Instead of a linear handoff, the "GTM Factory" model tracks sales and marketing as parallel processes. This provides end-to-end visibility, like a manufacturing line, exposing how marketing's ongoing influence throughout the sales cycle compounds with sales activities to accelerate pipeline and improve win rates.
Related Insights
A more effective mental model than PLG vs. SLG is analyzing which activities create new demand versus which ones harvest existing demand. Both sales and product can serve either function. Creating demand is always the harder, more critical challenge for any revenue engine.
The company's overall win rate was low (6-7%) and decreasing. Analysis showed this decline mirrored a drop in marketing 'signals' (e.g., event attendance, content downloads) before an opportunity was created. This provided a clear data link between mid-funnel marketing activities and sales success.
Traditional funnels jump from a marketing signal (like an MQL) to an opportunity, creating a blind spot. They miss the 'Engagement' period of initial interaction and the 'Prospecting' phase of active sales pursuit. Ignoring these stages makes it impossible to diagnose performance issues or identify improvement levers.
Go-to-market success isn't just about high-performing marketing, sales, and CS teams. The true differentiator is the 'connective tissue'—shared ICP definitions, terminology, and smooth handoffs. This alignment across functions, where one team's actions directly impact the next, is where most organizations break down.
Many leaders view GTM systems as technological (e.g., Salesforce). Instead, think of it as a living ecosystem where changes in one part (e.g., sales) create cascading impacts on others (e.g., CS). This biological framing centers people and processes, not just tools, recognizing that the system is constantly evolving.
Instead of waiting for top-down alignment, salespeople should take the initiative to bridge the gap with marketing. The most effective way to do this is by bringing marketing team members onto actual sales calls. This direct exposure to customer interactions is the fastest way to ensure marketing creates relevant and effective support materials.
Frame your go-to-market strategy as an engineering problem. Create a dedicated 'GTM engineering team,' including actual engineers, to build a programmatic stack and apply a rigorous test-and-learn mindset to every GTM motion, from outbound campaigns to event strategy.
The handoff process from marketing to sales is a frequently neglected 'gray zone.' Marketers fear overstepping and sales may lack optimization skills. Making this a core strategic bet is a high-leverage way to generate pipeline while building top-of-funnel demand.
Many firms reduce Account-Based Marketing (ABM) to tactics like direct mail or targeted ads. True success requires treating ABM as a comprehensive go-to-market operating model. This means aligning the core sales process and strategy first, before implementing any technology or specific campaigns.
Legacy GTM models relegate marketing to top-of-funnel activities. Data shows marketing’s continued engagement *after* a deal is created significantly impacts outcomes. Deals with active marketing signals during the sales cycle close faster and at a higher rate, proving marketing is a full-funnel powerhouse.