Best of LinkedIn: Go-to-Market CW 42/ 43

00:00:00: This episode is provided by Thomas Allgaier and Frennis, based on the most relevant LinkedIn posts about go-to-market in calendar weeks, forty-two and forty-three.

00:00:09: Frennis is a BDB market research company helping enterprises gain the customer competitive and positioning insights needed to drive GTM success.

00:00:18: Welcome to the deep dive.

00:00:20: Today, we're really cutting through the noise, giving you a sharp focus on the GTM trends that were all over LinkedIn these past couple of weeks.

00:00:28: Our mission here is to get past the sort of isolated tips and tricks and really grasp the big shift that's happening.

00:00:35: GTM is becoming old.

00:00:37: System led it's about orchestration now

00:00:39: and that system thinking it just jumps out from all the sources.

00:00:42: We looked at Honestly, if there's one big takeaway, it's this AI driven workflows.

00:00:47: They're not just theory anymore They're actually moving into practice driving revenue.

00:00:51: and this whole shift has basically created a brand new really critical role the GTM engineer the Gtme.

00:00:57: ah

00:00:58: the Gtme Yeah,

00:00:59: that's the person or the function linking up data product and the revenue teams making it all work together like a machine and that Gtme role.

00:01:06: that's literally where the money is now.

00:01:09: It's kind of hard to miss how fast this function is taking shape.

00:01:12: Totally.

00:01:13: Danilo Zorowski shared some data that really shows this huge demand, particularly in Europe.

00:01:19: He looked at salaries across, what, sixteen countries?

00:01:22: Yeah,

00:01:23: something like that.

00:01:23: And found this new BDB sauce roll, the GTME, paying up to ninety-six thousand euros net in Switzerland.

00:01:30: Wow.

00:01:31: A roll that like basically didn't exist eighteen months ago.

00:01:35: And now.

00:01:37: Maybe the most sought after technical GTM job out there.

00:01:40: The market is just screaming for people who can handle that technical execution piece.

00:01:45: Tim Jacobson actually laid out the skills you need.

00:01:47: Okay.

00:01:47: And it really shows you need to be a hybrid.

00:01:49: You start either with serious sales chops or, you know, a solid software engineering background.

00:01:54: So

00:01:54: one or the other.

00:01:55: Right.

00:01:55: Then you layer on advanced web scraping, get really good with orchestration tools.

00:01:58: Clay is the big one mentioned.

00:01:59: Trotida.

00:02:00: And then, crucially, you build a public portfolio.

00:02:02: Maybe offer some free bills just to get those testimonials.

00:02:05: It's a tactical path, but it leads somewhere pretty strategic.

00:02:08: Okay, but hang on.

00:02:10: Every hot new thing gets pushed back.

00:02:12: Right.

00:02:13: Fitty Benyons had this unpopular opinion.

00:02:16: I

00:02:16: saw that one.

00:02:17: Calling the DTM a bubble.

00:02:19: His take is it's just rev ops or sales ops with a fancier name pushed by influencers.

00:02:25: Right.

00:02:25: The rebrand argument.

00:02:27: Exactly.

00:02:28: He thinks success still comes down to solid strategy and process, not the job title.

00:02:33: Which is a fair point.

00:02:34: You know, titles can be distracting, but I think the distinction people like Patatruj Jalsjelska and Anastasia Nakanekna are making is important here.

00:02:41: It clarifies things.

00:02:42: It's about the type of judgment needed.

00:02:44: So the growth marketer.

00:02:46: They optimize the strategy.

00:02:47: They figure out, OK, what campaign works best.

00:02:49: Got it.

00:02:50: The GTME, though, optimizes the machinery, the technical infrastructure underneath it all.

00:02:55: They make sure the data flows, the automation runs reliably, and the strategy can actually scale.

00:03:00: So the marketer points the way.

00:03:01: And the GTME builds the superhighway to get there fast.

00:03:04: That's

00:03:04: a great way to put it.

00:03:05: Diana Marcela Gonzalez used this analogy.

00:03:07: that really stuck with me.

00:03:08: RevOps keeps the trains running on time stability, clean data, reporting.

00:03:13: Keeping the lights on.

00:03:14: Exactly.

00:03:15: GTM engineers, they're building new railroads, driving innovation, looking forward.

00:03:18: It's fundamentally about building what's next.

00:03:20: Okay,

00:03:21: building what's next.

00:03:22: Let's unpack that system-led approach because, yeah, building railroads sounds like AI and automation territory.

00:03:28: Definitely.

00:03:29: Jody Geiger pointed out, The future isn't just using AI, it's architecting intelligence.

00:03:34: Building systems that learn and adapt.

00:03:36: But the practical question is, how far are we really?

00:03:41: Are teams actually getting revenue results from this stuff now?

00:03:45: The consensus seems to be, we're still pretty early.

00:03:48: Sam Jacobs mentioned AI reshaping GTM in four phases.

00:03:52: Most companies haven't really even finished phase one.

00:03:54: Phase one, wow.

00:03:56: And Kyle Norton, he reported lots of leaders are just stuck in what he called pilot purgatory.

00:04:01: Pilot purgatory?

00:04:03: Ouch, that sounds expensive.

00:04:04: What does that actually look

00:04:05: like?

00:04:05: It's where you prove a concept works, you know, maybe automating one little step, but then the project just stalls.

00:04:10: Because the team can't actually bridge that gap to full implementation.

00:04:14: Maybe the infrastructure isn't ready, or maybe the quality of the data you're feeding it just isn't good enough to keep it running reliably in the real world.

00:04:22: But some people are getting out of purgatory, right?

00:04:23: There must be practical wins happening.

00:04:25: Oh, for

00:04:25: sure.

00:04:26: Divya Prasad Pende shared a full seven step GTM workflow, fully automated lead gen, filling the pipeline.

00:04:32: Nice.

00:04:33: And Anacapa showed five like really simple GTM automations that scale outbound using smart triggers, AI agents, getting rid of all that manual contact enrichment pain.

00:04:44: Okay, so what's the key to making those work?

00:04:47: How do you avoid purgatory?

00:04:48: It

00:04:48: seems to come down to being hyper specific.

00:04:51: Jacob Didle really hammered this point.

00:04:53: Generic input.

00:04:54: You get generic output.

00:04:56: It's that simple.

00:04:56: Garbage in, garbage out.

00:04:58: Still true.

00:04:58: Totally.

00:04:59: He pushes this idea of unreasonable clarity.

00:05:02: To get there, you have to break the task down into tiny atomic pieces, decompose the problem, and this is key.

00:05:09: Identify your load bearing assumptions before you deploy anything.

00:05:13: Load bearing assumptions.

00:05:14: Okay, break that down.

00:05:16: Sounds like engineering talk, but why is it critical for GTM?

00:05:20: It's about the core beliefs your whole system is built on.

00:05:23: Let's say you assume your buyer only cares about price.

00:05:25: You build your AI prompts, your sequences, everything around that.

00:05:29: But what if they actually prioritize, say, speed of implementation?

00:05:33: Your whole system is now based on a faulty premise.

00:05:36: It's gonna fail.

00:05:37: You have to define and test those fundamental beliefs before you bake them into your automation.

00:05:42: That clarity point really showed up in the numbers, didn't it?

00:05:45: Jenny Vransic tested what, over two hundred AI prompts for outbound?

00:05:48: Yeah,

00:05:48: over two hundred.

00:05:49: And found only about thirty actually worked well.

00:05:51: It's

00:05:51: like a fifteen percent success rate.

00:05:53: Meaning eighty-five percent were just noise.

00:05:57: Wasted effort.

00:05:57: Pretty much.

00:05:58: It just shows complexity for its own sake, doesn't get you anywhere.

00:06:01: Surgical precision is what wins.

00:06:03: And that precision needs a clear structure in your data stack too.

00:06:06: Absolutely.

00:06:07: Bill Stathopoulos gave a great reminder.

00:06:09: The eighty twenty rule totally applies to your GTM data stack.

00:06:13: Most teams get eighty percent of their real value from just layers one to three.

00:06:17: Okay.

00:06:17: Layers one to three.

00:06:20: For those of us maybe less deep in RevOps terminology.

00:06:23: What does that cover?

00:06:24: That's

00:06:24: your foundational stuff simple contact finders basic enrichment the static data providers like zoom info or Apollo.

00:06:32: You know the core repeatable data.

00:06:33: you need the basics exactly and Bill's main point was Focus on the decisions.

00:06:38: you need that data for not just collecting tools.

00:06:41: Don't get tool sprawl.

00:06:42: if all you need is basic enrichment.

00:06:44: Don't overspend on a complex orchestration engine.

00:06:47: use the right tool for the right job.

00:06:49: match the tool to the goal.

00:06:51: That efficiency angle leads us right into pipeline generation, which seems like another area where GTM engineering is really changing the game, especially for outbound.

00:07:00: It's the natural next step, isn't it?

00:07:02: H. Labess observed that outbound is basically merging with RevOps now.

00:07:06: GTM is becoming data engineering and system design.

00:07:09: And Ilya Azupsev gave a really sharp example.

00:07:11: Five years ago, you needed maybe a five-person lead gen team for high volume outbound.

00:07:15: Right,

00:07:15: the SDR farm model.

00:07:17: Yeah, today.

00:07:19: One GTME armed with AI agents can orchestrate that entire effort.

00:07:23: It's cheaper, faster, and probably more consistent.

00:07:26: Okay,

00:07:27: but let's push on that.

00:07:28: Is that just replacing people with automation, the classic fear?

00:07:32: Where does the human element fit in, especially for complex, high value sales?

00:07:36: It doesn't replace the human, it shifts the human's focus.

00:07:40: The GTME and the AI replace the tedious, repetitive stuff, the data digging, the manual sequencing.

00:07:46: This actually increases the value of the human seller because now they're freed up to focus only on engaging, genuinely qualified, high-intent accounts that the system has surfaced.

00:07:56: It's about focusing human skill where it matters most.

00:07:59: Strategy, relationship, closing.

00:08:02: That makes the shift in prospecting crystal clear then.

00:08:04: It has to be about high intense signals, not just broad firmograph.

00:08:07: Exactly.

00:08:08: Jordy Frenadji put it bluntly.

00:08:09: Stop hammering inboxes just because someone technically fits the ICP.

00:08:13: That's just table stakes now.

00:08:14: So fitting the profile isn't enough.

00:08:16: Not even close.

00:08:17: The winning play now is stacking signals.

00:08:20: Combine internal signals like someone engaging with your content or specific product usage patterns with external signals, funding announcements, new hires and key roles, competitor news.

00:08:30: Looking

00:08:31: for patterns.

00:08:31: of readiness.

00:08:32: Precisely.

00:08:33: That lets you identify maybe thirty to fifty accounts that are actually ready for a relevant conversation.

00:08:39: Instead of blasting five thousand contacts and hoping something sticks, it's focus.

00:08:44: And that focus on signals, it loops right back to foundational strategy, doesn't it?

00:08:49: Dao Wester made the point that the best GTM strategies are often built on just three simple things.

00:08:53: We tend to overcomplicate.

00:08:55: Yeah, his three were nail your ideal customer profile, get your messaging right so it truly resonates, and make sure your and packaging actually converts.

00:09:04: ICP, messaging, pricing.

00:09:06: Get

00:09:06: those three right, he argues, and your offer practically sells itself.

00:09:10: But you can't nail those without really understanding the customer.

00:09:13: Absolutely

00:09:14: not.

00:09:14: Piyush D. Bamare called market research oxygen for GTM, just vital, especially he noted, for global scale-ups trying to figure out, say, the Western buyer beyond just their job title.

00:09:26: Right.

00:09:27: What actually makes them tick?

00:09:28: Exactly.

00:09:29: The research needs to decode the buyer across four dimensions, personal motivations, social influences, functional job to be done, and behavioral patterns.

00:09:38: deep understanding.

00:09:39: That level of detail gets you away from vague targets.

00:09:43: It helps define actionable segments.

00:09:45: Sangram Vajri had a great line summing this up.

00:09:47: Oh yeah.

00:09:48: TAM total addressable market makes for a great slide.

00:09:50: Looks impressive.

00:09:52: But TRM, targeted realistic market, that's what makes for a great strategy.

00:09:56: Ooh,

00:09:56: I like that.

00:09:57: TAM is the dream.

00:09:58: TRM is the plan.

00:09:59: Exactly.

00:10:00: And that distinction is so crucial.

00:10:02: TRM forces you to focus your limited resources, time, money, people on the slice of the market.

00:10:08: you can actually win right now with your current product and capabilities.

00:10:11: Whereas

00:10:11: chasing the whole TAM.

00:10:12: You just burn cash.

00:10:13: You chase prospects who aren't ready or need features you don't have.

00:10:16: Focusing on TRM lets you build that repeatable, efficient motion.

00:10:21: And that focus, that repeatable motion, becomes absolutely critical when you try to scale, because hitting scale often breaks things.

00:10:29: Oh, inevitably.

00:10:30: Jamie Walsh pointed out this common pattern.

00:10:32: SAS companies hit, say, ten million dollar ARR.

00:10:36: They think, great, we found the playbook.

00:10:37: Yeah, we cracked

00:10:38: it.

00:10:38: But that's often the exact point where the original GTM motion starts to buckle.

00:10:42: How does it break?

00:10:43: Well, inbound might plateau.

00:10:46: sales efficiency starts to drop.

00:10:48: The strategy that got you to ten dollars isn't the one that gets you beyond it.

00:10:52: The fix usually involves specializing, splitting inbound and outbound more clearly, maybe by segment, and definitely building tighter, faster feedback loops between product and sales.

00:11:02: Which sounds like a recipe for internal friction.

00:11:04: Can be, for sure.

00:11:06: Alan Gonsonhauser observed that when GTM stumbles at scale, the C-suite often ends up talking past each other.

00:11:11: Also.

00:11:12: Because they're seeing the problem through different lenses.

00:11:15: The CEO might see a high-level strategic failure.

00:11:18: The CMO sees a messaging or positioning problem.

00:11:21: The CRO sees a broken engine pipeline gaps, conversion issues.

00:11:25: They're all describing symptoms of the same core issue.

00:11:28: but using different languages.

00:11:29: Exactly.

00:11:30: The immediate problem is they lack a shared diagnostic language.

00:11:34: If you're arguing about market strategy versus activity metrics, you're not even diagnosing the same illness.

00:11:40: The solution needs shared metrics.

00:11:43: CAC payback, sale cycle velocity, things everyone agrees are the vital signs as the common ground.

00:11:49: Which brings us back to the solution we keep hearing.

00:11:52: Focus and orchestration.

00:11:54: Right.

00:11:54: Coldit Parmar had a really critical reminder.

00:11:57: If you focus only on strategy, but neglect the execution, you're going to fail.

00:12:02: Strategy without systems is just, you know, a nice PowerPoint deck.

00:12:05: Doesn't actually do anything.

00:12:06: And Simon Sharp built on that, saying most alignment problems, they're actually focused problems, meaning GTM leaders need to be ruthless in directing everyone's attention.

00:12:15: What are the three, maybe four, critical things we must solve this quarter?

00:12:19: Then build daily execution rituals around those specific goals.

00:12:23: cut out the noise.

00:12:24: So the ultimate fix is structural.

00:12:26: It's about moving these big challenges out of siloed departments and into shared ownership.

00:12:30: That

00:12:30: seems to be the trend.

00:12:32: Stefan May has confirmed it.

00:12:34: The big move is forming cross-functional teams, really multidisciplinary, to tackle the problems that live between departments.

00:12:41: Like pricing.

00:12:42: Pricing, building an ecosystem, adopting AI effectively.

00:12:46: These things don't belong to just marketing or just sales or just product.

00:12:50: They live in the system.

00:12:51: They require that orchestrated approach.

00:12:53: Exactly.

00:12:54: And Jim Bell tied it all together by emphasizing that GTM orchestration has to put the buyer experience first.

00:13:00: That collaboration, breaking down those internal walls, that's the key to efficient growth, because those walls are usually what cause friction for the buyer.

00:13:08: Okay, so this deep dive has really illuminated a clear direction, hasn't it?

00:13:12: The future of GTM is definitely system-led.

00:13:14: It hinges on that GTME role, connecting the dots between data, product revenue, and shifting away from generic blasting towards really focused signal-driven execution.

00:13:25: If you enjoyed this deep dive, new episodes drop over two weeks.

00:13:28: Also, check out our other editions on account-based marketing, field marketing, channel marketing, MarTech, social selling, and AI in B to B marketing.

00:13:36: And maybe leave you with one final thought to chew on.

00:13:39: Inspired by Anastasia Nakonekna, she proposed a simple test for product value in this AI era.

00:13:45: Remove the AI components.

00:13:47: Does the core product still work?

00:13:49: Does it still deliver value?

00:13:51: The answer to that question, she suggests, will likely define your GTM success moving forward.

00:13:56: It tells you if AI is enhancing a solid foundation or just masking a weak one.

00:14:01: A

00:14:01: really clarifying question forces you to look at the core offering.

00:14:05: Great point to end on.

00:14:06: Thank you for joining us and be sure to subscribe so you don't miss our next deep dive.