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What Breaks GTM at Scale (Part 2/2)

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This week’s research note includes:

  • GTM Research: What Breaks GTM at Scale (Part 2/2)

  • GTM OS Certified Partner Spotlight: Jeff Ballard

  • Upcoming Events and Access

Research: What Breaks GTM at Scale (Part 2/2)

Last week, in Part One, we looked at four of the most common GTM problems and how teams often misdiagnose them as single-team issues.

Here are four more that show up consistently, especially as companies scale.

5. Your Leadership Team Isn’t Aligned on Strategy

The problem: Everyone’s running fast, but not necessarily in the same direction.

Who gets blamed: Each function points at another—“Sales is going rogue,” “Marketing isn’t aligned,” “Product doesn’t listen.”

The reality: Misalignment starts at the top. If executives can’t agree on priorities, every functional team will drift.

Diagnostic question to ask: How many hours per week does your executive team spend aligning with each other? Do your leaders complain about other teams’ failures?

Your next move: Create a unified GTM dashboard and quarterly alignment cadence.

Strategy alignment isn’t optional—it’s the root cause of everything downstream.

6. Your Churn Is Killing Growth

The problem: Acquisition looks strong, but customers leave too quickly.

Who gets blamed: Sales blames CS for poor retention. CS blames Sales for overselling. Marketing hides.

The reality: Churn is a GTM problem. It begins with mismatched ICP, inflated promises, and a lack of value realization.

Diagnostic question to ask: How quickly do customers experience value after purchase? Do you know the ICP for churned vs. retained accounts?

Your next move: Map your customer journey for non-value touchpoints. Make time-to-value fast, visible, and repeatable.

Learn how to accelerate customer time to value with mapping.

7. Customers Love You, But Can’t Quantify Value

The problem: Happy customers renew on goodwill, not ROI.

Who gets blamed: Sales says CS can’t prove value. CS says Product lacks the right metrics. Product says Sales sold the wrong use cases.

The reality: Value must be designed into the product and lifecycle—not bolted on at renewal.

Diagnostic question to ask: What ROI type do your customers experience—attributable, efficiency, transformational, or necessity?

Your next move: Define your ROI type clearly and build it into onboarding, dashboards, and renewal conversations. Without proof of value, budget wins elsewhere.

Your 2025 ROI Playbook

How to Leverage ROI throughout the Sales Cycle

How to Match ROI to Your Buyer’s Needs

8. You’re Relying on Heroic Sales Players Instead of Repeatable Sales Plays

The problem: A few top reps carry the number while the rest lag.

Who gets blamed: Sales leaders blame reps. Reps blame Marketing. Everyone admires the heroes.

The reality: Heroics are a sign of GTM immaturity. They mask deeper issues with ICP, sales process, or market fit.

Diagnostic question to ask: Why can’t other reps replicate the success of your heroes? Is it process, ICP clarity, or stage of maturity?

Your next move: Stop celebrating heroics. Document plays that work, align them to your ICP, and operationalize them across the team.

Read why 1/3 of companies struggle with heroic sales players.

The Power of the Cumulative Response

The power of the 15 GTM Problems isn’t in the list—it’s in the patterns.

Solving churn might also mean solving POV.

Solving heroic selling might mean solving ICP.

The cumulative response is where clarity emerges.

And solving in a cross-functional way is always critical.

The GTM University Connection

Clarity is only the first step. The next is execution.

That’s why we built the GTM Operating System—and why we teach it in GTM University. These frameworks give leaders a structured way to diagnose, prioritize, and execute solutions that stick.

If you recognize your business in these challenges, GTM University is the place to learn how to turn systemic GTM friction into predictable, repeatable growth.

Explore GTM University Today

Certified Partner Spotlight: Jeff Ballard

Turning GTM Potential into Scalable Performance

When you're ready to move faster, grow smarter, and scale with precision, Jeff Ballard and The Xcelerator Network are the go-to partners to make it happen. Jeff helps high-growth B2B tech companies translate go-to-market potential into real-world performance—by aligning strategy, accelerating execution, and building revenue engines that scale.

Whether you're launching a product, entering new markets, or scaling through partners, The Xcelerator Network offers hands-on support through its GTMXcelerator program, cohort-based intensives, and 1:1 coaching. Jeff combines decades of experience with execution-ready tools to ensure GTM plans don’t just look good—they deliver.

Where Jeff Adds Value:

  • GTM strategy development and execution

  • Partner program design and activation

  • Workshops, sprints, and cohort-based training

  • Fractional leadership and on-demand coaching

  • Proven frameworks that drive velocity and scale

The Results:

  • Clear, focused GTM plans

  • Faster pipeline growth and conversion

  • Scalable partner revenue

  • Reduced friction and repeatable success

Ready to turn your GTM strategy into action?
Learn more: Jeff Ballard Partner Page →

If you’d like to be a certified GTM Partner like Jeff and more than 40 others, we’d love to talk to you about how to make that happen.

Make Me a Certified Partner

Upcoming Events: Where Sangram, Bryan, or a GTM Certified Partner Will Be Speaking

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

Love,

Sangram and Bryan

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

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