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Every GTM leader travels through one (or more!) of the Valleys of Death
We’ve talked to hundreds of companies this year, and here’s what we’ve learned:
Every single company goes through one or more of the 5 Valleys of GTM Death.
Some companies go through all of them.
Most companies experience them over and over, often when they launch a new product or service.
If you’re struggling with your Go-to-Market and you’re trying to expand revenue, you inevitably end up slicing the pie into smaller and smaller pieces rather than growing the pie.
When marketing, sales, and success are disconnected, adding more products and solutions will inflate expenses disproportionally to revenue. Companies don’t run out of new ideas; they run out of money.
You don’t have a problem with one team; you have a GTM problem.
When you hit these Valleys of Death, it’s easy to fall back into old habits and start to point fingers at departments and individual leaders:
We have a marketing problem. We have a sales problem.
We need to fire the CMO, the CRO, or the CCO.
We need to hire more salespeople.
We need to spend more on marketing activities.
But it's these biases that lead to the Valleys of Death.
Most business leaders we have spoken to have lost their jobs at least once because of a Valley of Death situation. But in reality, it's not their fault.
The reason your company is facing a Valley of Death is that your go-to-market is broken, and you have a go-to-market problem.
Watch out for overcompensation by one team
One tricky aspect of the Valleys of Death is that you can be experiencing revenue growth and still be suffering the consequences of a failing GTM.
When your teams are out of sync, other teams can overcompensate and keep moving the ball forward, but inefficiently.
For example:
A strong marketing pipeline can cover for low sales conversion rates
Sales can sell ahead of product capabilities
These are short-term fixes that create a shaky foundation that you may not be able to grind your way out of.
Do mature organizations experience the Valleys of Death?
Yes.
The Valleys may feel like issues that affect early-stage companies, but every company cycles through them with new products or initiatives.
Larger companies will still experience the Valleys because they will face new market conditions, new competitors, changes in buying behavior, organizational restructuring, leadership changes, and the launch of a new product.
There are many mature companies with a history of success in expansion revenue that subsequently faced changes that put that success at risk.
The Valleys don’t only affect companies struggling with Product-Market fit.
Acceptance is key
The term “Valley of Death” sounds scary, but it doesn’t have to be.
By death, we mean a retraction in growth or a decline in growth rate below your expectations, industry averages, or competitors.
When a competitor starts innovating better and overtaking you, ask yourself, “Are we facing a Valley of Death, and if so, what GTM transformation is required to successfully navigate through it?”
The whole point of the Valleys of Death is knowing they exist and identifying them early enough so that you can navigate them better.
A strategic, integrated GTM is your secret weapon.
Upcoming Events
Go-to-Market Made Simple Roadshow in Boston, June 23!
Join us for our NINTH GTM Made Simple Roadshow this Friday, June 23, 2023 in Boston.
Here’s what WILL happen at our event:
• Hear the latest trends and research on the state and future of GTM
• Learn about the first GTM Operating System
• Connect on your top GTM challenges in birds-of-a-feather style roundtable discussions
• Walk away with actionable takeaways for your next team or executive meeting
• Network with your executive peers, director-level and above, on their top challenges
What WON’T happen at our events:
• No vendor booths
• No more status quo conversations about GTM
PLGTM East: June 27
PLGTM East and West bring together GTM and Growth leaders from the top product-led companies.
You'll hear directly from top companies on how they've been successful with product-led sales, free-to-paid conversion, customer expansion, and more.
To get 50% off the very reasonable $200 ticket, use code GTM Partners.
Nearbound: June 29
Nearbound: Supercharge Revenue With Partner-led Events will show you how to:
Create captivating experiences for your target audience.
Accelerate awareness and lead generation with new audiences.
Drive revenue through targeted messaging and valuable content.
Amplify your efforts by partnering with like-minded partners.
Take your events to the next level with Nearbound strategies.
This virtual event is hosted by Airmeet and features GTM Partners’ analyst Bryan Brown.
Inbound: September 5-8
Sangram will be hosting two sessions at INBOUND 2023.
“The 11 Irrefutable Go-to-Market Plays That Simply Work”: Drawing from Sangram’s experience of scaling two companies from zero to a million in just nine months, he’ll delve into the 11 practical and proven GTM plays, the GTM Operating System, and an ROI model that you can implement today.
“Why Your Go-to-Market Is Broken and How To Fix It”: is an invaluable deep dive into diagnosing and resolving go-to-market challenges. This session will empower you to fortify your GTM plan and drive targeted outcomes.
Sangram will also be hosting a meetup for our GTM Partners community this year. Join us for some fun, games, food, drinks, and all things GTM.
GTMonday Subscribers receive a 15% discount on your General Admission tickets by July 31, 2023 (the discount cannot be retroactively applied to previously purchased tickets) - Discount code: GTMPartners
Thanks for reading GTMonday; hope you all have a safe, healthy, happy week ahead.
Love,
The GTM Partners Team
P.S. If you’re having trouble with one of the Valleys of Death, we can help. Book a strategy call with us. We’d love to talk.
