Dale Zwizinski

🤝 Chief GTM Officer | YOUR GTM Special Ops Team | Founder enabled GTM Strategy -> Data vs. Gut | Give > Receive | Recovering Coder | Extending Runways for Founders | Must haves 💪 Grind 🧠 Integrity 🎯 Coachability

An energetic, top performing sales professional, leader, and coach who is passionate about the Cloud based technologies.  More than 20 yrs experience with enterprise sales and known for my ability to grow and enhance businesses.   Working with innovative technologies and platforms to make customer successful wakes me up in the morning!
 
A self-starter who is happiest when helping customers enhance their business with innovative technologies.  It is important to stay ahead of trends and looking for ways to help a customer grow their business and improve their products/services.  The sales environment has changed dramatically over the last 5 years, the next 5 years will be a monumental shift --> Sales, Marketing and Service are on a collision course.

The pursuit of sales and maintaining customer satisfaction has taken me around the globe.  Establishing contacts and a track record of success in the financial service market throughout China, Asia, Mexico, and the United Kingdom, just to name a few.  Every sales person should be well versed in cultural differences and knows that paying attention to such details can make or break a sale.

SALES is changing and utilizing every available channel is important - if you are reading this you know what I am talking about!  To understand more about the sales evolution come read and listen to content here: www.thesaleschangeagent.com
 
Entrepreneurship and education is a deeply ingrained with a MBA from the Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College.  and an undergraduate degree (with a double major in Management and Finance) at Merrimack College. Living in Lakewood Ranch, Florida (outside of Tampa), with my wife and 2 children.   For fun I enjoy traveling with his family, play/coach soccer, workout, ski, and golf.

Dale Zwizinski
Mobile: 401.952.9231
Email: dzwizinski@gmail.com

Strategic Sales Advisor

Collaborating with the CEO on all thing revenue, including:
✅ Go to Market
✅ Aligning to the Buyers Journey
✅ Pricing Strategies
✅ Sales Pipeline Growth

Our mission is to empower Customer Success teams to build great relationships with their customers.

We work with early and growth stage B2B SaaS companies to help them scale Customer Success outcomes.  Everything we do is devoted to removing the overwhelm of back-to-back customer meetings so that CSMs can focus on the bigger picture: building relationships.

UpdateAI is the first meeting assistant built specifically for CS.

I partnered with Revenue Creator to bring a 5-part series to the community on one topic:

AI in Go-To-Market is no longer optional.

This is not theory. It is not hype. It is not experimentation.

The market is already splitting between companies building AI into their GTM strategy and those who are quietly falling behind.

Early data shows:
• 26 to 50 percent higher win rates
• Up to 78 percent higher conversion rates
• 62 percent shorter sales cycles

But those are just early signals.

The real disruption is this: revenue is being decoupled from headcount.

Look at Midjourney. Millions of users. Eleven employees.
That is not an anomaly. It is leverage redefined.

Over this 5-part series, we break down:

1️⃣ Why AI-native GTM is a strategic imperative
2️⃣ The 4-stage maturity model from automation to autonomy
3️⃣ The ROI progression from tactical gains to exponential returns
4️⃣ The C-suite mandate and the leadership actions required
5️⃣ The assessment and governance framework that makes it sustainable

Here is the hard truth:
73 percent of companies are still stuck at basic task automation.
82 percent of AI initiatives fail because of leadership, not technology.

The roadmap is clear.
The returns are real.
The leadership moment is now.

Your board is not asking whether AI will transform your market.
They are asking whether you will lead that transformation.

Read the full series and decide where you stand.

Your next 90 days will define the next decade.

I partnered with Revenue Creator to bring this 5-part series to the community. Part 1: The Strategic Imperative: Why This Is No Longer Optional Let's 

Open article: Your 5-Part Strategic Roadmap to AI-Native Transformation by Dale Zwizinski • 4 min read

Your 5-Part Strategic Roadmap to AI-Native Transformation

73% of AI startups are stuck automating emails.

Meanwhile, their competitors are building Autonomous GTM Engines.

The trap? 

Founders skip GTM Foundations and jump straight to "scale."

Here is what the 4 stages actually look like:

Stage 1: Task automation (emails, summaries)
Stage 2: Process augmentation (CRM updates, reporting)
Stage 3: System orchestration (connecting data silos, proactive alerts)
Stage 4: AI as a teammate closing complex workflows

Most never escape 

Stage 1. Not because the tech is not ready. Because leadership is not ready.

What is your:
1. Value Proposition 
2. Ideal Customer Profile
3. Buying Persona

Where is your team right now?

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revenue-in-a-box

AI isn’t magic. It’s infrastructure.

But too many companies are treating it like magic anyway.

They’re piling on tools. 
Automating fragments. 
Naming “Heads of AI” without ever asking: Are we actually ready to transform?

Leaders want outcomes from AI, but skip the foundation it depends on:

🧭 Strategy
Do you have a clear roadmap tied to outcomes; or are you experimenting without direction?

📊 Data + System Integration
Is your GTM data clean and unified; or is each department running its own playbook?

🧠 Talent + Culture
Have you built AI literacy across the org; or is your team quietly resisting new workflows?

🛡️ Governance
Are you tracking performance, bias, and compliance; or hoping those problems don’t show up?

🚧 Companies stumble when they skip this maturity assessment.
🏗️ Companies scale when they build it in.

If you’re not getting ROI from AI, it’s not your model.

It’s the system you’re putting it into.

📈 The path to AI-native GTM starts with clear diagnostics, real alignment, and foundational execution.

Your Current Position: The Maturity Assessment Before investing in transformation, you need an honest assessment of your current capabilities across f

Open article: The Blind Spot That's Sabotaging Your AI Transformation by Dale Zwizinski • 3 min read

The Blind Spot That's Sabotaging Your AI Transformation

Stop blaming your sales team for a "growth problem" when you actually have a fragmented systems problem.

I see it every single week. Leadership teams get in a room, draw up a beautiful strategy, pat themselves on the back, and then hand it off to a team that is fundamentally misaligned at the ground level.

On the latest episode of Bridge the Gap, Nicole Brownell  (Managing Director at Novo Advisors) joined Adam and me to pull back the curtain on why execution fails even the best strategies.

Here is the cold, hard truth:
Alignment isn’t a feeling. It’s a shared scorecard.

Nicole dropped some serious gems that every C-suite leader and RevOps pro needs to hear:

1. Revenue isn't just a Sales KPI.

If you are only holding Sales accountable for revenue while Marketing is chasing "brand awareness" and "MQLs," you’ve already lost. If the departments aren't speaking the same language or sharing the same metrics (like OKRs that roll up to a single goal), you don't have a team—you have silos.

2. The Product/Sales Gap is killing your retention.

This one hit home. Nicole pointed out that sales teams often sell a version of the product that doesn't actually exist in reality. When the "value delivered" doesn't match the "value promised," you don't have a sales problem—you have a retention crisis waiting to happen 30 days after the contract is signed.

3. RevOps is your Playbook.

Strategy is the "where" and "how" of winning. RevOps is the actual playbook that dictates how you play the game. Without RevOps holding the line, your systems stay fragmented, your data stays dirty, and your execution stays sloppy.

We spend so much time talking about strategy because it’s the "fun" part. Execution is the hard part. It’s the daily grind of making sure the front-line narrative matches the back-end delivery.

If your GTM motion feels like it’s grinding gears, stop looking for more leads. Start looking at your alignment.

Are your teams actually aiming at the same target, or are they just sitting in the same meetings?

Check out the full episode for more on how to bridge this gap.

https://lnkd.in/eZ-8EADf

Most teams do not have a strategy problem.

They have a handoff problem.

This week I watched a solid plan lose 10 days in execution.

Not because people were lazy.

Because ownership got fuzzy after kickoff.

Here is the operator fix:

The 3 line handoff

1) Owner: one name, not a team
2) Outcome: what done looks like in plain English
3) Clock: next checkpoint date, on calendar before the meeting ends

That is it.

If you cannot write those 3 lines, the project is not ready.

Actionable takeaway:
Before your next launch, run every workstream through the 3 line handoff.

You will spot drift before it becomes delay.

What is your most common handoff failure right now?

Most founders hire their first sales leader too late.

Then they hire the wrong one.

Here is what actually happens:

You scale to $1M ARR on founder-led sales. 
You think you need a VP of Sales to take it from there.

So you hire someone who has scaled from $10M to $50M. 

They walk in expecting a repeatable process, a trained team, and clean data.

They find none of that.

Within 90 days they are frustrated. 

Within 6 months they are gone. And you are back to square one, except now you are $300K lighter and 6 months behind.

The hire was not wrong. The timing was.

Your first sales leader should be a builder, not a scaler. 

Someone who can create the process from scratch, not someone who needs one handed to them.

Conversely you can also look at Operating Partners to ensure that you  have everything stabilized and foundation built before bringing a VPS sales hire, and ensure that they have all of the right things in place for success.

Get the stage right before you get the person.

Personalization Beats Automation

Buyers don’t need more email; they need relevance.

High-performing GTM teams are using intent data, deal stage, and buyer behavior to create true personalization at scale.

Most companies think they're doing AI because they have a chatbot. 

That's Stage 1 maturity
-> Task automation. It's the equivalent of a faster typewriter.

The real competitive advantage is the jump from Stage 2 to Stage 3. 
-> System Orchestration.

Stage 2 is process augmentation. 
-> You've added AI to existing workflows. It's better, but it's still siloed.

Stage 3 is where the magic happens. 
-> This is where AI isn't just a tool in the workflow. It is the workflow. 

Data flows from marketing to sales to customer success without human intervention. 

The system identifies a lead, qualifies it based on real-time intent data, assigns it to the right rep, and drafts the personalized outreach.

If your team is still manually moving data between tools, you're stuck in the past. 

Stage 3 isn't about working harder. 
It's about building a system that works for you. 

The jump to Stage 3 is where the 7x conversion rates live. 

Stop automating tasks. 
Start orchestrating systems.

Everyone needs a board or advisors to help you, try this:

"You are building a high-fidelity AI advisor for Dale Zwizinski’s Personal Board of Directors. This advisor must operate as a Chief of Staff-level strategist, not a generic assistant and a team of advisors.

Use the following structure to define their core logic. 

Do not write a 'personality description.' Write a 'Reasoning Engine.'"

────────────────────

1. The Core Identity
[ADVISOR NAME] – [ROLE, e.g., Chief Revenue Officer]
Lane of Genius: [One paragraph. What is the specific territory this person owns? What problems do they see that others miss?]

2. Core Frameworks & Mental Models
List 5–8 named frameworks this person uses to process reality. These are the "rules of the game" for this advisor.
• [Framework 1]: [Brief description of how it works]
• [Framework 2]: [Brief description of how it works]
• [Framework 3]: [Brief description of how it works]

3. Non-Negotiables (The "Edge")
What are the hard constraints this advisor would never compromise on? What makes them push back? This section prevents the AI from becoming "too nice."
• Constraint 1: [e.g., Never accepts incremental 5% growth; only 10x shifts.]
• Constraint 2: [e.g., Allergic to 'consulting-speak'; demands direct, plain English.]

4. The Decision Filter
When Dale presents a problem, what is the exact sequence this advisor uses to analyze it?
1. Filter 1: [What is the first question they ask?]
2. Filter 2: [What framework do they apply next?]
3. Filter 3: [What is their final stress test?]

5. Voice & Delivery
Describe the tone and format. 
• Constraint: No fluff, no "I hope this helps," no summaries. Direct insights only.
• Style: [e.g., Blunt, visionary, sardonic, or data-driven.]

This is a start to how your can incease your effectiveness and efficiencies!

The C-Suite Mistake that Kills 82% of AI Initiatives

The C-Suite Mandate - Four Leadership Actions That Determine AI Success The ROI potential we outlined last week, from tactical gains to exponential re

Open article: The C-Suite Mistake that Kills 82% of AI Initiatives (before they start) by Dale Zwizinski • 3 min read

The C-Suite Mistake that Kills 82% of AI Initiatives (before they start)

Let’s Build Your 2026 GTM Engine

AI is changing how GTM is executed.
But without a system and strategy;it’s just noise.

At Revenue Reimagined, we help CEOs and revenue leaders:
✅ Diagnose their GTM gap
✅ Design a hybrid GTM model
✅ Deploy AI + human workflows that scale

We don’t do playbooks. 
We build operating systems.

📥 Want a GTM Foundations Report?
Get yours here:

Open article: Bridge Your GTM Gap™: Diagnose & Redefine Your Go-to-Market Strategy | Revenue Reimagined by revenue-reimagined.com

Bridge Your GTM Gap™: Diagnose & Redefine Your Go-to-Market Strategy | Revenue Reimagined

My research into 2026 GTM trends shows three massive, concrete shifts that revenue leaders are failing to navigate.

Here is the first one!

The Agentic Chasm
You don't have a talent problem. 
You have an orchestration problem.

Most revenue leaders think "AI Maturity" means giving their sales team a better prospecting tool. 

That's Stage 1 thinking, it just helps you fail faster.

The real gap in 2026 is the Agentic Chasm.
It’s when you hire AI agents to do the work, but your GTM process is still built for humans from 2019.

If your AI agent is just "automating the spam," you’re destroying your brand at scale.

The shift isn't from human to AI. 

It’s from Task Execution to System Orchestration.

Stop hiring tools. Start building the engine.

The "SaaSpocalypse" is the trending topic for a reason.

Marc Benioff and the Databricks CEO are both signaling the same thing: The old SaaS model of "seats and screens" is under massive pressure.

Why? 
Because AI agents don't need a UI. 
They need an API.

If your GTM strategy is still based on selling "more seats," you are fighting a losing battle against efficiency.

The new GTM foundation:
1. Outcomes over activities.
2. Systems over seats.
3. Autonomous engines over manual workflows.

The GTM Gap is no longer just about sales and marketing alignment. It is about the gap between your legacy software and the autonomous future.

We are moving from a world of "software you use" to "software that does the work for you."

If you are a founder or revenue leader, your job is no longer to manage people using tools. It is to orchestrate systems that deliver results.

The SaaSpocalypse isn't an ending. 

It is the beginning of the Autonomous GTM Engine.

**The Pivot Point.**

Most people think a breakthrough is a loud, celebratory moment.

It isn't.

It's usually a quiet, terrifying realization in the middle of the night that everything you've been building... might be pointing in the wrong direction.

That's the pivot point.

Not the press release. 
Not the rebrand. 
Not the announcement post.

The pivot point is the moment *before* all of that, when you're alone with the truth, and you have to decide what to do with it.

We aren't selling a podcast. 
We're selling a transformation.

And transformation always starts in the dark, before anyone else sees it coming.

AI is the Infrastructure

AI isn’t the feature anymore.
It’s the foundation.

It powers pipeline scoring, rep coaching, follow-ups, and customer touchpoints.

But it only works if your GTM system is clear and human-first.

Design GTM workflows where AI sits in the right layers:
→ Automation for speed
→ Human judgment for trust

AI doesn’t replace strategy. It enforces it.

Signal Quality > Volume

Not all intent signals are equal.
In 2026, volume isn’t the bottleneck,precision is.

Leaders are moving past noisy leads and fake MQLs.

They’re designing systems that surface decision-stage behavior earlier.

At Revenue Reimagined, we map the real buying signals:
→ Who’s reading docs?
Who’s sharing with legal? 
Who revisits pricing?

And we build ops workflows that act on them; fast.

Technical debt kills your product. Revenue debt kills your company.

Most founders are unknowingly accumulating massive revenue debt. It happens when you scale sales before you've stabilized the GTM Gap.

You hire three reps because you have a little traction. 
You haven't defined the ICP beyond "anyone with a budget." 
You haven't nailed the value prop. You just want volume.

Now you have:
1. Inconsistent messaging that confuses the market.
2. High churn because you closed the wrong customers.
3. A sales team that's guessing instead of executing.

This is revenue debt. 

And like technical debt, the interest rate is compounding. 

You can't hire your way out of it. 

You have to go back and fix the foundation. 

Stabilize. Foundation. Repeatability. Scalability. 

Don't skip the sequence. 

The debt will always come due.

80% of your buyer's journey is happening while you're asleep.
And they aren't filling out your forms.

The "MQL" is dead.

In 2026, if you're waiting for a "lead" to hit your CRM, you've already lost the deal to someone who was orchestrating the account months ago.

GTM leaders are still obsessed with activity metrics.
- How many calls?
- How many emails?
- How many LinkedIn touches?

The market doesn't care about your activity. It cares about its own problems.
The winners in this cycle aren't the ones with the loudest outbound.
They are the ones with the most intelligent Intent Orchestration.

Move your focus from "The Lead" to "The Signal."

That's how you close the GTM Gap.

CEO @GTM Partners | WSJ best selling Author of MOVE | Co-founder @Terminus @Peak Community

10 years ago, found my true passion: Teaching.

1️⃣ Teaching business – How to build and scale companies.
2️⃣ Teaching leadership – How to align teams for success.
3️⃣ Teaching life – Because business without purpose is empty.

That’s why I combine them all to teach the business of Go-To-Market, leadership, and life.

Built and exited two well known companies (Pardot → Salesforce $2.7B, Terminus → acquired twice).
Written 3 books, including WSJ bestseller MOVE: The 4-Question Go-To-Market Framework.
Created the GTM Operating System, now used by thousands.
Hosted 1,000+ podcast episodes on GTM Made Simple.
Taught 70,000+ students through my LinkedIn courses.

I write daily on LinkedIn around the five core truths about Go-To-Market:

🚀 Trust in NRR.
🚀 CEO owns GTM.
🚀 Systems > Goals.
🚀 GTM is a transformation process.
🚀 Business transformation happens in teams.

175K+ people read my weekly research note on GTM: https://gtmonday.substack.com/
11K+ subscribers follow my personal insights: https://becomingintentional.substack.com/
To Book me for speaking, keynotes: https://sangramhere.com/

I’m on a mission to make Go-To-Market simple—for CEOs, founders, and teams. If you want to bring clarity, alignment, and trust to grow your business, let's talk.

Join my MOVE book companion course for CEOs, founders and GTM leaders 
and GTM Operating System Course (Used in two $100M+ exits, rated 4.5/5 stars

DM me. Let’s build something great—intentionally. Join the MOVEment!

Sangram Vajre

in 2014, i asked my wife if i could quit Salesforce and start a company.

we had debt, no savings, and a second kid on the way.

she didn't say no.

but she didn't say yes either.

after a week of back and forth, she said 3 things that changed my life:

1. "i don't want you to have any regrets—or me stopping you."

2. "i'll get a job so we can pay the mortgage and keep going."

3. "you have 1 year. make the business work or find a real job."

she handed me permission and pressure at the same time.

that lit a fire i didn't know i had.

in the next 12 months:

→ we built Terminus (by DemandScience) from $0 to $1M ARR in 9 months
→ created the ABM category
→ launched 4 FlipMyFunnel events
→ started a daily FlipMyFunnel podcast
→ wrote ABM for Dummies

all because she believed in me enough to bet on me—and loved me enough to give me a deadline.

today, as a 2x entrepreneur, here's what i know:

the people who change your life aren't always the ones who say "you can do it."

sometimes they're the ones who say "you have 1 year. prove it."

who believed in you before you believed in yourself?

love,
sangram
p.s. if you've been in GTM at a corporate for 10+ years, it's 10x easier today than it was for me in 2014 to launch your own thing. do it.

Built two $100M+ companies | WSJ Best Selling Author of MOVE on go-to-market | GTMonday Editor with 175K+ subscribers teaching the GTM Operating System

my 15-year-old just closed a $300 deal + $50/month retainer.

here's how it happened.

i told him early on: we'll pay for tennis shoes, rackets, training. but food with friends? you gotta earn that.

when he was younger, we paid him for reading books. never for chores. chores are just part of being in a family.

now at 15, time to level up.

so he went to his tennis coach and asked a simple question: "what do you need help with?"

turns out they run Facebook ads and get about 15 leads a day. but no one has time to call them back quickly.

he said: "i'll call every lead as soon as they click."

now he's learning FB ads. learning CRM. learning follow-up.

$300 to set it up. $50/month to keep it running.

honestly... i'm starting to wonder if college is even the move. or if he should just keep building this.

but here's what i know for sure:

the right kind of pressure makes kids think outside the box.

not pressure to be perfect. pressure to figure it out.

my wife gave me that same gift in 2014 when she said "you have 1 year make your business work or you need to get a real job."

that led me to build Terminus (by DemandScience) to incredible heights and now i am doing the same with GTM Partners.

it's time to pass on the "healthy" pressure and see what happens next.

how are you teaching your kids about money and work?

love,
sangram

in the last 14 months:

→ HubSpot stock fell 51%
→ monday.com fell 36%
→ Adobe fell 50%+ from highs
→ Salesforce dropped 25%
→ ServiceNow dropped 26%

that's what Jason M. Lemkin posted 2 days ago and it got me thinking...

these aren't bad companies. they're not doing anything wrong.

the game changed.

AI shifted customer expectations overnight. 
people don't want more software. 
they want workflows that solve business problems.

here's what i think is happening:

we're moving from Software as a Service to Service as a Software.

think about it.

Salesforce took 17 years to go from $1B to $9B in revenue.

Anthropic did it in 10 months.

Claude Code alone hit $1B ARR in under six months. usage grew 10x in a single quarter.

the old model: buy software, hire people to run it, hope it works.

the new model: hire experts who bring the software with them and deliver outcomes.

so here's my prediction for 2026. 

three types of work will be in high demand:

1. fractional executives with 15+ years of experience. GTM leaders with industry or segment expertise who can advise and execute. not full-time hires. strategic partners. 2026 is the fastest at growing fractional execs and not full-time execs.

2. agencies that run programs end-to-end. ABM, GTM, RevOps—they own the tech and the execution. no more black box software with 3-year licensing fees. Christopher Ryan has an agency that is already doing it.

3. super agents. not a million disconnected AI tools. one intelligent layer that understands your business context and actually does the work. thanks Amos Bar-Joseph for this inspiring thought.

the companies that win in 2026 won't have the most software.

they'll have the workflows, systems and experienced people.

what's your prediction?

love,
sangram

i asked 1,500 people at a conference:

"how many of you are using AI?"

every hand went up.

"how many are using AI to be more productive?"

every hand stayed up.

"how many of you are actually more productive?"

the whole room laughed.

that's the irony of 2026.

we have more tools than ever.
more automations than ever.
more AI than ever.

and somehow... we're busier than ever.

here's what i think is happening:

AI is making us faster at the wrong things.

→ faster at creating content no one reads
→ faster at sending emails no one opens
→ faster at building reports no one acts on

speed without strategy is just organized chaos.

the companies winning right now aren't the ones with the most AI tools.

they're the ones who got clear on what actually matters—then used AI to do only that.

productivity isn't about doing more.

it's about doing less of the wrong things.

what's one thing AI helped you stop doing?

love,
sangram
p.s. i love doing keynotes and saying things no one will say it out loud :)

a CEO of a $23M company just asked me:

"i'm hiring my first CMO. what should i look for?"

i've been a CMO twice. both companies past $100M. 

here's what i told her:

don't hire for campaigns. hire for clarity.

most CMO interviews focus on the wrong things:

→ what channels do you know?
→ what's your MQL strategy?
→ how will you grow traffic?

those matter. but they're not the job.

the real job at $23M is alignment.

can this person get sales and marketing on the same page?
can they explain the GTM strategy so you actually understand it?
can they get the whole company telling the same story?

if not, the campaigns won't matter.

here's what i'd ask in the interview:

→ "how would you define our ICP in your first 30 days—and who would you involve?"
→ "how do you build trust with a sales + CS team that's skeptical of marketing?"
→ "what would you do if i told you i don't understand what marketing does?"

the best CMOs don't hide behind dashboards.

they create clarity where there's confusion.
they build bridges where there's friction.
they make the CEO smarter about GTM—not more dependent on jargon.

at $23M, you may not need a brand visionary.

you need someone who can align the company and make pipeline predictable.

her response: "i've been asking the wrong questions."

if you're a CEO/founder hiring a CMO, start here.

what's one more thing the first-time CMO and CEO talk about?

love,
sangram
p.s. pic credit from my Exit Five marketing keynote with Dave Gerhardt's crew!

Salesforce: 17 years to go from $1B to $9B in revenue.

Anthropic: 10 months.

that's not a stat. that's a reset.

this isn't about Salesforce doing something wrong. they built an empire. changed how businesses buy software.

but the game changed underneath them.

i've been saying this for a year now: we're moving from Software as a Service to Service as a Software.

old model: buy software, hire people to run it, hope it works.

new model: hire experts who bring the software with them and deliver outcomes.

i see it every week with our GTM OS partners. they're walking into companies, deploying the system, and outperforming full-time hires—at a fraction of the cost.

here's what this means for you:

→ if you're a SaaS founder: your product isn't the moat anymore. outcomes are.

→ if you're a GTM leader: the playbook you ran for 10 years is expiring. companies want specialists who move fast and own the result.

→ if you're a fractional: this is your moment. companies don't want more software. they want people who know how to use it.

Anthropic didn't win because they had better sales reps.

they won because the product does the work.

Service as a Software. that's the shift.

fewer people. more leverage. outcomes over activity.

what's the biggest shift you're seeing in how companies buy right now?

love,
sangram

in 2015, i told two engineers "account-based marketing is the future."

they looked at me like i was nuts.

together, we built Terminus anyway. 

$0 to $1M ARR in 9 months. created a category called ABM. exited with $100M+.

in 2021, i wrote a book called MOVE with Bryan Brown saying GTM is the future.

it became a WSJ best seller and now GTM is what everyone talks about.

now in 2026, i'm telling you:

if you have 10+ years of marketing or sales exec experience, becoming a GTM fractional is the best career move you can make.

here's the pattern i've seen:

→ 2015: ABM was "crazy" — now it's standard

→ 2021: GTM as a system was "too simple" — now every CEO is thinking about it

→ 2026: fractional GTM execs are "not real jobs" — give it 2 years...

the best GTM leaders i know aren't chasing full-time roles anymore.

they're building practices. 
choosing their clients. 
making more than they did as CMOs or CROs. 
and getting their life back.

i've been early before. and with a community of 100+ GTM OS Certified partners across the globe, i am getting that same feeling.

this is the next wave.

if you've got the experience, stop waiting for permission.

prove me wrong?

love,
sangram
p.s. i didn't create any of these things but i can somehow spot a trend and build a community around it. it's the best time for GTM exec with 10+ years experience and i can feel it. can you?

a CEO of an $11M company asked me last week:

"we're growing 30% a year. why does it feel like we're running in place?"

i asked one question: "what's your NRR?"

she paused. "i think it's around 90%."

that's the problem.

here's the math most CEOs don't run:

→ 90% NRR: you lose 10% of your revenue every year. you need 40% new business just to grow 30%. you're filling a leaky bucket.

→ 110% NRR: your existing customers grow 10% on their own. now you only need 20% new business to hit the same 30% growth.

→ 120% NRR: your customers are doing the heavy lifting. new logos become gravy, not survival.

same growth target. completely different effort.

most CEOs at this stage are obsessed with new logos. i get it. new logos feel like progress.

but the companies that scale aren't the ones with the best sales teams.

they're the ones where customers stay, expand, and refer.

NRR isn't a CS metric. it's a GTM metric.

if your marketing and sales teams aren't thinking about retention and expansion, you're leaving the easiest revenue on the table.

her response: "i've been solving the wrong problem."

do you know your NRR?

love,
sangram
p.s. building a GTMarketplace with 100+ certified GTM partners who are solving these problems daily for CEOs.

in 2024, we had 3 GTM OS Certified Partners.

today? almost 100. across 3 continents.

but the numbers aren't what got me this week.

it's this photo.

Shelli Ryan, APR, Fellow PRSA and Melanie J. Lennert-Anliker on stage in Dubai sharing our new research and building a profitable GTM business.

at the same time—same week—

GTM OS sessions running in the UK - Abbas Shivji Navin Jaitly - leading the way!

another in Sydney, Australia - Sue Foley, i see you!

 in Canada - Murtaza Kumail Abbas, you are killing it brother!

in San Francisco - Lydia Flocchini and Tim Hillison doing joint roundtables

Bryan Brown and i just looked at each other like... is this real?

we didn't build a course.

we get to build a MOVEment.

→ 3 partners → 100 partners
→ 1 county → 3 continents
→ 0 businesses on GTM OS → over 1,000 today

and now GTMarketplace has the leading marketing and sales execs ready to take control of their careers.

here's what i've learned:

you don't scale a framework by selling it.

you scale it by giving people something worth teaching.

the partners aren't just certified. they're invested. they're on stages. they're in rooms we'll never be in. they're reaching companies we'll never meet.

that's not a business model.

that's a belief system.

to every GTM OS partner out there—thank you.

you made this real.

who's someone in your world building something bigger than themselves right now?

love,
sangram

"i have longer tenure as a fractional than i ever did as a full-time CMO."

a fractional CMO told me this last week. she makes close to $400K with 5 clients since last 4.5 years.

but that's not what surprised me.

she said people actually listen to her more now than when she was full-time.

why?

when she was a full-time CMO, she calculated that 80% of her time went to non-CMO activities.

→ unnecessary meetings
→ long hours of internal politics
→ wine and dine show time
→ internal positioning
→ managing up, down, and sideways

now as a fractional, she walks into exec rooms with no emotional baggage.

no politics. no history. no turf to protect.

just clarity.

CEOs and exec teams actually want her opinion because she's not playing the game.

she's there to help them make better business decisions. period.

that's the part no one talks about with fractional.

it's not just about flexibility or income diversification.

it's about doing the actual work you were hired to do.

the work you're great at.

without the 80% tax of corporate theater.

your take?

love,
sangram

#fractional #CMO #GTM

we're flipping the script.... again!

until now, i've talked to every single person joining the GTM OS Certified Partner program.

and every time, someone would ask:

"can i talk to someone who's actually making the money? we trust you, but is this for real?"

fair question.

so instead of selling, we're doing the opposite.

from now on, if you're interested in joining, you talk to the community first.

→ if you already have a fractional practice and want to scale it, talk to Matt Anthony or Alan Gonsenhauser. they've had their practices for years and joined GTM OS to scale their solo practice.

→ if you're going from W2 to 1099 and have jitters, talk to Sarah Allen-Short or Tim Hillison. they've said publicly they make more than a typical CMO and have their life back.

→ if you're in sales or rev ops and wondering if building a fractional business is for you, talk to Marc Sabatini or Murtaza Kumail Abbas. they've built their entire business on the GTM OS and willing to share their story.

no pitch from me.
no AI chat bot.
no SDRs.

just real conversations with real people doing it.

the only ask: don't book time with them unless you're serious about joining.

it's $10K/year to start (financing available). no surprises.

i'm pumped for these 6 folks and grateful for their generosity. 
and more are willing to share their stories.

this is what building a real business looks like when it's working.

link in the comments.

love,
sangram

p.s. what you think of this approach?

#fractional #GTM

i just finished a recording for Iron Forums that helps CEOs grow their business.

the whole recording was on how to run your business on the GTM Operating System after analyzing and delivering 100s of workshops on it.

when i do a live shoot like this here is one thing that i always keep in mind:

- a picture of a CEO who i am trying to help.

here's a typical CEO:

- typically they are frustrated
- don't like big words
- want something that is both strategic to expand their mind and 
- also tactical that they can go try today

this helps me craft a message that lands and works every time i keep my eye of the prize - which is transforming the business to grow and scale.

thank you Harrison Smith and Jamie Minton for making this happen!

love,
sangram

p.s. i plan to do 50 more keynotes and workshops this year and with an army of about 100 GTM OS Certified partners,  we can match a certified partner with any company based on stage of the business, industry or growth goals.

Iron Forums

Let's Connect >> Sharpen >> Grow!

Founder & Operator | Noticing where ideas stop working once they are shared

how do you make $500K consistently as a fractional CMO/CRO leader?

not once. not in a lucky year. but predictably.

it's a math problem, not a motivation problem.

here are the 3 models i see working:

→ model 1: 4 retainers at $10K/month = $480K

→ model 2: 3 retainers + 2 strategic projects at $50K each = $460K–$500K

→ model 3: 2 PE-backed clients at $20K/month = $480K

$500K is not about 12 clients. it's about 2–4 serious ones.

but here's what separates $250K fractionals from $500K fractionals:

$250K fractionals sell execution — content, ads, HubSpot management.

$500K fractionals sell architecture — revenue design, GTM resets, alignment across marketing + sales + product.

execution scales down. architecture scales up.

the other difference? specificity.

generic fractionals cap at $250K.

the ones crossing $500K have a wedge:

→ post-Series A pipeline resets
→ PE-backed revenue acceleration
→ ABM for $100M+ portfolios

and the hard truth?

$500K requires selling. confidently. at that level.

many people can do the work. few are willing to price it.

if you don't sell, they can't buy.

which model are you running right now?

love,
sangram
p.s. we now have 100 GTM OS Certified Partners doing this and just celebrated several folks crossing this milestone on our Monday Mastermind. if you want to join the MOVEment, just  dm me.

*** CEOs, Founders, PE firms, and Recruiting firms hiring fractionals GTM top-tier talent ***

we just launched GTMarketplace - the first Marketplace for hiring fractional GTM Executives and agencies is LIVE.

here's why this is important.

latest research shows:

- 78% of companies are increasing fractional investment.
- 73% of PE firms recommend fractional execs to portfolio companies.
- GTM complexity is rising across every growth-stage company.

but at the same time:

- everyone is a "fractional" who doesn't have a job
- people oversell what they can do without a clear framework
- fractional deliverables in the GTM world is not a clear as in the CFO world

so we launched GTMarketplace:

- everyone on this list is a GTM executive
- Certified on the GTM Operating System and how to deliver outcomes
- across multiple continents with proven in marketing, sales, operator experience who are building a business and not a side gig

best part... we have been doing calls to match exec fractionals and agencies to CEOs and PE firms for the last year or so and now...

you can do it for yourself...

it's AI-first fractional marketplace so the search is just like you chat with it to find your perfect fit fractional or interim GTM executive to hire based on any of your criteria.

no forms to fill.
no sales rep to talk.
no commission to pay.

just take it for a spin.

hat tip to Bryan Brown, my business partner for building this magical place.

love,
sangram
p.s. link in the comments to help the linkedIn algo to work :)

Transform your GTM & align your teams with our GTM O.S. framework & certification

we launched GTMarketplace last week.

the next day, one of our partners posted this:

"my GTM OS Marketplace page went up last night, and I woke up this morning with an inquiry from a company that meets my PropTech ICP."

page goes live. wakes up to a qualified lead. no outbound. no cold calls. no "let's hop on a quick call to see if there's fit."

just a match.

this is what we built it for.

→ CEOs and PE firms can find vetted GTM fractionals and agencies
→ fractionals get discovered by companies that actually match their expertise
→ no forms. no sales reps. no commission.

it's AI-first. you chat with it like you would a person. tell it what you need. it finds your match.

we're just getting started.

but moments like this remind me why we built it.

the best GTM talent shouldn't have to hustle for every deal.

and companies shouldn't have to guess who's legit.

GTMarketplace connects both.

if you're a CEO looking for fractional GTM help—or a GTM exec who wants to get discovered—link is in the comments.

love,
sangram

there are 10,000 AI tools.

and every single one wants you to log in, live in their world, and learn their interface.

here's the problem:

the places where real work happens — LinkedIn, Slack, email — are completely disconnected from each other.

your conversations live in silos.
your context is scattered.
your follow-ups fall through the cracks.

sound familiar?

it feels like jumping in and out of a multiverse every day.

after 20+ years in GTM as a researcher, practitioner, founder and CEO, here's what i believe:

the winners won't be the tools with the best features.

they'll be the ones that meet you where you already work.

right now... i've been experimenting with Swan AI from Amos Bar-Joseph and team.

it connects LinkedIn, Slack, CRM, and email — and brings context to every single one of my conversations - like a super agent!

i am testing it right now:

→ to find new opportunities for the fractional community i'm building, delivered straight to Slack
→ to surface counter-posts getting traction on topics i care about on LinkedIn
→ to pull context from my email and LinkedIn conversations so i know exactly how to follow up

no new tabs. no new logins. no new interfaces to learn.

just the signal, where i already am.

the future of AI isn't more tools.

it's fewer logins and more context.

what tools are you using that actually meet you where you work? drop them below.

love,
sangram

a partner at a $10B PE firm asked me last week:

"what's the hourly rate for a fractional CMO?"

my answer: "don't be a hammer looking for nails."

she's trying to help her portfolio companies scale with "just in time" hiring instead of full-time execs. smart move. but she was thinking about it wrong.

here's what i told her:

we're shifting from "knowledge workers" to "wisdom workers."

knowledge workers get paid for what they know.
wisdom workers get paid for the outcomes they create.

the best fractional GTM leaders i know don't charge by the hour. they charge by the transformation.

and this shift is happening fast.

→ fractional CFOs normalized it first. companies realized they didn't need a full-time finance exec—they needed outcomes.

→ Fiverr normalized it at the entry level. millions of people building income without a boss.

→ now it's happening in GTM.

for the first time, marketing and sales leaders with 10+ years of experience are building $300K–$500K practices.

not consulting gigs.

not "between jobs" work.

real businesses.

when Bryan Brown and i started the GTM advisory business in 2021, we were figuring this out as we went. today? it's a proven path.

the old model: charge by the hour, compete on rate, get commoditized.

the new model: charge by the outcome, compete on wisdom, build a real business.

this isn't a trend.

it's a reset.

if you've been thinking about making the leap, check out GTMarketplace — 100+ GTM leaders already building $300K+ practices. link in comments.

love,
sangram
p.s. dm me if you want to be on this GTMarketplace only if you have 10+ years of marketing/sales/GTM experirence.

in 20215, revenue per employee was:~$300K–$400K 
in 2020: ~$500K

today? CEOs and boards are are aiming for $1M+ per employee.

Cursor: $500M ARR with ~150 people.
Lovable: $100M ARR with 15 people.
Mercor: $100M ARR with ~20 people.

that's not a trend. that's a reset.

here's what this means for every CEO making hiring decisions:

the question is no longer "how many people do we need?"

it's "how much revenue can each person generate with the right systems?"

two ways to think about it:

→ hire more people to do more work
→ hire fewer people who use AI and specialist/fractioals to multiply output

most companies are still playing the first game.

the winners in 2026 are playing the second.

this doesn't mean fire everyone. it means rethink everything.

every new hire should increase revenue per employee—not dilute it.

every AI investment should amplify your best people—not replace judgment with automation.

the companies scaling fastest right now aren't the ones with the biggest teams.

they're the ones with the highest leverage per person.

if you're a CEO or GTM leader, here's the question:

what's your revenue per employee today?

if you are an employee or fractional, you have to know the answer to this question...

what do you think of the metric of revenue per employee?

love,
sangram

the US lost 92,000 jobs in February. badly missing estimates of 55,000 payroll additions. unemployment rose to 4.4%.

at the same time, fractionals in our GTM OS community had a record week (not just a month) — generating over $1M in just one week.

same economy. different outcomes.

one group is waiting for permission.

the other group built their own.

i'm not saying fractional is for everyone. it's not.

but if you've spent 10+ years in GTM, built pipeline, led teams, and delivered results for others... 

then it begs the obvious question...

why are you still waiting for someone else to decide your future?

the economy doesn't care about your resume.

but your skills? your network? your ability to deliver outcomes?

those are yours. no one can lay those off.

the shift from W2 to 1099 isn't just a tax change.

it's a mindset change.

from "i need a job" to "i am the job."

what do you think is going to happen in 2026 to your job?

love,
sangram

***Hot take *** every company is about to land in one of three places.

and your GTM strategy depends on which one you're in.

𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗲 𝟭: 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁-𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 (Competition zone)

you compete on efficiency or necessity. your product gets cheaper every day. AI and automation are compressing your margins.

GTM here = speed to market, volume, low-touch sales. you win on distribution, not differentiation.

𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗲 𝟮: 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿-𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 (Winning Zone)

you compete on transformation. your customers don't just use your product — they become something different because of it. you get overvalued every day.

GTM here = outcomes, stories, premium pricing. you win on depth, not reach.

𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗲 𝟯: 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝗱𝗱𝘆 𝗺𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗹𝗲 (Instability Zone)

you're not the cheapest. you're not the most transformational. you're just... there.

GTM here = competing on everything, winning on nothing. no clear positioning. no pricing power. no moat.

this is where most companies go to die.

the hard truth?

most GTM teams are building playbooks for lane 2 while their company is stuck in lane 3.

or worse — they're in lane 1 and pretending they're in lane 2.

the first job of any GTM leader is to get honest about which lane you're actually in.

then build the strategy that fits.

which lane is your company in right now?

love,
sangram

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