Get the Linkedin stats of Garrett Jestice and many LinkedIn Influencers by Taplio.
open on linkedin
Most GTM strategy is built on guesswork. I fix it with insight from your best customers. Too many early-stage B2B startups and agencies waste time and money executing sales and marketing before they’ve nailed the basics: → Who to target → What to say → How to grow Without clarity on those, teams default to vague messaging, misaligned priorities, and campaigns that burn cash without results. I help fix that before you scale. I work with founder-led and lean GTM teams at B2B software companies and agencies stuck between early traction and repeatable growth. If you're unsure who you're really selling to, what resonates, or where to focus, this is the work that unlocks the next stage. Over 8 weeks, I lead a structured GTM sprint powered by customer interviews. We sharpen your positioning, align your team, and build a practical go-to-market plan grounded in real customer insight—not guesswork or recycled playbooks. You’ll walk away with: → Ideal Customer Profiles based on buyer interviews → Messaging Architecture for your website, outbound, and sales pitch → Homepage copy and pitch materials you can plug in immediately → A focused 50+ target account list so sales isn't guessing → A GTM channel plan based on where your real customers come from → Hiring recommendations based on your actual strategy → One shared GTM plan to align your team and drive execution In the first 90 days, that means: → A sharper, clearer website that actually converts → Marketing that lands because it's speaking to the right people → Smarter execution and hiring decisions → Less wasted spend on things that won’t move the needle This isn’t theory. It’s a practical, research-backed system to give your team clarity, direction, and momentum. What others have said: “Partnering with Garrett was one of the best business decisions we’ve made... a complete transformation of our go-to-market strategy.” — Christopher Morbitzer, CEO at NorthBuilt “The simplest, fastest, and most useful way to create a full-stack marketing foundation.” — Mike Adams, Founder at Grain “Essential to taking the leap from 5 to 6 figures in revenue and reaching profitability.” — Rick Lindquist, Founder at LegUp Health If you're preparing to grow but don’t feel 100% confident in your GTM strategy, let’s fix it. 👉 Book a free call: www.PreludeMarketing.com 👉 Subscribe to my newsletter: gtmfoundations.substack.com
Check out Garrett Jestice's verified LinkedIn stats (last 30 days)
Use Taplio to search all-time best posts
You know you’re a middle-aged dad when… You start rating vacations by mattress quality and breakfast spread. Comfort > adventure. I just got back from an 8-day family road trip. We stayed in 6 different hotels and Airbnbs. My favorite? The Holiday Inn Express in Omaha. Not the charming, newly remodeled Airbnb. The chain hotel with: → Decent beds → Strong AC → Hot breakfast Younger me would've rolled his eyes. Current me? Just wanted to sleep through the night and not hunt for food at 7am with 4 kids. Adventure is still great. But so is a firm mattress and real bacon (none of that fake stuff). Anyone else secretly judging hotels by their continental breakfast?
Most B2B founders and GTM leaders can’t pinpoint what’s actually holding back growth. Is it messaging? Pricing? The wrong audience? Channel fit? They end up guessing. And guessing gets expensive. That’s why I built 𝗮 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗚𝗧𝗠 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. Because most aren’t scaling a strategy. They’re scaling a series of untested assumptions. → “We need more leads” (conversion is 2%) → “Let’s try ads” (messaging is unclear) → “Pricing is fine” (deals stall) → “We know our customers” (can’t describe them consistently) The result? Random execution. Expensive experiments. Slow, frustrating growth. This Google Sheet + Custom GPT cuts through the guesswork. 42 questions. 8 core foundations assessed: → Solution–market–problem fit → Ideal customer clarity → Offer clarity and structure → Pricing–value alignment → Messaging and positioning → Channel and motion fit → Internal alignment → Executional maturity It takes 5–10 minutes. No email required. Just a clear signal on what’s working and what’s not. Want to try it out? Here you go: https://lnkd.in/gNmXNBH7 (Of course, I'd appreciate a like and comment if you find it helpful.) What’s your biggest GTM gap right now?
I used to think bad marketing came from bad execution. But most of the time, it's deeper than that. It's strategy by assumption. The silent killer behind growth theater. → Assuming you know your ICP (because you've closed a few deals) → Assuming your offer is clear (because your team gets it) → Assuming your messaging will work (because it sounds good to you) → Assuming a channel will convert (because it worked for someone else) So the team builds motion on a shaky foundation. Campaigns, redesigns, hires. All driven by guesswork. It feels like go-to-market. But it's just theater. A $2M agency founder recently told me: "We spent $100k on marketing and have nothing to show for it. I thought it was our agency's fault." The real problem? They were targeting 4 different buyer types with the same confusing message. I've been guilty of this too. In a past role, we sprinted into execution before knowing what buyers really needed. We had noise, not traction. Momentum, not growth. The fix? → Truth before tactics → Signal before scale → Strategy by evidence, not assumption Most founder-led B2Bs don't need more execution. They need to slow down and anchor in truth. What's one assumption you've seen hurt a GTM strategy?
Most B2B founders aren’t stuck because they picked the wrong problem. They’re stuck because they’re trying to solve 𝘧𝘪𝘷𝘦 problems at once. Energy scattered. Team confused. Results mediocre across the board. The best B2B businesses solve 𝘰𝘯𝘦 problem exceptionally well. I’ve been re-evaluating everything in my business these past few weeks: model, audience, offers, focus. I needed a way to step back and decide: what’s the one problem worth building around? So I built a simple diagnostic with ChatGPT to pressure test every option: → 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆: What have I actually helped people solve? → $𝟭𝟬𝗠 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿: Which problems unlock meaningful revenue? → 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗙𝗶𝘁: What matches my credibility and energy? → 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀: What are people searching and buying? → 𝗗𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Why me over others? → 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗚𝘂𝘁 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸: Which one could I go deep on for 5+ years? The magic isn’t in listing ideas. It’s in cutting them. Most founders try to hedge. But clarity only comes from commitment. I’m using this right now to focus my next move. It's been worth the work. Want the full framework? Check it out below. What’s the one problem 𝘺𝘰𝘶 want to go deep on?
"Marketing doesn't fix bad targeting." I said that out loud on a client call this week. Everyone paused. They'd spent weeks tweaking homepage copy and outbound emails. But the truth is: better messaging won't save a bad list. If you're targeting the wrong people, no amount of "marketing" will work. I see this constantly with B2B startups. The biggest GTM unlock isn't a better CTA or subject line. It's getting ruthless about who you're 𝘯𝘰𝘵 for. When targeting is fuzzy: → Messaging gets watered down → Offers try to please everyone → Conversion rates tank → Sales teams burn out on bad leads But when you get laser-focused: → Messaging sharpens and resonates → Offers hit real pain points → Marketing generates pipeline → Sales cycles compress—prospects self-qualify Before you fix your copy, fix your list. Who you target determines what you say.
“Messaging doesn’t have a clear ROI.” I hear that all the time from skeptics. But here’s what happened when one of my clients nailed their messaging: → 133% increase in tier 1 meeting requests → 33% more website traffic → Better-fit leads (including major brands) → A sales team finally excited about who was booking meetings What changed? We spent 8 weeks clarifying their ICP, rebuilding core messaging, and wireframing a new website. A talented web designer brought it to life. One month post-launch, the results were undeniable. Was all of it due to messaging updates? Probably not. Lots of variables were at play. But some of it sure was. Here’s what most skeptics miss: Your messaging isn’t just words on a website. It’s a filter. Bad messaging attracts everyone (and no one). Good messaging attracts exactly who you want. The ROI isn’t just in the metrics. It’s in the confidence your sales team feels. The peace of mind your founder gets. The clarity your whole GTM team rallies behind. Messaging is measurable, just not always in dollars. (But sometimes, it is.)
Startups don’t fail because they suck at marketing. They fail because they skip go-to-market strategy. They chase tactics: → Ads before audience clarity → Content before messaging → Campaigns before offers But without GTM strategy, even great marketing won’t save you. What is GTM strategy? It’s the system that answers: → Who are we targeting? (ICP) → What are we selling? (Offer) → Why will they care? (PMF) → What do we say? (Messaging) → Where do we show up? (Channels) → What happens first? (Prioritization) Think of it this way: 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 = 𝗗𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁. 𝗚𝗧𝗠 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 = 𝗗𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴. Sometimes founders often confuse the two. That confusion burns budget fast. Don’t fall into the motion trap. Get the strategy right before you execute.
Most service consultants preach the gospel of productized services. “Package your offer. Standardize the scope. Scale it up.” And yes, there’s a lot to love: → Clear positioning → Repeatable delivery → Easier to sell (or eventually exit) But here’s what gets missed: 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺. 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. Some founders thrive on custom work. Some love the creativity of solving new problems each month. Some don’t want to manage a team or build a repeatable machine. And they can still build a highly profitable business. The truth is: → Customized services are harder to scale, but easier to love → Productized services scale faster, but can bore the wrong person → Firms can grow big, but demand a different kind of founder That’s why I use this framework with agency clients before they pick a path: → 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹: Consultant, coach, fractional, productized, info product, agency? → 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁: 1:1, 1:few, 1:many, async? → 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹: Hourly, project, recurring, performance-based, licensing? You can mix and match. Most do. The only “wrong” model is the one that doesn’t match your energy, goals, or lifestyle. So before you build for scale, ask this: What kind of business actually fits the life you want?
Many founders say they hate selling. What they usually mean is: the way they're being told to sell doesn't feel honest. Not because they're scared to pitch. But because the pitch doesn’t reflect what they actually do, or how they actually help. Most founders don’t need better scripts. They need a story they can stand behind. → One rooted in real outcomes → One that filters out the wrong-fit leads → One that feels natural to repeat on a call, in a post, or in an email Last month, a founder told me: “𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘐’𝘮 𝘭𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩.” This wasn’t a confidence problem. It was a clarity problem. His pitch talked about “streamlining workflows” and “increasing efficiency.” But what he actually did was help 3 clients recover 15+ hours a week of manual work. That’s the story that matters. People don’t buy products. They hire them to make progress. You don’t have to be pushy when the progress is clear. You just have to show it. If selling feels fake, the problem isn’t you. It’s the pitch. What made sales feel more natural for you?
I spent 4 days last week camping in the Uinta Mountains with no cell service. Here’s what I missed: Not much. LinkedIn was still LinkedIn. My business still exists. Clients still needed help, but no major fires. When you own your own business, it’s easy to believe: “I always need to be connected.” “I can’t afford to step away.” “It’s too risky to be fully present.” I’ve felt that way plenty. (Still do sometimes.) But if that’s you right now, here’s your sign: → Take the trip → Disconnect → Be present Pretty sure you won’t regret it. At least, I didn’t last week. When was the last time you fully unplugged?
"We need more leads now." I hear this from execs constantly. But most of the time, lead flow isn't an execution problem. It's a foundation problem. One team recently asked me how to push back when leadership demands quick pipeline. I told them: "The reason you're not getting leads isn't because you're not doing enough. It's because you're executing on top of weak foundations." → Your ICP is fuzzy → Your messaging isn't landing → Your offer doesn't feel urgent → Your channels don't match how buyers actually buy They paused for a second and said: "You nailed it." The truth is: → Activity without clarity burns time and budget → Hustle won't fix a broken strategy → Lead gen works when foundations are solid You don't fix GTM problems by doing more. You fix them by getting focused. What's your go-to move when leadership wants leads yesterday?
Most startups don’t have a marketing problem. They have a "growth theater" problem. → Campaigns with no strategy → Marketers executing before aligning → Messaging that sounds smart but says nothing → Channels launched without buyer insight It feels like GTM. But it’s just noise. I’ve seen it play out dozens of times: → Founders hire agencies to “go faster” → Agencies launch playbooks that aren’t grounded in truth → Months pass. Budgets vanish. Nothing sticks. Why? Because execution without clarity is theater. The truth is: You don’t need more motion. You need foundation. → Who you serve → What you offer → Why it matters → How to communicate it You don’t need a CMO to get this right. But you do need to slow down long enough to anchor in truth. Kill the theater. Build the engine first. What’s one sign you’ve seen of growth theater in the wild?
I'm a recovering overthinker. For years, I believed I had to craft the perfect pitch before going to market: → Buttoned-up messaging → The ideal positioning → A polished deck But here's what I learned the hard way: You can't learn what works until you pitch. On a recent call, a founder told me they wanted to "get the storyboard right" before scaling outreach. I told them what I've had to tell myself: "You can hypothesize in minutes. You only learn by pitching." Here's what I've learned: → You don't need a perfect pitch. You need a testable one. → You don't need clarity. You need contact with the market. → You don't need to polish. You need to pressure-test. This isn't "Perfect → Launch." It's "Hypothesis → Test → Learn." If you wait for your pitch to feel perfect, you've already waited too long. What's helped you overcome the urge to overthink before pitching?
Most of us are blind to our biggest growth problems. We assume we know: → Who our ideal customer is → What messaging will resonate → Which offers will convert → Which channels will scale But we’re wrong more often than we’re right. The curse of knowledge clouds our judgment. We built it. We live it. We’re too close to see it clearly. That closeness creates a dangerous blind spot. That’s why I believe every founder needs two outside reality checks: 1️⃣ Your customers: Talk to them. Ask good questions. Use their words. It’s the most underrated way to improve your positioning, offers, and GTM strategy. 2️⃣ Trusted outsiders: A coach, consultant, or just a smart peer with zero emotional attachment who can challenge your assumptions and spot what you can’t. I help clients do this every day. But I still can’t do it well for my own business. That’s why I’ve started hiring experts and leaning on trusted friends to review my positioning and offers. Because clarity doesn’t come from expertise. It comes from distance. What’s helped you see your business more clearly?
Say what?! Not sure how this happened, but thank you to everyone who has come along for the ride. I have some big plans for improving my newsletter in the second half of this year. Stay tuned! Not a subscriber yet? I'd love for you to join us.
Most B2B service founders think their only path is: Freelancer → Agency But that’s a trap. There are at least 7 viable biz models, each with its own tradeoffs and best-fit use case. Over the last 2.5 years, I've explored most of them. I started as a fractional CMO. Good rates, but I was still trading time for money. So I pivoted to productized sprints: 8-12 weeks to clarify GTM strategy, align the team, and hand off execution. Higher leverage. More scalable. Then I layered in advisory retainers. Predictable revenue. But lots of calls. At one point, I even tested becoming an agency matchmaker. Good margins, but not aligned with my long-term energy. Now? I'm exploring the idea of building a founder-led GTM accelerator. Like group coaching for companies scaling to $10M. Still early, but it blends what I love: education, frameworks, peer learning, and advisory. Here's what I've learned about these 7 different models: → Solo Consultant: High margins but hard to scale → Agency: Scalable but complex operations → Productized Services: Scalable but often not recurring → Marketplace/Matchmaker: Scalable but hard to start → Training/Info Products: Great margins, hard to sell → Fractional Executive: Premium pricing but not scalable → Advisory/Retainer: Recurring but hard to scale Pick your path based on your energy, goals, and market. Not what others expect. Service founders: Which model are you building toward and why?
I used to jump straight into advice mode with clients. It felt efficient. But it was often premature. I'd skip past their priorities and jump to my ideas. Reading The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier changed that. Now I try to lead most client conversations with 7 questions: → What's on your mind? (Kickstart) → And what else? (AWE) → What's the real challenge here for you? (Focus) → What do you want? (Foundation) → How can I help? (Lazy) → If you're saying yes to this, what are you saying no to? (Strategic) → What was most useful for you? (Learning) These force me to pause. To listen. To understand what really matters before problem-solving kicks in. The result? My advice lands better. Clients make faster progress. Sessions stay aligned with what they need, not what I see. The psychology is simple: people articulate problems better when you ask the right questions first. Are you more of a question-asker or a problem-solver by default?
Your first dollar made from a new offer is always the best feeling. A few weeks ago, I quietly launched a paid version of my Substack newsletter for the first time. I didn't think anyone would notice or subscribe. But within a day, the first person signed up. And since then, 4 others have signed up unprompted. → 5 total paid subscribers → $50/year each or $5/month → $359 in new gross annualized revenue Not life-changing money. But validating for sure. The biggest value I'm giving paid subscribers? Access to my GTM Template Library. 16 working templates across Google Docs, Sheets, Forms, and Figma. (And more coming soon.) These are the exact documents I use in client engagements: → Audience Workshop Template → ICP + Buyer Personas Template → Customer Interview Guides → Buyer Journey Maps → Messaging Architecture → Website Copy Templates → Sales Pitch Decks → Growth Campaign Tracker Templates that took me years to build and refine. Now, other founders and GTM leaders can use them instead of starting from scratch. The truth is: I was nervous to charge for content. But that first notification email from Substack reminded me why putting yourself out there matters. Someone found enough value to pay. That's validation you can't get from free content alone. Interested in checking it out? Click "View my newsletter" under my name to find it.
Just got back from an 8-day road trip across 8 states with my family. Here's what it taught me about building a business: Nothing. And that's the point. No calls. No strategy sessions. No "productive" conversations. Just time with the people who matter most. Your startup will survive without you for a week. But your kids won't pause their childhood until you're less busy. The work will always be there. The memories won't wait. So take the trip. Unplug. Be present. That's what really matters. What's the longest you've ever fully unplugged from work?
I kept saying what I didn’t want. Not an agency. Not a team to manage. Not a calendar full of calls. But it took me way too long to figure out what I actually do want to build. After 2.5 years solo, I finally sat down and asked myself a different question: 👉 What does my ideal business look like? Here's what I wrote: → Solves a meaningful, urgent problem → Helps founders grow their businesses → Runs on productized services, frameworks, freelancers, and AI → Lets me focus on the stuff I love (strategy, marketing, and teaching) → Charges premium prices or recurring retainers → Has multiple income streams → Eventually earns $50k/month working 30–40 hours/week That’s the design target. (Still a work in progress.) Right now, I’m focused on 3 levers: → Entry offer: What’s the simple service that opens the door fast? → Delivery engine: How do I scale with process, not just personal effort? → Expansion path: What lets me grow without trading time for money? I don’t need to build big. I want to build well. Smart. Sustainable. Impactful. Anyone else chasing something similar?
Content Inspiration, AI, scheduling, automation, analytics, CRM.
Get all of that and more in Taplio.
Try Taplio for free
Andy Mewborn
@amewborn
215k
Followers
Ash Rathod
@ashrathod
73k
Followers
Shlomo Genchin
@shlomogenchin
49k
Followers
Richard Moore
@richardjamesmoore
107k
Followers
Sam G. Winsbury
@sam-g-winsbury
49k
Followers
Daniel Murray
@daniel-murray-marketing
150k
Followers
Vaibhav Sisinty ↗️
@vaibhavsisinty
451k
Followers
Matt Gray
@mattgray1
1m
Followers
Izzy Prior
@izzyprior
82k
Followers
Wes Kao
@weskao
114k
Followers
Tibo Louis-Lucas
@thibaultll
6k
Followers
Amelia Sordell 🔥
@ameliasordell
238k
Followers
Austin Belcak
@abelcak
1m
Followers
Sabeeka Ashraf
@sabeekaashraf
20k
Followers
Luke Matthews
@lukematthws
188k
Followers
Sahil Bloom
@sahilbloom
1m
Followers