Go To Market Fit Summit

© 2018, Bob Tinker & Tae Hea Nahm
GTM Fit Summit
Bob Tinker & Tae Hea Nahm
May 3, 2018
www.SurvivalToThrival.com
Linkedin.com/in/SurvivalToThrival/Facebook.com/S2Thrival/ @S2Thrival

© 2018, Bob Tinker & Tae Hea Nahm© 2018, Bob Tinker & Tae Hea Nahm
Bob Tinker
MobileIron Founder/CEO
Punchline Guy
Three-time entrepreneur
$0 -> not much
$0 -> 80M / yr
$0 ->160M / yr
Tae Hea Nahm
Storm Ventures VC/Board member
Model Guy
Enterprise investor

VC
CEO’s

The Question
What do we wish we had known
15 years ago as a newbie enterprise
entrepreneur and investor ?

And then others pitched in…
Aaron Levie
CEO & Co-Founder - Box
Tien Tzuo
CEO & Co-Founder - Zuora
Phil Fernandez
Founding CEO - Marketo
Jon Miller
CEO & Co-founder - Engagio
Mark Leslie
Former CEO - Veritas
Mark Templeton
Former CEO - Citrix
Sameer Dhoklia
CEO - SendGrid
Huan Ho
CTO - Rally Team

Help entrepreneurs
succeed now &
anticipate what’s
next
www.SurvivalToThrival.com
Wrote it down

Why do entrepreneurs & investors
who succeed at one stage
get stuck at the next ?
Observation #1:

Successful startups
reinvent themselves 4x

Everything changes
Strategy, Execution, Mindset

Picking right
cofounder
Overcoming
founder bias
Finding Go-To-
Market Fit
Calculated
Recklessness
Escaping the
Category
Even good startups fail
What are the tripwires?

Why do so many enterprise
startups get to PMF,
but never unlock growth?
Observation #2:

Very high stress
• Missed expectations
• High frustration
• Right people? Right skills?
• High cash burn
• Running out of time and $

There is a pattern to the
startups that unlocked growth
The Good News

Unlocking growth requires
GTM team to both learn
and unlearn
Finding GTM Fit
Don’t die How do we win?

Today’s Agenda

Finding GTM Fit
1:30 Welcome
1:45 GTM Fit Workshop
What is it? How to find it? Impact on people?
Real world examples (MobileIron sales-led)
Bob Tinker
Founder/CEO

Finding GTM Fit
1:30 Welcome
2:45 GTM Fit Journey Panel
It can be a bumpy ride
DOMINIQUE LEVIN
Managing Partner
JON LEE
Founder/CEO
MICKEY ALON
Founder/CEO

CLARA SHIH
Founder/CEO
Finding GTM Fit
1:30 Welcome
3:30 Re-finding GTM Fit: Hearsay

Finding GTM Fit
1:30 Welcome
4:00 GTM Fit Journey: Engagio
4:00 Live GTM Fit Playbook
Marketo—Marketing led example
JON MILLER
Founder/CEO
Cofounder

Finding GTM Fit
1:30 Welcome
4:00 GTM Fit Journey: Engagio
4:00 Live GTM Fit Playbook
Marketo—Marketing led example
5:15 Closing
5:30 Happy Hour

How investors identify GTM Fit?
High Growth
Reps beating quota → it’s working
Surplus qualified leads → hire more reps
Great lead source → invest more in that source
Predictable, Repeatable
Scalable Growth
Run a spreadsheet model ($1 in S&M drives $xx
of predictable billings)
Invest more in S&M
Work this in

Go-To-Market Fit
The “Missing Link” to unlock growth

Achieving PM Fit is a huge milestone

But PMF is not enough to unlock growth

The Missing Link to growth: GTM Fit

-
100
200
300
400
500
600
Q109 Q209 Q309 Q409 Q110 Q210 Q310 Q410 Q111 Q211 Q311 Q411 Q112 Q212 Q312 Q412
# New Customers PER Qtr
GTM Fit
GTM Fit in action

Finding Go-To-Market Fit
How does it start?

Our search for GTM Fit
inadvertently began on a
whiteboard

Product-Market
LEARN
Go-To-Market
When? Tail end of PMF
Find the patterns
Why Win? / Why Lose?
Why go fast? / Go Slow?
Pay careful attention
“Universe” is teaching

Easy to miss
the forest…
…while
focused on
chopping
down trees…
…and
surviving

Happy Customers
and won deals
Churned Customers
and lost deals
Who is the buyer?
(Company, industry, title)
Why now?
(Urgency)
Why win? Lose?
(Pain, use case, factors)
Deal summary?
(Competitor, price, days)
How sell?
(Lead source, sales rep profile)
Who? (ICP)
Why? (Urgency)
How? (decide)
How? (find them)
Take 20 deals
Learn: Find the GTM patterns

Once you start to see the
patterns…you’re on the path to
GTM Fit

GTM Model
Direct, Channel, Web,
Freemium, Trial & Upsell
Marketing-led, Sales-led
GTM Playbook
Find & Win Same Customers
What’s The Wow?
GTM Fit: 3 parts
Urgent Wave
Why buy now?
Part of larger wave?

Go-To-Market Fit: Part 1
Urgent Wave
Why buy now?

Finding urgency
Founder hyper-focus is a strength and weakness
“Ruthlessly focus on founding idea”
“We are 100% focused. All the
wood behind the arrow”
“I won 5 customers, that must
mean we’ve found urgency”
What if you’re
wrong?
You’re dead.

Instead
Cast a slightly wider net for urgent hotpots
Be open to----and test----adjacencies
Hotspot may not be the founding idea
Founding Idea
Urgent pain
More ICPs

GTM Model
Urgent Wave
Why buy now?

Pick one GTM Model
Product-LedSales-Led Marketing-Led
Full touch Low-touch Zero-touch
Match how the ideal customer DECIDES TO BUY your product
Pick right model for you. Watch out for fad models

GTM Model
GTM Playbook
What’s The Wow?
Urgent Wave
Why buy now?
The Key

My big mistake
“Isn’t GTM Playbook =
good pitch + some sales
tactics?”

The reality
Becomes the OS for the
GTM motion
And incredibly powerful tool
to align the entire companyGTM Playbook

Not 30 page
document
Fits on 1 Page
(Maybe 2)

Building the GTM Playbook

Lay out customer journey1
Automated Manual
Product-led (self service)
Website Free trial Drive usage
Self-serve
to paid
Expand with
usage
NurtureQuality
Digital
Marketing
Marketing-
generated lead
Sales-led
1st meeting 2nd meeting Evaluate
Exec
meeting
Win
Quality
Marketing-led with inside sales (recurring)

1 Lay out customer journey
Marketing-
generated lead
1st meeting 2nd meeting Eval Exec meeting Win
Quality
Represent the physics of the customer journey
Everyone must have same view
Don’t use the salesforce forecasting stages

Marketing-
generated lead
Quality
Have mobile devices and apps?
Users want to pick own device or
BYOD?
Are you worried about security of
your data?
Explore needs and
motivation
We solve security for
apps and devices
Innovative mobile
security platform for
BYOD or corporate
while protecting
privacy
Peer references and
product deep dive
Why beat competition
Future proof platform
Get eval approval
Get boss to table
Present test plan
results and customer
success plan
Initial pricing and
executive references
Turn up live instance
Customer execute test
plan and document
results
Find challenges
Initial order
Convert eval to live
Introduce customer
success team
What to ‘Do & Say’ at each stage?
What are the ‘wow’s?
2

Marketing-
generated lead
Quality
BYOD?
your data?
Explore needs and
motivation
apps and devices
Innovative mobile
BYOD/corporate while
protecting privacy
Peer references and
product deep dive
Get eval approval
Get boss to table
Present test plan
success plan
Initial pricing and
plan and document
results
Find challenges
Initial order
Introduce customer
success team
Requires sacrifice & distillation
Harder than it seems
What does Marketing &
Sales “Say & Do”

Marketing-
generated lead
Quality
BYOD?
your data?
Explore needs and
motivation
apps and devices
Innovative mobile
protecting privacy
WOW #1: Sel Wipe
Peer references and
product deep dive
Get eval approval
WOW #2: Enterprise
AppStore
Get boss to table
Present test plan
success plan
Initial pricing and
plan and document
results
Find challenges
Initial order
Introduce customer
success team
Product team doesn’t decide…customers do
Wow’s can change over time
Finding the WOW

Marketing-
generated lead
Quality
BYOD?
your data?
Explore needs and
motivation
apps and devices
Innovative mobile
protecting privacy
WOW #1: Sel Wipe
Peer references and
product deep dive
Get eval approval
WOW #2: Enterprise
AppStore
Get boss to table
Present test plan
success plan
Initial pricing and
plan and document
results
Find challenges
Initial order
Introduce customer
success team
Be crisp about the ask
Ask for 2nd mtg Ask for Eval Boss to table Ask for Order
The goal of each
stage

Marketing-led with inside sales (recurring)
Important note: For ARR, Win not the “end”
Playbook extended to Customer Success:
Onboard, Production, Upsell, & Renew

Marketing-
generated lead
Quality
BYOD?
your data?
Explore needs and
motivation
apps and devices
Innovative mobile
BYOD or corporate
while protecting
privacy
Peer references and
product deep dive
Get eval approval
Get boss to table
Present test plan
success plan
Initial pricing and
plan and document
results
Find challenges
Initial order
Introduce customer
success team
2
SEO/M programs and website
landing
SDR outbound email and calls
Channels and ecosystem
referrals
1st meeting
presentation
Supporting videos and
product information
WOW #1
2nd meeting
presentation with deep
dive and competitive
Key features for
differentiation
WOW #2
Exec summary talking
points and exec
references
Eval results in nice
dynamic dashboard
Executive calls
Easy eval turn-on and
tutorial
Eval checklist
Competitive traps
Engineer hotline for
issues
Quick quoting tool
Click thru legal
agreements
Welcome kits and
training video
What’s the rest of Company do to
support the playbook?3

Marketing-
generated lead
Quality
BYOD?
your data?
Explore needs and
motivation
apps and devices
Innovative mobile
BYOD or corporate
while protecting
privacy
Peer references and
product deep dive
Get eval approval
Get boss to table
Present test plan
success plan
Initial pricing and
plan and document
results
Find challenges
Initial order
Introduce customer
success team
landing
referrals
1st meeting
presentation
product information
WOW #1
2nd meeting
Key features for
differentiation
WOW #2
points and exec
references
dynamic dashboard
Executive calls
tutorial
Eval checklist
Competitive traps
issues
Quick quoting tool
Click thru legal
agreements
Welcome kits and
training video
Often drives
product changes

Marketing-
generated lead
Quality
BYOD?
your data?
Explore needs and
motivation
apps and devices
Innovative mobile
BYOD or corporate
while protecting
privacy
Peer references and
product deep dive
Get eval approval
Get boss to table
Present test plan
success plan
Initial pricing and
plan and document
results
Find challenges
Initial order
Introduce customer
success team
2
landing
referrals
1st meeting
presentation
product information
WOW #1
2nd meeting
Key features for
differentiation
WOW #2
points and exec
references
dynamic dashboard
Executive calls
tutorial
Eval checklist
Competitive traps
issues
Quick quoting tool
Click thru legal
agreements
Welcome kits and
training video
What’s the rest of Company do to
support the playbook?3
Metrics “come for free”
4

Marketing-
generated lead
Quality
landing
referrals
1st meeting
presentation
product information
WOW #1
2nd meeting
Key features for
differentiation
WOW #2
points and exec
references
dynamic dashboard
Executive calls
tutorial
Eval checklist
Competitive traps
issues
Quick quoting tool
Click thru legal
agreements
Welcome kits and
training video
Final Result: GTM PLAYBOOK
BYOD?
your data?
Explore needs and
motivation
apps and devices
Innovative mobile
protecting privacy
WOW #1: Sel Wipe
Peer references and
product deep dive
Get eval approval
WOW #2: Enterprise
AppStore
Get boss to table
Present test plan
success plan
Initial pricing and
plan and document
results
Find challenges
Initial order
Introduce customer
success team
Ask for 2nd mtg Ask for Eval Boss to table Ask for Order

GTM Model
GTM Playbook
What’s The Wow?
GTM Fit: 3 parts working together
Urgent Wave
Why buy now?

Initial biases are powerful
Patterns are hard to see
Forces the implicit -> explicit
Requires sacrifice & distillation
Changing GTM muscles is painful
Lessons Learned
From Finding
GTM Fit

Post PMF sales bump along, even
with more GTM investment
Closing deals requires “Founder
Hero” selling
Every deal is different
New sales reps struggle to learn
Without GTM Fit:
Pain

What does GTM-Fit
feel like?
Momentum

Leads & pipeline growth
Deals close predictably
Additional sales & marketing
investment grows pipeline
New reps quickly learn to win
Company knows what to do
With GTM Fit
Growth Unlocks

GTM Fit moments…
Tien Tzuo. CEO Zuora
No longer an evangelical sale
Aaron Levie, CEO, Co-Founder Box
“Holy Crap, Every Vertical Has the Same Problem”
Bob Tinker, CEO, Co-Founder MobileIron
VP Sales Making a Big Bet

And then EVERYTHING changes
Welcome to Thrival!

GTM Fit & Thrival
profoundly changes the company
…and the people

Company Changes
Don’t die … How do we win?
Careful execution … Calculated recklessness
Product-led culture … GTM-led culture
Find PM & GTM-Fit … Drive growth & prove unit economics
Work in obscurity … Obsess about awareness
Stingy hiring … Rapid hiring & onboarding

Company
Δ
Role
Δ
People
Δ
…or Δ
the people
with no
Δ in title
People changes

Davy Crocket
Path through woods
VP Sales Evolution
Joan of Arc
Braveheart
Lead great warriors!

Davy Crocket
Pioneer
Unlearn Moment: VP Sales
Unlearn
Pioneer → Warrior Leader
Change execution
Find deals → Win deals
(explore) (playbook)
Joan of Arc
& Braveheart
Warrior Leader

Davy Crocket
Path through woods
VP Sales Evolution
Dwight Eisenhower
Architect & execute
Joan of Arc
Braveheart
Lead great warriors!

Joan of Arc
& Braveheart
Warrior Leader
Dwight
Eisenhower
Sales Architect
Unlearn Moment: VP Sales
Unlearn
Warrior → War Room
Change execution
Win deals → Win war
(playbook) (machine)

Captain America
One of the Troops
Avengers
Band of Superheroes
Professor Xavier
Dean of University
Applies to the CEO too

Survival Role
PMF/GTMF
Growth Role
Category Leader
Scale Role
Industry Leader
And every other position …

Really Hard
It’s hard

Spectacular Learning
and Unlearning
for you and the team

GTM Fit Journey- It can be a bumpy ride
DOMINIQUE LEVIN
MANAGING PARTNER
JON LEE
FOUNDER/CEO
MICKEY ALON
FOUNDER/CEO

Re-finding GTM Fit
CLARA SHIH
FOUNDER/CEO of

Live GTM Fit Playbook
JON MILLER
Founder/CEO of
Cofounder of

GTM Fit Summit
WRAP UP

What is GTM Fit? How find it?
GTM Model
Match how the Ideal Customer
buys your product
GTM Playbook
What’s The Wow?
Urgent Wave
Why buy now?

Predictable
Repeatable
Scalable
Growth
GTM Fit =
Momentum

GTM Fit is a real-world journey

Advice for early enterprise startups
Successful startups: Re-invent 4x
PM Fit is not enough: Find GTM-Fit
The CEO & Leaders: Must Unlearn

…and most importantly
Know that you are not alone

Survive well
Thrive well
Good luck!

THANK YOU!
www.survivaltothrival.com
linkedin.com/in/survivaltothrival/facebook.com/S2Thrival/ @S2THRIVAL
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