We’re halfway through 2023 and businesses everywhere are adapting to a challenging environment. Venture-backed SaaS companies have a uniquely challenging pivot to execute as the “growth at any cost” mindset has shifted to a “predictable, sustainable and profitable growth” requirement. So how can GTM (sales, marketing, customer success) and operations leaders...
- Align around a shared vision that connects the dots of today’s reality;
- Chart a credible path to sustainable growth;
- Give teams the practical clarity and tools they need to adapt and execute
We ran a webinar on how GTM Ops can play a critical role in this environment to explore practical frameworks that cut through the noise and a tested methodology for building effective GTM Operations.
Our guest speakers:
Jeff Courtney
Jeff is a Financial Services leader with deep experience in both high-growth and transformation environments. He has held COO roles in both Sales and Risk functions in several banks as well as in venture-backed FinTech. His experience includes building, scaling, and transforming operations for teams ranging from 10 to 2,500.
Jeff is not only a long-standing member of Operations Nation, but also a co-author of one of our COO Survival Guide chapters, as well as a speaker at our Chief Operating Officer Course.
Christian Barr
Christian is an accomplished SaaS Go-to-Market executive with experience across sales, marketing, operations, and product management. He’s built successful go-to-market, sales, and marketing strategies, led growth programs and product launches, and achieved revenue goals at companies across different stages of growth; from pure startup to scale-up, to enterprise growth.
Our moderator:
Simon Rodrigues
Simon is a strategist, writer, and consultant working with startups and scaleups in the UK, US, and Latin America.
Through his consulting arm (Saber Works), he focuses on strategic storytelling to help startups think, speak, and grow.
Through his newsletter (Technopoly), he covers the latest news and analysis of Latin America's exploding tech and VC ecosystem. Each week, the newsletter reaches 2,000+ subscribers from the world's top tech companies, VCs, and banks.
On the side, he's also an informal scout and 'fixer' that connects founders, VCs, and operators on both sides of the Atlantic.
Event Recording and Slides
You can watch the recording of this event (and our previous events) on our YouTube channel here:
Event Summary
Please note that this summary has been written by ChatGPT summarizing the event transcript.
In a compelling webinar, Simon Rodriguez played host to Jeff Courtney and Christian Barr. Their discussion centered on the vital role of go-to-market (GTM) operations in boosting startups' growth, particularly within the SaaS sector.
- Transition in Startup Growth Philosophy: They noted a significant shift from a "grow at all costs" mentality to sustainable, predictable growth. This change aims to manage operational friction that may otherwise obstruct growth.
- Role of GTM Operations: GTM operations, they emphasized, are critical in fostering this type of predictable growth, particularly by anticipating and mitigating operational friction.
- Evolving GTM Strategies: As businesses grow, so too should their GTM strategies. The panelists stressed the need for flexibility, with GTM operations adapting according to each business's unique growth stage, model, and market conditions.
- Macroeconomic Impact: A discussion also unfolded around the influence of macroeconomic factors on startup growth strategies. In an ever-changing landscape, an increased focus on predictable growth is vital.
- Challenges in GTM Operations: The panelists highlighted a primary challenge - "GTM debt" or friction within sales, marketing, and revenue operations. They advised startups to confront this issue head-on to promote sustainable growth.
The conversation then delved into the concept of do-it-yourself "quote-to-cash thrash" in startups and the relationship between product-market fit and GTM operations.
- Do-it-Yourself Quote-to-Cash Thrash: Christian used an example of varied price books within a company to illustrate this concept, suggesting the need for more standardized pricing and packaging.
- Product-Market Fit Vs. Go-to-Market Fit: The panelists outlined diagnostics for assessing product-market fit, including customer reaction and data analysis.
- Relating Product-Market Fit to Go-to-Market Strategy: Christian further discussed the challenges of translating selling motions between different market segments.
- Reflexive Methodology for Startup Growth: The discussion concluded with an exploration of a reflexive, iterative methodology for navigating startup growth.
As the conversation evolved, the panelists discussed the importance of unifying all aspects of the business with a clear narrative or 'golden thread.'
- The Golden Thread: A company-wide narrative is key to synchronizing perspectives and reducing friction.
- Choosing the Target Market: The panelists urged businesses to thoughtfully consider their potential customer segments.
- Recognizing the Implications of Choices: Each decision a company makes has a ripple effect, influencing its marketing, sales, and customer success strategies.
- The Decision-Making Process: They shared their experience with a focused, rigorous decision-making process.
- Operationalizing Decisions: Once decisions are made, they must be operationalized in line with the 'golden thread'.
The panelists then moved the conversation towards the role of internal communication and process management in the organization's growth journey.
- Bridging Silos and Connecting Teams: This is fundamental to effective execution and operations management.
- Communication Alignment: Consistent messaging across all stakeholders is paramount.
- Process Automation: Mapping out and automating key steps can increase speed and manage change.
- Tool Selection: The panelists emphasized being deliberate about tool choice to prevent confusion.
- Discipline and Cadence: The importance of discipline in execution and maintaining a regular cadence was discussed.
- Metrics for Decision Making: The panelists explored the various metrics to consider when making strategic decisions.
As the dialogue reached its latter stages, the panelists shared practical insights for startups at different growth stages.
- Tool Selection and Evolution: The panelists stressed the importance of choosing suitable tools for the startup's current stage and evolving these tools as the business grows.
- Planning for Future Stages: They emphasized the importance of building a revenue and expense plan that correlates well with the pricing model and growth rates as startups approach the 'series A' stage.
- Sales Enablement and Training: The panelists highlighted the role of regular, repeatable training in ensuring startup success.
- Marketing Attribution: The conversation touched on the complexity of marketing attribution and the need for a robust data pipeline.
- Decision-Making Process: The panelists suggested using decision-making exercises to build consensus within leadership teams.
The panelists wrapped up the session with a Q&A. They discussed common pitfalls when creating a GTM playbook and shared case studies of successful go-to-market execution. This wrapped up a highly insightful session, providing the audience with a wealth of knowledge to apply to their own businesses.
