GTM Live Podcast Summary

Episode: Why Your GTM Strategy Isn’t Working (Hint: Attribution, Data, and Unit Economics)
Release Date: April 10, 2025
Hosts: Carolyn Dilks & Trevor Gibson
Produced by: Passetto

Introduction and Transition of Hosts

In this inaugural episode under the new hosting duo, Carolyn Dilks and Trevor Gibson take the helm of GTM Live, marking a significant transition from the original host, Chris Walker. Carolyn highlights the evolution of Passetto over the past year, emphasizing their collaboration with over 50 SaaS companies ranging from $10 million to $200 million ARR. This episode sets the stage for dissecting common flaws in Go-to-Market (GTM) strategies observed across their clientele.

Passetto’s Journey and Mission

Trevor Gibson delves into his professional background, transitioning from traditional IT to Marketing Ops and ultimately Revenue Ops. He explains Passetto's inception as a response to the limitations he observed while working with Refine Labs, specifically targeting operational data measurement and GTM architecture.

Trevor [03:02]: "I want to help solve the business problem that a lot of you have with the right technology, with the right processes, the right data."

Carolyn Dilks complements Trevor's overview by providing a comprehensive 30,000-foot view of Passetto. She describes the company as a hybrid of SaaS and advisory services, focused on unifying financial and revenue data within CRM systems to generate actionable GTM KPIs. This approach aims to eliminate unnecessary metrics and provide clear insights into unit economics, efficiency, and sustainable growth.

Carolyn [11:14]: "We can't optimize go to market or your go to market strategy without first sort of like zooming out and looking at critical core go to market KPIs."

Core GTM Challenges: KPIs and Efficiency

Carolyn and Trevor discuss the foundational KPIs essential for evaluating GTM strategies, including growth rate, churn, retention, and net revenue retention. They emphasize the importance of go-to-market efficiency, often referred to as the cost of growth, which measures the total spend against pipeline generation and new logo acquisition.

Carolyn [15:26]: "I would say like 90% of the time or greater is that their go to market efficiency is not great. They're spending 2, 3, 4x what they should to produce pipeline and new logo revenue and they really don't know why."

Trevor adds that while measuring true ROI is challenging, focusing on the efficiency ratio allows companies to assess their spending relative to growth outcomes effectively.

Attribution Issues in GTM Strategy

A substantial portion of the discussion critiques the prevalent use of single-touch attribution models (e.g., first-touch or last-touch) in setting targets and measuring performance. Carolyn asserts that relying solely on single-touch attribution is fundamentally flawed and often leads to misinformed strategic decisions.

Carolyn [17:51]: "Single touch attribution used to set targets to directly measure marketing or sales performance on its own will fail you every time."

Trevor reinforces this by highlighting the pitfalls of attributing credit solely to either sales or marketing, advocating for a layered attribution approach that accounts for multiple interactions throughout the buyer’s journey.

Trevor [21:21]: "We need to know it all."

Data Architecture and Unified Pipeline

Addressing the backbone of effective GTM strategies, Carolyn and Trevor emphasize the critical role of data architecture. They point out that many organizations suffer from fragmented data systems, leading to "GTM blindness" where it's impossible to discern what's working and what's not.

Carolyn [28:46]: "Every company has had shitty data. And the number one thing across all of them is contact to opportunity associations."

Trevor discusses the importance of signal data—interactions and engagements that help map out the buyer’s journey. He underscores the necessity of connecting these signals to both prospecting activities and opportunity outcomes to create a comprehensive measurement stack.

Trevor [28:46]: "You have to know it all."

Ownership of RevOps and GTM Strategy

A heated debate emerges regarding who should own Revenue Operations (RevOps) and GTM strategy within organizations. Carolyn argues against placing the RevOps burden on marketing leaders, emphasizing that marketing should focus on strategic and creative functions rather than operational data management.

Carolyn [37:43]: "I think it is irresponsible and unproductive to put that [RevOps] on a marketer."

Trevor concurs, advocating for a dedicated RevOps role that possesses a holistic understanding of GTM dynamics. He warns against the common pitfall of having Sales Ops individuals handle RevOps without the necessary cross-functional expertise.

Trevor [40:24]: "RevOps is meant to be like go to market Ops. It has to be someone that really does understand all the moving parts."

Audience Q&A and Practical Recommendations

The hosts address audience questions, particularly focusing on convincing C-suite executives about the inefficacy of siloed measurements in GTM strategies.

Trevor recommends framing the conversation around financial impact to resonate with executive priorities.

Trevor [41:31]: "Tying it back to dollars gets everyone's attention."

Carolyn reflects on the importance of building strong relationships with financial leaders early on to bridge the gap between marketing initiatives and financial accountability.

Carolyn [43:51]: "Establish a better, tighter relationship with the CFO and FP and a team from day one."

Conclusion and Future Directions

Wrapping up the episode, Carolyn and Trevor express their commitment to evolving the GTM Live format by incorporating guest speakers and expanding the discussion to cover more nuanced aspects of GTM strategies. They invite listener feedback to tailor the show to the community's needs.

Key Takeaways

1. Unified Data Architecture is Essential: Effective GTM strategies hinge on a robust, unified data system that accurately maps interactions to revenue outcomes.
2. Move Beyond Single-Touch Attribution: Relying solely on first-touch or last-touch attribution models leads to incomplete and skewed insights.
3. RevOps Requires Dedicated Leadership: RevOps should be managed by individuals with a comprehensive understanding of GTM operations, not just by sales or marketing ops specialists.
4. Focus on Core GTM KPIs: Before delving into tactical marketing or sales strategies, establish and monitor foundational KPIs such as growth rate, churn, and go-to-market efficiency.
5. Financial Alignment: Building strong relationships with financial executives can facilitate better integration of marketing efforts with overall business objectives.

This episode of GTM Live provides a critical examination of common pitfalls in GTM strategies, emphasizing the need for comprehensive data integration and sophisticated attribution models. Carolyn and Trevor offer actionable insights for Revenue Leaders seeking to optimize their go-to-market efforts for sustained growth and efficiency.