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The 6 Frameworks You Need for 2026 Planning
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This week’s research note includes:
GTM Research: The 6 Frameworks You Need for 2026 Planning
GTM OS Certified Partner Spotlight: Chethan Prabhu at SalesAdmin.com
Upcoming Events and Access
Research: The 6 Frameworks You Need for 2026 Planning
Many teams are already starting—or about to start—their 2026 planning cycles.
For most, that means dusting off spreadsheets, pulling together forecasts, and debating where to spend next year’s dollars.
But GTM OS was never meant to be just a diagnostic tool.
It’s an operating system for planning.
When used quarterly and annually, GTM OS frameworks help leadership teams:
Prioritize investments across markets, products, and motions
Assess opportunities with tools like TAM and Market Investment Maps
Align teams around what really matters for the next 90 days and the next 12 months
The Quarterly GTM OS Check In
Here’s the idea: every quarter, bring your exec team together for a four-hour session guided by a four strategic frameworks.
Think of it like a Business Model Canvas for go-to-market.
In this session (facilitated by you or one of our certified partners) you work through the 5 Valleys, 3 Ps, 15 Problems, and 8 Core Questions.
By the end, you’ve diagnosed where you stand and chosen the 3–4 priorities that will drive the next 90 days.
The 5 Valleys
Every single company goes through one or more of the 5 Valleys of GTM Death. Some go through all of them. Most encounter them again and again whenever they launch a new product, service, or motion.
Why revisit the Valleys every quarter?
Because you don’t “graduate” from them forever.
A company that fixed its marketing gap last year may struggle with delivery this year.
A product that renews well may stall on expansion until you build new value.
A scaling team may solve one valley, only to slip back into another as complexity grows.
By asking which valley are we in right now? each quarter, leaders avoid false confidence and catch issues before they compound.
When you use the Quarterly GTM Check-In, the Valleys are the first checkpoint. They ground your planning conversation in reality: where growth is breaking down today, not just where you wish it was working.
Read more about the 5 Valleys of Death.
The 3 Ps
After the 5 Valleys, the second stop on the Quarterly GTM Check-In is the 3 Ps. These are the building blocks of any go-to-market strategy:
Platform-Market Fit – Does your overall platform solve a category-level problem?
Product-Market Fit – Do your individual products match the needs of your core segments?
Problem-Market Fit – Do you understand the customer’s pain deeply enough to solve it better than anyone else?
Each “P” shifts the way you prioritize investments and growth bets.
Why revisit the 3 Ps every quarter?
Because fit is never permanent. Markets evolve, competitors shift, and customer priorities change.
Revisiting the 3 Ps quarterly ensures you don’t anchor this year’s strategy on last year’s truths.
It’s the second stop in the check-in because once you’ve diagnosed where growth is breaking down (the Valleys), you need to examine whether your core fits still hold.
Without that, you risk solving the wrong problems—or doubling down on a motion that no longer matches customer reality.
The 15 GTM Problems
After you’ve diagnosed your Valley and checked your 3 Ps, the next stop on the Quarterly GTM Check In is the 15 most common reasons GTM breaks.
They include challenges like:
You can’t predict or forecast revenue for the next two quarters
Competitors are winning more market share
Sales, Marketing, and CS are out of sync
You’re struggling to go from product to platform
Your churn is killing your business
Every company faces some version of these problems. The key is not to treat them as a static list but to use them as a quarterly lens.
Why revisit the 15 Problems every quarter?
Because the problems shift as you grow.
Checking against the 15 Problems each quarter forces an honest conversation:
Which of these are slowing us down right now?
Which ones are creeping back in as we scale?
Which can we safely deprioritize this quarter?
Your quarterly check in isn’t about solving all 15. It’s about identifying the 2–3 that matter most right now—and building projects to address them.
Check out Unpacking the 15 GTM Problems for more info.
The 8 Core Questions
Finally, the 8 Core Questions are the connective tissue across the OS:
Who are we selling to?
What problem are we solving?
Why do we win?
How do we win?
Where do we focus?
What are our goals?
How do we measure success?
Who owns what?
These are the questions that force alignment across the exec team. Answer them every quarter, and your planning stops being a wish list and starts being a system.
Why this matters now
Planning is messy. The market is uncertain. Teams are stretched. Without a framework, the loudest voice or the latest crisis often dictates what gets attention.
Running on GTM OS replaces gut feel with clarity. It gives leaders a repeatable way to plan, quarter after quarter, year after year.
What’s next
In the coming weeks, we’ll release the Quarterly GTM OS One-Pager—a visual, downloadable worksheet you can use with your team. Fractional partners in our network are already facilitating these sessions, often as a $5K per quarter engagement that uncovers the next projects to fund.
Until then, as you start your 2026 planning, ask yourself:
Are we using proven frameworks to guide our decisions?
Or are we reinventing the wheel every quarter?
👉 Your move: If you’re heading into 2026 planning, don’t reinvent the wheel.
Pick up a framework, run the process, and make your next 90 days count.
Visit our list of certified partners or get in touch at analyst@gtmpartners.com to inquire about a quarterly session.
Keep Building Your GTM Edge: Join GTM University
The Quarterly GTM OS One-Pager is designed to keep your team aligned and focused. But frameworks alone don’t build muscle memory. You need practice, repetition, and shared language across your leadership team.
That’s where GTM University comes in.
At GTMU, we don’t just hand you frameworks—we teach you how to run on them. Courses walk leaders through the very same tools used in the One-Pager:
How to map your Valley and avoid slipping back into it
How to reassess your Ps as markets shift
How to diagnose and prioritize against the 15 Problems
How to use the 8 Core Questions to create real alignment across Sales, Marketing, CS, and Product
The result? Leaders who can run quarterly and annual planning with confidence, not chaos. And teams that stop reinventing the wheel every 90 days.
If you want your company to stop planning on gut feel and start running on GTM OS, GTM University is the place to build the skills and habits to make it happen.
Certified Partner Spotlight: Chethan Prabhu at SalesAdmin.com
Operationalizing Go-To-Market for Predictable Growth
Lack of clarity. Misalignment. Inconsistent execution. These are some of the biggest reasons companies fall short of their revenue goals. Chethan Prabhu at SalesAdmin.com helps CEOs fix that—by turning go-to-market strategy into a system that works.
As a seasoned GTM leader with experience across scrappy startups and Fortune 500s, Chethan helps growth-stage companies simplify their strategy and implement a structured, repeatable GTM system using the GTM Operating System. His work ensures alignment across teams, clarity in execution, and a reliable path to revenue growth.
But Chethan doesn’t just hand over a plan—he helps execute it. Backed by a trusted network of freelance GTM engineers, he supports clients through the full process of sales and marketing tech implementation, making sure strategy translates into results.
Where Chethan Adds Value:
Operationalizing GTM strategy with consistency
Aligning cross-functional teams around shared goals
Driving execution with freelance GTM engineer support
Coaching CEOs to own and lead their GTM motion
Ready to run GTM like a system—not a scramble?
Learn more: Chethan Prabhu Partner Page →
If you’d like to be a certified GTM Partner like Chethan and many others, we’d love to talk to you about how to make that happen.
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 5 more to go: Amsterdam (Oct. 9), Copenhagen (Oct. 16), Singapore (Nov. 4), New York City(Nov. 13), Melbourne (Dec. 3)
GTM 2025 (hosted by Pavilion) in Washington, DC (Sept.23-25)
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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