The Biggest GTM Myths Debunked — Part 2
Come and dive in in the second part of our “GTM Myths Debunked” series! We’ve got a list of 10 GTM myths busted on our Revenue Today podcast, hosted by Jared Robin.
We’ve asked experts who did it all. Forget the old ways—this is your ticket to fresh GTM perspectives. Tune in!
Expert: Scott Brinker, VP Platform Ecosystem at HubSpot and Editor at chiefmartec.com.
Scott Brinker challenges the negative perspective on the phasing out of third-party cookies, stating, “Marketing might as well just pack up its bags. I’ve been one of the people who’s been cheering for third-party cookies going away because I think for the few benefits that it’s offered, it’s completely outweighed on the negative side by the fact that marketers have just been using this as a crutch. What we really want to do is understand authentically who our prospects and customers are, who our audiences are. We want to start building up a really accurate data profile, and that data profile probably has very little to do with other websites that they visited out there in the world and a lot to do with when they come to us.”
Reality: Scott’s perspective presents an opportunity for marketers to focus on authentic audience understanding and building accurate data profiles, leading to more meaningful and effective customer engagement.
Myth: Soft skills are less important.
Expert: Leslie Venetz, The Founder of Sales Team Builder LLC
Leslie Venetz emphasizes the significant role of soft skills in top performers’ success, saying:”Some of the most important skills that I see in elite top performers, people that show up in that top 10 of the dashboards throughout their entire career, it’s just as much soft skill as it is hard skill, maybe even more soft skills.”
Reality: Leslie’s perspective highlights the critical value of soft skills alongside hard skills in fostering long-term success and performance excellence. Acknowledging the importance of empathy, communication, and interpersonal skills can significantly enhance the overall effectiveness and impact of top performers.
Myth: The current recurring revenue model is similar to the legacy perpetual license software model.
Expert: Mark Kosoglow, Chief Revenue Officer at Catalyst Software
Mark Kosoglow critiques the inconsistency in Revenue leaders’ actions related to customer importance, stating, “I think most Revenue leaders only pay lip service to the importance of customers when it comes to growth. They don’t act in a way that’s consistent with that. If I believe customers were significant in my first round of layoffs, why is the team that gets hit the hardest the CSM team? It’s inconsistent behavior and talk.”
Reality: Mark’s perspective highlights the need for consistent actions aligned with the importance of customer-centric strategies in the recurring revenue model. Addressing inconsistencies and focusing genuinely on customer success and retention can lead to more sustainable and effective growth strategies in the current business landscape.
Myth: Rev Ops is a supporting, administrative type of function.
Expert: Rosalyn Santa Elena, Founder and Chief Revenue Operations Officer at the Revops Collective
Rosalyn Santa Elena highlights the strategic importance of Revenue Operations, stating, “There are definitely aspects that are administrative, supportive, tactical; there’s lots of execution that needs to be done. But it’s also a strategic differentiator for businesses because Revenue Operations should really be that holistic body, a function that oversees your entire Revenue process, end to end from top of funnel, through prospect, through becoming a customer. Especially in SaaS, that repeatability aspect and being able to expand and retain your client base.
If you think about people, process, technology, Data Insights, and enablement, those are the big pillars under operations that support the entire buyer journey, really that customer lifecycle. And I think that’s where, if you really leverage operations properly and have it resourced properly, with the right expertise and knowledge, it becomes a differentiator for companies. I think I call Rev Ops the biggest growth lever.”
Reality: Rosalyn’s perspective emphasizes the multifaceted and strategic nature of Revenue Operations, underscoring its critical role in overseeing the entire revenue process. By leveraging the various pillars of operations effectively and understanding its significance as a growth lever, businesses can enhance their competitiveness and drive sustainable growth and expansion.
Myth: I need SDRs in order to grow and scale a sales organization. AEs don’t need to prospect.
Expert: Jason Bay, Founder & CEO nFounder & CEO at the Outbound Squad
Jason Bay challenges the necessity of Sales Development Representatives (SDRs) for scaling sales organizations, stating, “I have a client with 450 Account Executives, 0 SDR support. Everyone sells, sources pipeline; that’s just how they do it. You’re just not going to hit and surpass quota right now unless you’ve got a company that’s really well positioned and it’s got an inbound marketing machine. You’re just not going to hit and surpass quota in the environment that we’re in right now.”
Reality: Jason’s perspective highlights that successful sales organizations can operate without dedicated SDRs, emphasizing the importance of a well-positioned company and a robust inbound marketing strategy. A comprehensive approach that involves all team members in sourcing pipeline and sales activities can lead to successful quota achievement and surpassing targets.
Myth: AI is going to replace humans.
Expert: Srinath Sridhar, CEO and Co-Founder at regie.ai
Srinath Sridhar discusses the role of AI in enhancing human capabilities, stating, “What tends to happen is that people end up doing new things as opposed to people being replaced by AI. Specifically, if you look at sales and personalization, people used to write templated emails, and you had to do that because you couldn’t write personalization at scale. So it’s not like AI is going to come in and replace your jobs, but what it’s going to help you do is to be able to personalize all your communication as opposed to writing in templates.”
Reality: Srinath’s perspective emphasizes that AI complements human capabilities and enables individuals to focus on more value-adding tasks. By automating repetitive tasks and enhancing personalization capabilities, AI can empower sales professionals to engage more effectively with customers and prospects, ultimately leading to more meaningful and productive interactions.
Myth: Net new revenue is the most important.
Expert: Meghan Keaney Anderson, Head of Marketing at Jasper
Meghan emphasizes the significance of expansion within the existing customer base, stating, “What’s your expansion play within your customer base, what’s your messaging to your customers, how are you upgrading them, how are you predicting their future path with your company? It’s like that relationship challenge that people have when they’re dating; when the other person is fresh and new, they’re exciting, but when they become long-term and a customer, they’re sort of forgotten about. You really need distinct strategies for growth on both ends.
Far too many companies forget to figure out how to grow within their existing customer base, and that’s a much easier place to grow from than finding net new people. So my advice whenever people ask is always: do not forget about expansion within your customer base, especially for SaaS companies, especially for companies that have horizontal and vertical expansion opportunities.”
Reality: Meghan’s perspective underscores the importance of focusing on expansion within the existing customer base, highlighting the potential for growth and opportunities that come with nurturing and upgrading long-term customer relationships. Prioritizing strategies for customer retention and expansion can be a more effective and sustainable approach compared to solely focusing on acquiring new customers.
Myth: Marketing owns GTM.
Expert: Lindsay Cordell, Partner at GTM Partners.
Lindsay challenges the notion that marketing solely owns the go-to-market (GTM) strategy, stating, “So many CMOs out there feel like they need to carry the burden of GoTo-Market on their own or in conjunction with sales. The reality is you are able to put a lot of inefficiencies into your system if you’re not including product, customer success, and revenue operations in a significant way while you’re planning your go to market. The myth is that marketing has to own go to market, and the truth is if everyone doesn’t have an equal stake in it, there’s a lot of opportunity for campaigns to fail, programs to fail, and that means you’re going to spend money on things that don’t make money.”
Reality: Lindsay’s perspective emphasizes the need for a collaborative and inclusive approach to the go-to-market strategy, involving various departments such as product, customer success, and revenue operations. By sharing the responsibility and aligning all stakeholders in the go-to-market process, companies can minimize inefficiencies and enhance the effectiveness of their campaigns and initiatives.
Myth: Build this great product and they will come.
Expert: Morgan J Ingram, Founder and CEO at Amp.
Morgan J Ingram challenges the assumption that a great product alone will attract customers, stating, “They probably won’t come. You’ve got to create some noise. How are you doing employee advocacy? A lot of people in this space are talking about people-led growth, creator-led growth. At the end of the day, you need a narrative around those things. The myth is that you’re just going to build a product, and people are just going to like it. There are some companies that have done that really well. Now, because there’s so much more noise, you’ve got to have content that puts it out there and then brings them in.”
Reality: Morgan’s perspective highlights the importance of creating a compelling narrative and generating noise around a product to attract customers. Doubling down on employee advocacy and creating engaging content can help businesses amplify their product’s visibility and draw in potential customers more effectively.
Myth: Aggressive, persistent sales = more wins.
Expert: Tom Slocum, Founder and CEO of The SD Labs
Tom Slocum highlights the importance of balance and human connection in sales, stating, “It’s helpful to know when to quit and when to reach out to your buyer by phone. Be more human about why you are reaching out.”
Reality: Tom’s perspective emphasizes the need for a balanced and empathetic approach in sales. Understanding when to persist and when to step back, as well as maintaining a human connection and genuine intention in reaching out, can contribute to more meaningful and successful sales interactions.