On October 11th, I presented the GoToEco Framework in the amazing GTM Games competition - see my 6-minute presentation starting at 2:30. This column builds on that session, providing a commentary on how to present the case for GoToEco - slides below - to a CRO or salesperson.
The goal is to get your CRO to play and to invest money in driving an Efficient, Predictable, Scalable revenue and LTV growth engine leveraging partner joint solutions.
Here’s the summary pitch:
- Problem - B2B SaaS GTM Needs New Blood
- Why a Direct GTM Won’t Solve the Problem
- GoToEco Brings Joint Solutions (as Products) to Market
- GoToEco Joint Solutions Require CO-X (Build, Market, Sell and Retain)
- GoToEco (with Joint Solutions) Outperforms Direct GTM
- GoToEco for CROs - New Logos and LTV STARS
B2B SaaS GTM needs new blood
Direct GTM is in trouble. CAC is increasing. Outbound is less effective. Cookies are scheduled to go away, and 53% of committed deals are not closing (Source: Gong). Part of the problem is that Direct GTMs try to push past buyers’ desire to leverage their Ecosystems for advice and direction. Most buyers don’t want to speak to a salesperson, but would rather buy inside of their Ecosystem. And finally, most CROs must figure out how to address these challenges and grow without adding additional headcount.
Why is direct GTM so sick?
Most B2BSaaS company GTMs attempt to sell parts directly to an ICP. Only two things are wrong with this approach:
- Customers want advice from their trusted partners and committees - their Ecosystem.
- Customers want to buy solutions, not parts.
Why not borrow the influence from your ICP’s Sphere of Influence, depicted by the blue circle above? Taking a GoToEco approach literally means going to the ecosystem that your ICP trusts, period.
GoToEco brings joint solutions (as products) to market
The heart of the GoToEco model is partnering with members of your ICP’s Ecosystem and building joint solutions (as products) and bringing those solutions to market with the partner. The good news today is that many B2BSaaS companies already have key tech partnerships and integrations. The bad news is that in most instances these solutions are not ready for market as they often lack product readiness (validation, use cases, stories, campaigns), and even more importantly they are not aligned to sales, marketing, and customer success.
GoToEco joint solutions require CO-X
A year ago, we introduced the Co-X model to relate GoToEco Co-Build with Product, Co-Marketing with marketing, etc. The Co-X demonstrates that creating joint solutions is more than a CRO exercise, CPOs need to be on board to support the "product side" of joint solutions just as CROs get on board to support the marketing, sales, and success side of GoToEco.
GoToEco (with joint solutions) outperforms direct GTM
GoToEco joint solutions outperform direct GTM stats. Extole reports that Referred business has a 70% higher conversion rate. And, when joint solutions are sold into partner accounts (to create sourced revenue outcomes) they close 50% faster (source: Freshworks), and at a 34% higher ACV according to data from Census. CROs and CMOs cannot ignore these kinds of metrics which allow for the same or higher revenue and LTV growth based on far fewer resources, aka, grow the business without adding headcount or additional opex!
GoToEco for CROs–New logos and LTV stars
This analysis introduces the concept of STARS (Sourced Total Available Revenue and Success). Joint solutions should certainly become the STARS of the CRO show given the benefits created:
- Leveraging the trust built by partners in target accounts. By marketing to a partner’s customer, joint solutions invoke all the metrics from the previous graphic and sell to an ICP who wants to buy a solution that integrates and extends what they already own and trust.
- Allowing CMOs to prioritize target accounts and calculate the TAR (Total Addressable Revenues) that can be sourced through demand generation and referrals into a partner’s customer base.
- Giving reciprocal benefits to the VP of Customer Success or Chief Customer Officer who drives referrals to partners (generating their TAR) and thereby gaining the benefit of greater integration adoption, lower churn, and higher NRR.
Simply put, CROs have to look to the STARS and transform their broken direct GTMs. In the process, they can give customers what they are desperate for end-to-end solutions marketed, sold, and supported by partners they trust. This is the essence of GoToEco for CROs.
If you’re interested in the cool exchanges and gameplay that Julia and Justin are driving at Hypcccycl, check out GTM Games!
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