What is go-to-market?

What is go-to-market?
Thereās a famous saying in philosophical circles, āeducation is the kindling of a flameā¦ā The saying comes from one of the great Greek thinkers, Socrates.
It means that learning opens your mind up to possibilities, and by doing so, sparks curiosity.
A few months ago, Sangram Vajre, CEO and Co-Founder of GTM Partners, shared the moment he realized he had gotten go-to-market wrong. That moment led him to found GTM Partners and research the go-to-market problem and its possible solutions.
āI realized go-to-market is way bigger than I originally thought. Itās not a product launch. Itās not product marketing.ā
Almost two years later, he and Lindsay Cordell, Partner at GTM Partners,joined us at the Nearbound Summit to share what their research is teaching them.
.avif)
Lots of B2B professionals still see go-to-market as just one thing, so itās important to educate the whole industry,
āGo to market isnāt just one thing. Itās a whole bunch of things that drive your business forward.ā
Click here to watch the recording and get the slides.
And keep reading to see GTM Partnersā stats on partner-led growth.
Collaborative growth: build faster, with higher margins
People think you need to compromise between speed and margin. What they donāt understand is that āyou can do both IF you leverage partnerships.ā
Peter Caputa, CEO of Databox and the man behind HubSpotās partner program, responsible for growing the program from $0 to $130 million ARR, shared a concept last week he calls collaborative growth.
Collaborative growth is a new way of partnering that focuses on your partnerās business, not yours.
.avif)
When a company decides theyāre going to run nearbound plays, often their first undertaking is sales-related. Thatās not collaborative growth.
Instead of reaching for the highest-hanging fruit (reselling) which naturally incentivizes short-term thinking, collaborative growth encourages companies start with co-marketing.
3 Steps to Successful Collaborative Growth
Step one: co-marketing
Find your superfans (they already exist!) and make them famous. Include them in your marketing efforts ā podcasts, newsletters, research, content.
Step two: enable a business model for partners
Help your partners build a business around your product. Itās not about them re-selling your product. Itās about them selling a service that is enabled by your product.
Step three: customer impact
Your company strategy must have a collaborative growth mindset that puts partners before your short-term interests. Most companies measure software sales and retention. Instead, measure your partnersā customer impact.

Listen to the full recording and get session slides.
Stats on nearbound impact
Research across the industry shows that efficiency exists inside of a nearbound motion.
Take a look at these numbers Sangram and Lindsay shared in their session at the Nearbound Summit.

Download slides here.
Stuff you donāt want to miss!
- Enroll before November 14th āPXP Academy Partner Manager Certification Courseā Join the interactive learning session that equips you with everything you need to be successful in your daily job as an operational Partner person. Register here.
- November 16th āElevate Your Presale GTM with Tech Partnersā Learn from industry experts like Kelly Sarabyn (HubSpot), Jared Fuller (nearbound.com and Reveal), Sunir Shah (AppBind), and Alexander Buckles (Forecastable). Evolve your GTM strategy with tech partners. Register here.
- Enroll by November 17th āFirneoās Mastering Partnerships Strategy (4-week course)ā Registration is now open! Learn how to diagnose and solve your partner programās biggest challenges from the worldās top partnership leaders. Use the code "NEARBOUND" for a 1:1 Strategy Coaching package (worth $1,000) for FREE. Enroll (or check out a free preview) here
Itās not your departmentās fault!
Share this with someone who needs to know ā every department is struggling. Itās not a departmental problem, itās a go-to-market problem. And weāre going to solve it, together!