perfectly Positioning isn't just a messaging exercise to make your website sound smarter.

00:10:26: It is a mathematical multiplier, right?

00:10:28: If you improve the foundational positioning and value narrative it improves the conversion rate across every single channel You operate from your paid LinkedIn ads all the way down to your closing sales conversations.

00:10:40: Okay Let's look at the next logical hurdle.

00:10:42: we have a finely tuned data engine And we have a sharply positioned message built on real economics.

00:10:49: Where do we actually deploy this machine?

00:10:50: The

00:10:51: fun part, expansion.

00:10:53: Exactly!

00:10:54: Nicholas Huchin introduced the concept about market entry.

00:10:57: that really challenges the default corporate playbook.

00:11:00: He argues that the largest total market is rarely the best first-market.

00:11:04: Yeah, because the default instinct for leadership is to see a product with broad potential and try to sell it literally everywhere simultaneously.

00:11:12: Right but Broad Potential isn't a commercialization strategy.

00:11:16: Euchan emphasizes market readiness.

00:11:19: A massive market might be completely unnavigable.

00:11:22: You need to look for urgent expensive problems clear budget authority And buying process that your team can actually get through in reasonable time frame.

00:11:31: Winning intentionally in a smaller, ready market provides the cash flow and reference customers you need to expand later.

00:11:38: We see the danger of ignoring market readiness when companies try to expand internationally too.

00:11:43: Sean Kwan's insights on an APAC region illustrate this perfectly.

00:11:47: Oh yeah A strong product does not automatically create a strong business in Singapore Malaysia or greater China.

00:11:53: You cannot just paste Western playbook over APAC.

00:11:56: So what is that localized motion actually require practice?

00:12:00: Well, it requires redefining your enterprise use cases.

00:12:03: So the measurable business outcomes actually resonate with local corporate cultures.

00:12:08: and crucially It requires treating local channel partners as actual extensions of your business

00:12:14: like integrating them into your revops data flow rather than just treating them As a logo on a partner slide.

00:12:19: exactly.

00:12:20: Jose Fernandez makes very similar point about EMEA.

00:12:24: The overarching strategy can remain global but the execution absolutely must be local.

00:12:30: EMEA isn't a single market.

00:12:32: It's a deeply complex collection of markets.

00:12:34: Well, Jean-Charles

00:12:35: Spinalis breaks down how this impacts something as physical as choosing your EME A hub.

00:12:40: companies often pick ahead quarter city just because it sounds prestigious

00:12:43: right like Paris or London

00:12:44: exactly.

00:12:45: but the mechanics of a localized motion mean you have to choose based on buyer density cost structure and travel reach.

00:12:52: If you are comparing the Benelux region versus the UK or France, You have to look at how local fiscal loads and taxes compress the margin you make per sales rep.

00:13:01: Wow that's granular!

00:13:02: You

00:13:02: even have to check out train maps to see easily your team can do a one-day travel sweep To close strategic enterprise deal in person.

00:13:10: I want take this intellectual exploration further with an incredible example from Leon Olu regarding the China Remittance Corridor.

00:13:18: This perfectly illustrates why you have to deeply understand The Customer before you pick your expansion channel.

00:13:24: Let's hear it!

00:13:25: When we think of a remittance market, people sending money across international borders... ...the standard assumption is simple.

00:13:32: Immigrants move into new country earn money and set at home to support their extended family.

00:13:37: Right.

00:13:37: It's this standard historically proven playbook for that entire industry.

00:13:42: But, if a company applies that assumption to Chinese international students living in the UK or US they will fail before even launch.

00:13:51: Why is this?

00:13:52: Because mechanics of specific demographic are totally reversed.

00:13:56: Those students often funded by wealthy parents back home They don't need service to send money back to China.

00:14:02: They need service optimized to receive money from China so they can afford living overseas.

00:14:06: If you assume the standard remittance playbook, You are building a massive marketing motion for a customer base that literally does not exist in that specific corridor.

00:14:16: That

00:14:17: is wild!

00:14:18: Assumptions are just an absolute enemy of expansion.

00:14:21: But let's bring this all back inside The Building For A Second...You can have best localization strategy In the world-the cleanest data engine and sharpest messaging.

00:14:29: but if your internal teams Are fighting each other..The math still falls apart.

00:14:33: Yeah, Denyne Harper diagnoses this internal friction brilliantly.

00:14:37: When a company's revenue stalls out the default reaction is usually to audit the marketing department fire the external agency and demand a complete rebrand.

00:14:46: Right but The Root Cause Is Almost Never The Marketing Copy.

00:14:50: What is it then?

00:14:51: It is an alignment constraint.

00:14:53: What you usually have is four different departmental leaders sitting in a boardroom nodding and agreeing on high-level corporate strategy.

00:14:59: Then they walk back to their respective desks, run for completely conflicting playbooks.

00:15:05: Oh that's so true!

00:15:06: Marketing is generating leads that sales things are garbage...

00:15:10: And sales as making promises the field operations didn't know about can't fulfill.

00:15:15: The day today friction of cross department rework burns significantly more margin than failed ad campaign ever could.

00:15:23: And speaking of margin, we need to talk about the financial reality check provided by Tito Bort.

00:15:28: He looked at the true math of GTM right now and it is pretty sobering!

00:15:32: Let's hear the numbers...

00:15:33: The median company is spending two hundred thousand dollars to acquire one-hundred thousand dollars of ARR annual recurring revenue.

00:15:42: just let the mechanics that sink in.

00:15:45: companies are spending two dollars to require one dollar of revenue.

00:15:48: yeah..the customer acquisition costs have spiraled completely out of control.

00:15:52: yet You still see founders who are sold this illusion that they can just buy a list, spend three thousand dollars on automated email blasts and magically generate one hundred grand in new pipeline.

00:16:02: That expectation of cheap brute force growth is fantasy...and chasing it is exactly what kills the startups runway!

00:16:09: This financial reality is exactly why a critical observation from Bethi Haskell is so important here.

00:16:15: Equating your entire go-to market strategy strictly with your sales department, it's an incredibly expensive error.

00:16:22: Look at the mechanics of revenue as scale.

00:16:25: At companies above one hundred million dollars in revenue expansion accounts for sixty seven percent Of all new ARR.

00:16:32: Wait

00:16:32: over two thirds of New Revenue Is coming From people who already bought The product.

00:16:36: Yes

00:16:37: While It costs that painful two dollars to acquire one dollar of new customer ARR, it generally only costs one dollar.

00:16:43: To expand a current customers contract by a dollar.

00:16:46: yet leadership severely under funds post sales teams

00:16:49: they obsess over pouring leads into the top of the funnel while completely ignoring the leaky bucket at the bottom.

00:16:55: Customer success technical support and product development are deeply integrated parts in the GTM system not just cost centers

00:17:02: which is why scaling prematurely as fatal?

00:17:05: Milan Vlachkov proposes a three-question test before company even attempts to scale.

00:17:10: One, do you know exactly who has the problem?

00:17:12: Two can you articulate the mechanics of why it matters to them?

00:17:16: and Three Do you have a clear preven pathway to reach them?

00:17:21: if You answer no to any of those do not hit the gas.

00:17:25: Hiring a bigger sales team won't fix an unproven market

00:17:28: Exactly.

00:17:29: Wayne Morris backs this up with hard data too.

00:17:31: If your product market fit score is below seventy-five, it's objectively premature to scale a sales organization.

00:17:39: I

00:17:56: want to leave you with a final thought inspired by Ron Johnson's insights on artificial intelligence.

00:18:02: Right now, every GTM leader is obsessing over how AI can automate their incredibly complex convoluted, fourteen-stage lead routing and scoring motions.

00:18:11: They want an AI agent to perfectly navigate the archaic mess they built over the last five years...they want machine to do heavy lifting of bad process.

00:18:19: Exactly!

00:18:21: But AIs real gift isn't doing complicated broken things faster… point an AI at a convoluted mess, and it just facefully runs the tangle you handed in.

00:18:29: So what is The Real Gift?

00:18:31: The real gift of

00:18:32: A.I.,

00:18:32: forcing us to realize hard truth!

00:18:34: If process was too tangled or complex for machine-to-logically navigate... It's two tangled for human employees as well.

00:18:42: Before asking what parts of your GTM motion should automate You need ask what part you should delete entirely.

00:18:49: Wow We have to stop bolting high-tech turbochargers onto broken wooden carriage wheels.