Go-to-Market Strategy Skill

Go-to-Market Strategy

Frameworks for selecting sales channels and building go-to-market motions.

Channel Selection Matrix

| Channel | Best For | CAC Range | Time to Revenue | Complexity | |---------|----------|-----------|-----------------|------------| | Outbound | High ACV ($10K+), defined ICP | $500-2K | 3-6 months | Medium | | Inbound | Searchable problem, content fit | $200-800 | 6-12 months | High | | PLG | Simple product, quick value | $50-200 | 3-9 months | High | | Partners | Ecosystem play, trust transfer | Varies | 6-18 months | Medium | | Events | Relationship-driven, enterprise | $1K-5K | 6-12 months | High | | Community | Developer/prosumer products | $100-500 | 12+ months | Medium |

ACV-Based Motion Selection

| ACV | Recommended Motion | Team Structure | |-----|-------------------|----------------| | < $5K | PLG or Marketing-led | Growth + self-serve | | $5K-$25K | Inside sales + Inbound | SDR > AE | | $25K-$100K | Outbound + Account-based | SDR > AE > CSM | | > $100K | Enterprise sales + Partners | Named AE > SE > CSM |

Sales Motion Archetypes

Founder-Led ($0-$1M ARR)

Founder does everything:
  - Prospecting → Discovery → Demo → Close → Onboard
Focus: Learning what works, documenting wins
Goal: Find repeatable motion before hiring

First Sales Hire ($1M-$3M ARR)

Hire: Full-cycle AE or SDR
Split: Founder handles enterprise, AE handles SMB
Focus: Can someone else close deals?
Goal: Prove non-founder can sell

Sales Team ($3M-$10M ARR)

Structure: SDR team → AE team → CSM
Specialization: Hunting vs farming
Focus: Repeatability and predictability
Goal: Quota attainment without founder

Capacity Planning Model

Revenue Target ÷ ACV = Deals Needed
Deals Needed ÷ Win Rate = Opportunities Needed
Opportunities ÷ SQL→Opp Rate = SQLs Needed
SQLs ÷ MQL→SQL Rate = MQLs Needed
MQLs ÷ Marketing Conversion = Traffic Needed

For Outbound:
Deals Needed ÷ Win Rate = Meetings Needed
Meetings ÷ Meeting Rate = Contacts Needed
Contacts ÷ Contacts/Rep/Month = Reps Needed

Multi-Channel Strategy

| Channel | Percentage | Purpose | |---------|------------|---------| | Primary | 60-70% | Main revenue driver | | Secondary | 20-30% | Diversification + experimentation | | Exploratory | 10% | Future growth bets |

Rule: Don't spread thin. Dominate one channel before adding another.

GTM Launch Phases

Phase 1: Validation (0-3 months)

Manual outreach to ICP
Founder-led demos
Goal: 10 paying customers

Phase 2: Repeatability (3-6 months)

Document winning process
First sales hire
Goal: Non-founder closes deals

Phase 3: Scale (6-12 months)

Add SDR/AE capacity
Layer in marketing
Goal: Predictable pipeline

Channel-Specific Playbooks

Outbound Playbook

ICP list building > Sequence automation > Meeting booking > Demo > Close
Key metric: Meetings/SDR/month (target: 15-20)

Inbound Playbook

Content > SEO/Ads > Lead capture > Nurture > MQL > Demo > Close
Key metric: MQL-to-Customer rate (target: 5-15%)

PLG Playbook

Free trial/freemium > Activation > Engagement > Upgrade trigger > Expansion
Key metric: Free-to-Paid conversion (target: 2-5%)

GTM Health Metrics

| Metric | Healthy | Warning | Critical | |--------|---------|---------|----------| | Pipeline coverage | 3-4x | 2-3x | < 2x | | Win rate | 20-30% | 15-20% | < 15% | | Sales cycle | On target | +25% | +50% | | CAC payback | < 12 mo | 12-18 mo | > 18 mo |

Agent Skills: Go-to-Market Strategy

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