Garrett Jestice

Prelude

For growing B2B companies, Prelude is a go-to-market strategy and fractional CMO consultancy focused on helping you build the foundations of an effective go-to-market engine to give your team clarity and alignment about how to grow.

Want to learn more? Visit www.preludemarketing.com or email me at garrett@preludemarketing.com.

A few of the clients we've worked with:

Grain | GTM Advisor | Sep 2023 - Feb 2024
Continuum | GTM Advisor | Sep 2023 - Jan 2024
LegUp Health | GTM Advisor | Mar 2023 - Dec 2023
ProductWind | Fractional CMO | Mar 2023 - Jul 2023
Accelerate Dental | GTM Advisor | Apr 2023 - Jun 2023

Founder & CEO

ATC Analytics

GTM Advisor

Startup Marketers

Startup Marketers is a free, Slack community for startup marketing leaders, freelancers, and fractionals. If that sounds like you, join us to connect with others and share ideas, feedback, and resources to help us all get better.

Join us here: https://bit.ly/StartupMarketers

Founder / Community Advisor

GTM Partners

GTM Ambassador

Classic City Consulting

Zight (formerly CloudApp)

Trainicity

Sweet Fish

GTM Advisor / Fractional CMO

CMO Zen

Fractional CMO

Accelerate Dental

GTM strategy for growing startups | Founder & CEO | Advisor | Former CMO | BBQ Judge

I help small B2B businesses know how to grow.

❌ Do your current go-to-market efforts involve trying everything to see what sticks?
❌ Are you spending money on marketing agencies but are underwhelmed with the results?
❌ Are your sales and marketing teams misaligned and rowing in different directions? 

No longer can you "do everything to grow". It is inefficient and ineffective. 

Today, the best startups "do the right things to grow" instead. 

At Prelude, we work directly with founders and GTM leaders to answer key GTM questions and build the core foundations needed to know how to grow, including:

1. Who are your best customers? 
Goal: Find your best-fit customers to know who to target (and who to ignore).

2. What do you say? 
Goal: Define your messaging architecture to guide what to say and how to say it.

3. Where do you say it? 
Goal: Prioritize the right channels and activities to focus on.

4. How do you execute? 
Goal: Build the team, tech, and operating cadence needed to execute.

The end result? 

Clarity and alignment for your GTM team + Profitable, sustainable business growth.

Want to learn more? Book a free strategy session at www.preludemarketing.com.

—

I’ve been fortunate to have spent much of my career launching and leading marketing and GTM strategy at high-growth startups and established companies. This has given me the opportunity to see first-hand how to grow a successful business.

My expertise includes:
GTM strategy, product marketing, market and customer research, product positioning, pricing and packaging, competitive analysis, demand generation, marketing automation, sales enablement, cross-functional leadership, strategic planning, branding, career coaching, and leadership coaching. 

Gallup StrengthsFinder Top 5 Strengths - Strategic, Achiever, Futuristic, Significance, Ideation
2022 Utah Business Marketer of the Year (SAMY award) winner
2022 Utah Business Digital Marketing Campaign of the Year

Outside of work, you’ll most likely find me spending time with my wife and our 4 kids, coaching my kids' basketball and soccer teams, planning my next trip to Hawaii, or cooking BBQ on my Traeger.

I want to see more posts from women in my LinkedIn feed. (Too many dudes currently. 😁 )

Who are some smart women I should follow who talk about B2B marketing, startups, GTM strategy, product marketing, and/or customer research?

#b2bmarketing #startups

Customer Research + GTM Strategy for B2B startups | Founder & CEO @ Prelude Marketing | Former SaaS CMO | BBQ Judge

"𝘞𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. 𝘞𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸."

I heard this 👆 recently from a founder of a VC-backed startup when I recommended he focus on solidifying his GTM foundations before doing marketing. 

Here's how the rest of the conversation went:

Founder: "𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮." 

Me: "𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦?"

Founder: "𝘚𝘪𝘹." 

Me: "𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴?"

Founder: "𝘕𝘰, 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴."

Me: "𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘈𝘊𝘝?"

Founder: "𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘸𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩, 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯." 

Me: "𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘳?"

Founder: "𝘔𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴."

Me: "𝘚𝘰, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺?"

Founder: "𝘞𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘦."

🤦‍♂️

To be fair, I don't blame this founder. 

I could tell he was under a lot of stress from his board to produce revenue now. 

But, if you don't understand who your customers are, where to find them, and what to say to them, most marketing tactics you try 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 fail. 

You can't build a sturdy house without a strong foundation. 

The same goes for marketing. Strengthen your go-to-market foundations first.

#gtmfoundations #gtmstrategy #startupmarketing

Startups under $10M don't need a CMO.

They need:

→ A go-to-market strategy based on customer data.

→ Team alignment on what to prioritize.

→ The right people to execute the plan (FT, PT, freelance, agency).

→ Someone who's "been there" to help them to avoid potential pitfalls.

Do you agree? What did I miss?

#startupmarketing #gtmstrategy


We tend to overcomplicate things in business.

That is especially true for most startups' go-to-market strategy. 

We see all the things competitors and larger companies do and feel like we need to do all of those things, too.

𝘞𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘴.
𝘞𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘚𝘌𝘖.
𝘞𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘶𝘯 𝘗𝘗𝘊.
𝘞𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩 𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘥𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵.

Your GTM team doesn't NEED to do any of these things. The only thing they need to do is generate revenue.

The main goal of every good GTM team (sales, marketing, customer success, product, and leadership working together) is to generate revenue.

All of the tactics mentioned above are just that—tactics that may or may not help us eventually generate revenue.

But when you simplify things, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 in a B2B business. This post discusses those three ways. 

#b2bmarketing #gtmstrategy #revenue

View newsletter: GTM Foundations by Prelude

We tend to overcomplicate things in business. That is especially true for most startups' go-to-market strategy. We see all the things competitors and 

Open article: The only three ways to grow customer revenue by Garrett Jestice • 6 min read

Garrett Jestice on LinkedIn • 6 min read

The only three ways to grow customer revenue

I spent spring break at a mountain cabin this week, enjoying the last Utah snow with this crew. 

Sometimes, you need to unplug and recharge. 

I'm convinced we'd be more productive if we all did this more often.

🙏 Grateful for understanding clients who let me reschedule regular weekly check-ins so I could be present with my family. 

How did you unplug for spring break?

#familytime 

Saying no to a paying client is never easy. 

But it's inevitable if you're building a consulting, freelance, or fractional business. 

As your success grows, so does the demand for your time. Sometimes, you just can't say yes. 

Here are three tips to make saying no a bit easier:

𝟭. 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
Act fast. Be clear. If you can't take on a project, tell the client immediately––don't drag it on or try to make it work. Honesty builds trust.

𝟮. 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀
Don’t chase money at the expense of your core services. Stay true to your expertise. This will preserve the quality and reputation of your brand.

𝟯. 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀
Can't meet their needs? Refer them to someone who can. It shows you care. It also keeps your network strong.

Turning down a client is tough but necessary as you grow. 

It's about more than just missing out on revenue—it's about maintaining your business focus and ensuring sustainable growth.

#fractional #consulting

Your best-fit customers are those who:

→ Find real value in your product/service
→ Pay full price
→ Renew, expand, and/or buy again
→ Refer others

Find your best-fit customers. Then find more like them. 

That's how you grow a startup. (Easier said than done. 😅)

#startupmarketing #customers

They say don't meet your heroes because you'll just be disappointed. I've definitely experienced this in my life. 

But I also have met people I've followed and admired for a while and found them to be even better humans in real life.

Here are a few people I've met in the last year or so like this:

Chad Jardine
Megan Pratt
Joe Staples
Alex McArthur
Catherine Bennett
Pete Larkin 💭
Sangram Vajre

What good people do you follow? Give them a shout-out below so we can follow them, too. 👇 

Sometimes, referencing your biggest customers can hurt your messaging more than help. Here's what I mean. 👇 

Last week, I received the message below from a sales rep. (I get similar ones every week.)

In it, he referenced what I assume are some of his product's largest customers: Zoom, Lenovo, and Paychex. 

When I read those names, I immediately thought, "This product isn't for me. I'm a solopreneur. My business is nothing like those ones."

Could I use and find value in his product? Probably.
Did his message make me want to try it out? Nope. Actually, the opposite. 

This is why tailoring your messaging to your different audience segments is important. 

The message that resonates with one audience might turn another off completely. 

One of the easiest ways to tailor your messaging is to find relevant customers to reference who are similar to the segment you're speaking to. 

Tailored, relevant messaging wins.

#message #gtmstrategy #startupmarketing 


I know what you're thinking: "I wish someone would write a rap song using all the B2B startup lingo out there."

Well, your wish is my command. 

I had some help from ChatGPT (okay, a lot of help) but here you go:

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗦𝘆𝗺𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗻𝘆: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝟮𝗕 𝗕𝗲𝗮𝘁

(Verse 1)
Yo, launching a B2B, it’s not just fantasy,
Piece of cake, they say, with the right strategy.
TAM, SAM, SOM, starting with the market scope,
YTD, LTV, and CAC, we ain't no dopes.
CTR, KPIs, keepin’ track, we optimize,
GTM, SEM, SEO, we rise, no surprise.
OKR, ARR, MRR, we chase,
MAU, WAU, DAU, in this digital race.

(Chorus)
In the world of B2B, it’s more than what you see,
CSM, AE, SDR, AM team, moving like a dream.
NPS, CAGR, ROI, we measure and we try,
COGS, P&L, TTV, under the financial sky.

(Verse 2)
NRR, AOV, maximizing every sale,
GMV, CRM, our ship, it's gotta sail.
GRR, SME, knowledge deep as the sea,
MQL, SQL, leads qualified, we agree.
EBITA, IPO, eyes on the prize, we grow,
Acronyms, like a stream, in our rap, they flow.
Each one, a stepping stone, in the empire we own,
B2B startup world, yeah, we've flown.

(Chorus)
B2B, CSM, AE, SDR, together, we gleam,
NPS, CAGR, ROI, chasing every stream.
COGS, P&L, TTV, in the financial theme,
NRR, AOV, in the revenue dream.

(Outro)
So here's the lowdown, in your town, we wear the crown,
B2B startup game, we ain’t never gonna drown.
With TAM, SAM, SOM, and more, we break it down,
Launching a B2B startup? Piece of cake, we own the throne.

---

Now, what AI tool can turn these lyrics into a real song? 😂 

#startups #b2bmarketing


"𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦. 𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨."

That feedback stung coming from a leader I respected and had worked with for a few months. 

A large part of my early career identity was built around innovation. 

→ I started a company in college, helping invent a new product.
→ I helped lead an internal innovation/design thinking group at Target.
→ One of my top 5 Strengths Finders strengths was "Innovative."

But the more I reflected on this feedback, the more I realized it was true. 

If you define innovation as "coming up with new and original ways to do things," that wasn't one of my natural strengths. 

I am much more naturally wired as a problem solver or optimizer. I'm constantly thinking, "How can we make this better?" not "How can we do this differently?". 

It's a slight nuance, but understanding it has helped tremendously in my career. 

Knowing how I'm wired helps me lean into my strengths and watch out for my natural biases. 

I'm constantly seeking information, templates, frameworks, and anything else to help me improve my weaknesses.

And it's worked out for me pretty well in my career so far. 

I'm grateful for a leader willing to share direct, honest feedback that helped me see myself in a new light. 

It turns out that "knowing thyself" is one of the biggest career hacks of all. 

#careers #b2bmarketing

"𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴. 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯."

A few years into our marriage, my wife began saying this to me before sharing about the challenges she faced that day.

She knows I am wired as a problem-solver, and without this reminder, I'd spend the entire conversation solving her problem in my head rather than really listening.

Unfortunately, many startup founders and GTM leaders do this same thing when interviewing customers. 

Instead of focusing on understanding their customers' problems, they're thinking about how to solve them. 

It's one of the biggest things that make many customer conversations ineffective. 

That's why I like these 3 tips from The Mom Test Book:

1. Talk about their life instead of your idea.
2. Ask about specifics in the past instead of generics or opinions about the future.
3. Talk less and listen more.

Remember these three tips next time you interview a customer. Focus on listening and understanding. You can help solve the problems later. 

#customerresearch #gtmstrategy

"𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘥. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥."

👆 This is what my seven-year-old prayed last week during our family prayers. 

My wife and I both had to bite our lips to keep from laughing out loud. 

I'm pretty sure my kids think my job is to type random things on the computer as fast as I can all day. 

If only there were good money in doing that... 😂 

Need a laugh? Ask your kids what they think you do for work. Ten points if you share it with me below. 👇 

#family #careers

Nearly every go-to-market question can be answered by talking to your customers.

𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘨𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵(𝘴) 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘯?
Talk to your customers

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵?
Talk to your customers

𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮?
Talk to your customers

𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨?
Talk to your customers

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯?
Talk to your customers

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵/𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦?
Talk to your customers

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵/𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦?
Talk to your customers

𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘦?
Talk to your customers

When was the last time you talked to your customers? (Just a friendly reminder to do it if it's been a while. 😁)

#customers #research #startupmarketing

Here are a few B2B SaaS startup conversion funnel benchmarks I use:

Website "request a demo" page visitor to form submission rate: 
>10%+ is really good

Meeting to deal created rate: 
45-65%; If low, you need demo/pitch coaching

Deal created to closed rate: 
~35% in SMB, ~25% in enterprise; If low, you need sales process coaching

These benchmarks are based on research reports I've read and my experience working with B2B SaaS startups over the past few years. 

But I realize things can change quickly or vary a lot by industry. 

𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲? 𝗜𝗳 𝗻𝗼𝘁, 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆?

#startupmarketing #b2bmarketing

Decisions by committee are never the best choices.

But people need to be seen and heard to feel bought in.

So, how do you balance the two in a fast-growing company?

I once heard a graphic designer say he often puts a small red dot on his designs before sending them to his clients.

The clients usually reply with, "This is awesome. But what's that red dot?"

The designer responds with, "Oh, man! I missed that! I'll remove it. Good catch!"

The clients feel good that they were able to contribute.

And the designer is happy that he doesn't have to try to implement bad client recommendations.

Right or wrong, you got to give him credit for creativity. 😂

---

How do you avoid decisions by committee while still helping people feel seen and heard?

#team #decisionmaking #startups

Which spreadsheet or manual process does your product/service replace for customers?

Understanding this deeply can help accelerate your entire go-to-market strategy. 

It helps product know what to build to become a complete solution.
It helps marketing know how to have stronger messaging. 
It helps sales know how to run a more relevant demo.

Don't assume you're always replacing another software or service provider. 

More often than not, there is a spreadsheet or manual process you're helping replace.  
 
Find it. 

#gtmstrategy #startupmarketing

Great sales reps know it's not enough just to close a deal. 

𝙃𝙤𝙬 you sell it can determine customer usage, satisfaction, and/or renewal.

Great sales reps help prospects see around corners and look into the future. 

Even before a deal closes, they ask questions like:

"𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥?"
"𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯?"
"𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘦?"

Without asking these questions, unintended consequences can lead to buyer's remorse later.

This is one reason I start all my client engagements by aligning on 1-2 goals and success metrics for working together. 

We write these at the top of our weekly running agenda and refer to them each week to ensure we're all on the same page. 

Do you have customers with buyer's remorse? 

Try asking these questions before they even buy. Help them look around corners and see into the future.

#startups #gtmstrategy

Does your pricing and packaging clearly reflect your differentiation?

I'm working with a marketing agency that does both strategy and execution for their clients. 

After talking to their clients, it was clear that their unique differentiation is their deep expertise and experience in the space and the level of strategy they are able to offer clients.

But their pricing/packaging wasn't reflecting this. 

Instead, their pricing page mostly communicated what they produce (execute), not the strategy value they provide. 

In addition, they were trying to compete on price with lower-tier competitors who mostly focus on execution. 

We're currently working on updating their pricing and packaging to fix these things. 

Messaging and positioning work doesn't just stop at marketing copy. It should extend through your entire customer experience. 

#messaging #b2bmarketing

Who influences your customers' purchase decisions? Are you prioritizing their needs?

Here's an example of what I mean: 

I use Wave HQ for my business accounting and invoicing software. 

Wave was built for freelancers and solo business owners like me. I like that it's affordable and easy to use. 

I do all my own bookkeeping today, but as my business grows, I may eventually hire an accountant or bookkeeper to assist. 

Whenever I talk with an accountant, they usually encourage me to switch to Intuit QuickBooks. 

Why?

It's the industry standard they all know how to use. 
They love that it integrates with their other financial systems.
Sometimes, they can even get a commission for helping their clients switch.

I don't want to switch, but I might be forced to at some point if I choose to work with an accountant. 

QuickBooks has done a better job of prioritizing the needs of small business purchase influencers: the accountants. 

As a result, they have a stronghold on the market that looks like is here to stay. 

Do you know who influences your customers' purchase decisions? Are you prioritizing their needs?

#gtmstrategy #b2bmarketing #startupmarketing

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