SaaStr Workshop Wednesdays 5 Steps to Build Your First GTM Playbook with Stage 2 Capital Speaker: Mandy Cole, Partner at Stage 2 Capital

1. 5 Steps to Build your First GTM
Playbook
Mandy Cole
Partner
Stage 2 Capital

2. Modern sales teams build a process that supports the
buyer’s journey
Legacy Sales Teams
Design sales process from inside out
Modern Sales
Teams
Design sales process from outside in

3. Step 1: Identify your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)
Ideal Customer Profile Matrix
Criteria Green Yellow Red
Marketing Qualified Lead
Industry / Vertical
Size
Geography
Systems / Technology Used
Green - Target and sell
Yellow - Do not target - inbound only
Red - Disqualify. Do not sell.

4. Step 2: Define your Buyer’s Journey

5. Buyer’s Journey — OpenTable Example
Awareness Consideration Decision Success
What are the buyer’s
top challenges or
goals?
1. Reach new
customers
2. Improve repeat
customer bookings
3.Optimize capacity
What other options
do they investigate?
1. Toast
2. Touchbistro
3. Tableo
4. Pen & Paper
What is the criteria
they will use to
evaluate?
1. Integrates with POS
2. Access to new
customers
3. Usage-based pricing.
What is the timing?
90 days
How will they measure
success?
1. Acquire new
customers
2. More tables filled
3. Growth in Sales
Buyer: GM or Operations Manager
Role: Decision Maker, sometimes User
Complete the questions below for the buyer.

6. Step 3: Develop guides to support the Buyer’s Journey

7. Example: Discovery Guide
Step Objective Example Questions
1. Build Rapport /
Set Agenda
Get buy in from buyer on the call agenda &
set expectations for next steps
2. Awareness Understand buyer’s current situation and
challenges
3. Consideration Understand other options buyer has/is
considering, used in the past, and their
vision of the future state, as well as how
they will measure success.
4. Decision Understand the consequences to the buyer
if they cannot resolve the challenge.
Reconfirm criteria & timing.
5. Recap & Next
Steps
Recap their challenge and how you can
solve it, understand purchase process &
agree on next steps.

8. Step 4: Align your sales process to the Buyer’s Journey

9. Example: Opportunity Process
Stage Name Discovery Presentation Consideration Decision
Closed
(Won or Lost)
Probability 15% 30% 50% 75% 100% or 0%
Goals ●Customer verifies need
●Confirm Qualification
●Identify stakeholders
●Agree on process
● DM / key
stakeholders attend
presentation
● Agree on evaluation
criteria and timing
● Identify buying
process steps
● Agree on success
metrics
● Agree on proposal /
agreement terms
● Complete the purchasing
process
● Introduce onboarding / CS
● Successfully
transition to
onboarding / CS
● Payment received
Buyer Actions /
Exit Criteria
● Client attends
Discovery call
● Client acknowledges
problem / pain
● DM attends call
● Client verifies
buying process
● Client agrees to
next steps
● Client attends
proposal call
● Client gives verbal
yes
● Client has accepted
contract
● Client sends contract to
legal or procurement
● Client accepts onboarding
kickoff
● Client signs
agreement
● Client submits
payment
AE Key
Activities
● AE scheduled
meeting / sends
agenda
● AE sends follow up /
mutual eval email
● Customize demo
based on discovery
use cases
● Get info for
proposal
● Schedule f/u call
● Draft and review
proposal
● Schedule remaining
steps to decision
(legal, purchasing,
etc)
● Draft and review agreement
/ internal sign off
● Agreement and
documentation in CRM
● Onboarding scheduled
● Implementation
Kickoff call
● Check in / ask for
referrals
Outcome Mutual Eval Plan Agreement on next
steps
Finalize proposal Signed agreement Onboarded

10. Step 5: Measure & Iterate
UPDATE
Make changes to your
playbook to keep it up
to date
MEASURE
● Data
● Film
● Customer
Feedback
OPTIMIZE
Test a change with
yourself or a subset of
the team
QUARTERLY

11. Key Takeaways
● Your sales playbook and process should be defined by your buyer’s journey.
● By using the buyer’s journey framework, you can identify when you are aligned and
misaligned with your buyer, and how to differentiate yourself when you are aligned.
● Your sales playbook should including four guides: prospecting, discovery, presentation
and customer success to standardize how your team moves a buyer through the journey
while focusing on spending more time understanding the customer’s pain points vs.
“pitching”.
● Run film reviews to continue to optimize your playbooks and incorporate best practices.
● Customize your CRM stages to align to the buyer journey with entry and exit criteria that
is driven by the buyer’s actions, not just your sales rep’s actions.

12. Download our Guide & GTM Playbook @
stage2.capital

13. Thank You