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 |