Smarter Demand Gen and Sales Prospecting

Practical GTM Strategies for Sales and Marketing

Welcome to GTM Weekly!

Bringing you strategies, expert takes, and practical ideas on go-to-market, sales, and revenue growth. Focused on what works and how teams can execute better.

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GTM Challenges for Startups

Richard Hegberg, a veteran in the semiconductor and startup space, breaks down the biggest issue for startups: go-to-market (GTM). He emphasizes that great technology alone isn’t enough—without a solid GTM strategy, startups will struggle to generate revenue and scale. 

Key Takeaways

1. Tech Founders Often Underestimate GTM

Many startups are founded by brilliant engineers or academics with no commercial or sales experience. They overlook how difficult it is to scale a business and assume great tech will sell itself.

2. Clear Value Prop is Non-Negotiable

If your value proposition isn’t instantly obvious and economically compelling, it will be difficult to gain traction. A confusing or complex story is a red flag. 

3. Don’t Burn Capital Without a GTM Plan

Startups that lack a clear revenue path within 12-24 months often waste investor money. Scaling isn’t just about hiring sales—it’s about designing a repeatable, sustainable revenue model. 

4. Founder-Led Sales is Essential Early On

The CEO must be deeply involved in the first sales calls. Hiring a sales rep too early, before the company understands its ideal customer profile (ICP) and GTM motion, can lead to failure. 

5. First Sales Hires Should Be Player-Coaches

Early sales hires should not just manage—they must sell. There’s no room for hierarchy in a startup. Everyone, including founders, must be hands-on in customer conversations. 

6. Partnerships Are Critical But Not a Shortcut

Many startups mistakenly think channel partners will handle GTM for them. In reality, partners won’t push your product unless it’s clearly valuable to them. Startups must drive demand first. 

7. Go After Both Big and Small Wins

While landing a big whale can be transformative, it’s also risky and time-consuming. Having smaller, friendlier early adopters can help refine the product and establish credibility. 

8. Early GTM is About Hustle, Not Just Ads

• Leverage LinkedIn, HubSpot, ZoomInfo, and targeted outreach instead of expensive marketing. 

• Focus on social media, podcasts, and niche conferences to build awareness cost-effectively. 

• Good content that educates prospects is more valuable than traditional brand marketing. 

9. Sales Training Isn’t Just for Salespeople

Engineers, founders, and technical team members must be trained on storytelling, presenting, and handling objections since they often participate in early sales. 

10. Avoid These Common Startup Mistakes

• Waiting for the “perfect” product—get an MVP into the market ASAP. 

• Loose spending on branding instead of prioritizing demand generation. 

• Relying too much on partners instead of driving direct customer engagement. 

• Building a top-heavy team instead of hiring doers who can execute. 

11. Sales Compensation Should Be Long-Term Focused

• Avoid purely transactional comp plans that prioritize quick commissions over long-term value creation. 

• Consider equity-based incentives to align sales with company growth. 

How to Keep Salespeople Consistently Prospecting

Jeb Blount explains how sales teams struggle with prospecting because they lack structure, motivation, and accountability. 

Sales leaders must set clear expectations, make prospecting a daily habit, and lead by example. Without consistent outreach, pipelines dry up, and sales slow down. 

↳ Talk about prospecting every day

• Bring up prospecting in every meeting. 

• Repetition sets the expectation that it’s a non-negotiable part of the job. 

• If leaders stop talking about it, reps stop doing it. 

↳ Schedule live call blocks

• Get everyone on a video call at a set time. 

• Seeing teammates making calls creates social pressure and motivation.

• Remote teams need this structure to stay accountable. 

↳ Use high-intensity sprints (hips)

• Short bursts of 10-20 minutes keep energy high. 

• Track dials, contacts, and results on a shared whiteboard. 

• Make it fun and competitive to keep reps engaged. 

↳ Ignore complaints about micromanagement

• Reps might resist structured call blocks, but they work.

• Keep the energy high, focus on results, and they’ll see the value. 

↳ Understand that no one loves prospecting

• Prospecting is hard and repetitive.

• The goal isn’t to enjoy it—it’s to get results.

• Closing deals is fun, but it only happens with a full pipeline. 

↳ Sales leaders must lead by example

• Make calls alongside your team.

• If you disappear during prospecting time, they will too. 

• Show them that you’re willing to do the work. 

↳ Keep prospecting momentum high

• Many teams start strong, then crash after a few days. 

• Consistency is key—never let up on expectations.

• If you stop pushing, the team stops prospecting. 

↳ Use technology to close the remote gap

• Video calls, shared leaderboards, and live tracking keep teams engaged.

• Breakout rooms for smaller groups increase focus and accountability. 

↳ Treat prospecting like an infinite game

• It’s never “done.” The second you stop focusing on it, sales drop. 

• Keep the pressure on, maintain high energy, and stay involved.

↳ Stop looking for shortcuts

• There’s no “easy” way to make prospecting fun. 

• Discipline, consistency, and accountability are the only things that work.

Winning with Context in B2B Sales

Michelle Vu, VP of Revenue and Customer at G2, brings over 20 years of sales experience. In a recent conversation, she shared practical insights on refining ICP, improving GTM strategy, and leveraging AI effectively.

Here’s what sales leaders should focus on: 

• Define ICP precisely before execution: Avoid spreading efforts too thin. Align sales, marketing, and product teams to a clear, data-backed ICP definition. 

• Talk to customers, not just sales teams: Internal discussions are helpful, but direct customer feedback ensures ICP alignment. 

• Segment and prioritize accounts strategically: Use intent data and engagement signals to identify high-value opportunities instead of chasing every lead. 

• Tailor motions for different customer segments: A one-size-fits-all playbook won’t work. Adapt engagement based on industry, buying behaviors, and pain points. 

• AI should assist, not replace sales judgment: Automate research, call prep, and pipeline insights, but always refine AI-generated content for a human touch. 

• Account-based strategies work best when aligned: Revenue teams should focus on high-value accounts with coordinated efforts across marketing, sales, and customer success. 

• Pipeline generation requires deep deal context: Understanding internal decision-making processes helps avoid late-stage surprises and deal risk. 

• The CFO is now a key stakeholder: Expect finance to scrutinize contracts. Equip champions with financial ROI and business impact data. 

• Limit tool sprawl for efficiency: Too many disconnected tools create inefficiencies. Centralize key insights and remove redundant solutions. 

• Sales leadership is about long-term culture: Motivation goes beyond hitting quotas. Supporting team goals and career aspirations fosters engagement and retention.

GTM SNAPSHOT

Chris Walker: GTM teams fail by attributing revenue to departments instead of operating as a unified system. The "Four Funnel MQL Model"—dividing lead sources into Marketing, Sales, SDRs, and Partners—creates misalignment, slows growth, and inflates CAC. This outdated model, once a best practice, no longer supports scalable unit economics. 

George Coudounaris: B2B marketers struggle to secure budget and buy-in for demand generation. He provides a downloadable business case presentation, marketing ROI calculator, and funnel analysis template to make the case for investment. For teams overspending on Google Ads and G2 with little return, he includes a Demand Capture Forecaster to track scalability. 

Johnny Paige: B2B SaaS teams struggle to convert hesitant buyers who avoid sales calls. A structured demo on demand keeps prospects engaged and moves them through the pipeline without friction. He explains how to create short, compelling demo videos, where to place them for maximum impact, and how they speed up sales cycles while setting a stronger competitive position. 

Scott Leese: Founders lose deals due to weak messaging, not weak products. Focus on must-haves (baseline expectations), competitive strengths (what makes you better), and game-changers (unique value only you provide). Buyers compare perceived value, not feature lists—if they don’t see your difference, the cheapest option wins. Strong positioning shortens sales cycles, boosts conversions, and increases pricing power. 

Adem Manderovic: GTM teams overcomplicate targeting with excessive tools instead of focusing on basic, proven actions. Identify best-fit customers using real data, not intent signals. Talk directly to the market instead of relying on black-box intent data. Use permission-based content instead of aggressive selling. Align sales and marketing on the same accounts to improve efficiency, education, and retention. 

"Don't find customers for your products, find products for your customers."

 Seth Godin

DEEP DIVES & MUST-READS

Jason M. Lemkin: 5 point checklist when hiring a VP 

Koen Stam: Top 5 GTM Podcast Episodes from Last Week 

Hannah Ajikawo: Scaling RevOps Right 

Maja Voje: Enterprise GTM Strategies 

Todd Busler: How to comp your first sales hire 

HUMOR