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This week’s research note includes:

• GTM Research: NRR Is the Scoreboard. GTM Is the Playbook.

• GTM OS Certified Partner Spotlight: Murtaza K Abbas at Alif Advisory

• Upcoming Events and Access

Research: NRR Is the New Scoreboard. GTM Is the Playbook.

For years, growth was about logos. New customers, new revenue, new markets. But that story is outdated.

Today, the single most important metric of business health is Net Revenue Retention (NRR).

• Below 100%? You’re shrinking.

• At 100%? You’re surviving.

• Between 110–120%? You’ve unlocked growth.

• At 120%+? You’ve reached rare air—territory reserved for companies with a true go-to-market system.

We’re excited to share brand-new research based on a benchmark study of 100 companies across public SaaS, private SaaS, and PLG leaders.

For the first time, we can see exactly how many companies are operating above 100% NRR, how rare it is to reach 120%+, and which GTM motions consistently correlate with that kind of expansion.

It’s a clear line in the sand for what “great” looks like in 2025—and a wake-up call for leaders still relying on outdated growth models.

Let’s get into it.

Across our benchmark study of 100 companies:

• Public SaaS averages under 100%.

• Private SaaS clusters at 110–120%.

• PLG leaders are the outliers, with many consistently breaking 120%+.

Expansion, not acquisition, is the growth driver. Usage pricing, multi-product suites, partner ecosystems—these are the levers high-NRR companies pull again and again.

But Here’s the Catch: The Rules of GTM Are Changing

Getting to 120%+ NRR used to be hard. Now, it’s even harder—because we are living through a tectonic shift in GTM itself.

• How people buy: The rise of services-as-software means customers expect bundled outcomes, not siloed tools.

• How people sell: The SDR-led funnel is breaking. Buyers don’t want cold handoffs; they want seamless, value-driven engagement.

• How people build: The AI prompt is fast becoming the new interface. Companies that rethink workflows around AI will have a structural advantage.

This isn’t incremental change. It’s as fundamental as the shift from riding horses to driving Ford motorcars, or office to Internet.

Old GTM vs. New GTM: The System Behind High NRR

The companies breaking past 120% NRR aren’t just lucky. They’ve embraced the new GTM operating model:

• From “everyone owns GTM” → to “the CEO owns GTM”
  In the old model, marketing, sales, and customer success all ran their own playbooks. Everyone claimed a piece of GTM, but no one truly owned it. The result was misalignment and wasted motion. In the new model, the CEO owns GTM as a business system. When the chief executive takes responsibility for alignment and outcomes, NRR becomes a company-wide mandate, not just a departmental goal.

• From “spammy inbound/outbound” → to “strategic GTM motions”
  Yesterday’s growth playbooks leaned too heavily on volume—more emails, more ads, more SDR dials. That drove pipeline, but rarely efficient growth. Today’s leaders deploy a mix of six GTM motions (inbound, outbound, PLG, event-led, partner-led, community-led) with precision. The right motion, applied to the right segment, is how companies expand existing accounts and compound NRR.

• From “heroics every month” → to “repeatable plays”
  Too many companies rely on a handful of star performers to save the quarter. That works—until it doesn’t. The companies consistently breaking 120% NRR have replaced heroics with systems: defined plays that teams can run again and again, measured by outcomes and tuned over time. Repeatability is the antidote to volatility.

• From “churn killing your business” → to “ROI-driven customer stickiness”
  Retention used to be treated as a customer success afterthought. In the new GTM model, retention is designed into the business. High-NRR companies obsess over demonstrating ROI in the customer’s terms, not just renewal dates. They build multi-product suites, usage-based pricing, and partner ecosystems that make expansion the natural next step.

• From “acquisition treadmill” → to “NRR as the core growth engine”
  Acquisition is still important, but it’s no longer enough. If your only lever is adding new logos, you’ll stall out below 100% NRR. Companies that thrive see acquisition as the starting line, not the finish line. Growth comes from what happens after the first deal: adoption, expansion, and stickiness that pushes NRR past 120%.

The pattern is clear: high NRR is not the output of a single motion. It’s the byproduct of an aligned system.

The Tectonic Shift Underneath It All

These benchmarks aren’t happening in a vacuum. They’re unfolding in the middle of what we call a tectonic shift.

• The future of work is about workflows that seamlessly integrate people, process, and technology.

• The future of platforms is invisible—driven by AI and LLMs instead of clunky dashboards.

• The future of business is a new GTM Operating System, blending services, fractional expertise, and technology.

In this environment, NRR isn’t just a measure of the past. It’s the truest signal of whether your company is adapting fast enough to the shift.

The New Benchmark for Leaders

This is the playbook for 2025 and beyond:

• 100% NRR = survival

• 110–120% NRR = real growth

• 120%+ NRR = the benchmark for world-class GTM

But the only way to get there is to adapt to the tectonic shifts happening under our feet. The scoreboard (NRR) doesn’t change. The playbook (your GTM Operating System) does.

Take the Next Step: Join GTM University

At GTM University, we help executives and teams bridge the gap between insight and execution. Benchmarks show you what’s possible. The GTM OS gives you the system to make it repeatable.

GTM University is built on the GTM Operating System™—a proven, stage-based framework for aligning your teams, defining your strategy, and executing efficiently across the entire revenue engine.

Our on-demand and live courses are designed for operators, executives, and RevOps professionals who are tired of reactivity and ready to lead.

Your playbook for efficient growth is here. Learn how to use it.

Explore GTM University Today

Certified Partner Spotlight: Murtaza K Abbas

Operational Clarity for Scalable Growth

Growth plateaus can hit at any stage—whether you're a scrappy Series A startup or a maturing category leader. That’s where Murtaza K Abbas and Alif Advisory step in. With a sharp external lens and a systems-first mindset, Murtaza helps B2B companies cut through internal noise and surface the operational blockers slowing down execution.

At Alif Advisory, the goal is simple: unlock scalable growth through operational clarity. Using the GTM Operating System as a foundation, Murtaza quickly diagnoses misalignment across strategy, tech, and execution—and delivers focused, actionable plans to remove friction and reignite momentum.

Named after the first letter of the Arabic alphabet, Alif symbolizes the first, essential step toward transformation. And Murtaza doesn’t just advise from the sidelines—he rolls up his sleeves to embed with your team, clear roadblocks, and build the foundation for sustainable growth.

Where Alif Advisory Adds Value:

• GTM friction diagnostics

• Tech stack and process optimization

• Scalable system design and execution support

• Embedded, hands-on fractional leadership

Ready to trade chaos for clarity?
Learn more: Murtaza K Abbas Partner Page →

If you’d like to be a certified GTM Partner like Murtaza and many others, we’d love to talk to you about how to make that happen.

Make Me a Certified Partner

Upcoming Events: Where We’ll or a GTM Certified Partner Will Be Speaking in 2025

(DM Sangram for a discount code to attend or to get slides after the talk)

• Fix Your Revenue Leaks - A GTM Workshop (hosted by GTM Certified Partner Sandy Yu) is running 7 city roadshow on 15 GTM problems in a city near you and there are 6 more to go: Seattle (Sept. 9), Amsterdam (Oct. 9), Copenhagen (Oct. 16), Singapore (Nov. 4), New York City(Nov. 13), Melbourne (Dec. 3)

• INBOUND (hosted by Hubspot), September 3-5, San Francisco** THIS WEEK! Come say hello!

• DRIVE 2025 (hosted by Exit Five). September 10-11, Burlington, VT

• Usage Economy Summit (hosted by LogiSense) Nov 5, San Francisco

Love,

Sangram and Bryan

p.s. Access GTM University | Hire GTM OS Certified Partners | Read Fractional Friday

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