Key takeaways
- The go-to-market strategy template covers ten decisions, from commercial targets and your ideal customer profile (ICP) to pricing, retention and performance reviews.
- Blank answers or answers without supporting evidence reveal gaps. Rank these by their likely impact on your targets for the period, to decide which to tackle first.
- Summarise the ten decisions on one page and set three to five priorities for the period. Give each priority a named owner, a measure of success and a date to review progress.
- If several gaps emerge, agree the strategy first so that processes and hiring support a clear direction. Then address the gap that most limits progress on the others.
A go-to-market (GTM) strategy can include channels, sales targets and a marketing calendar and still fall short on revenue. Questions about who you sell to, how you price, how leads move between teams and how you measure results may remain unresolved. The go-to-market strategy template below helps your team answer those questions, test the answers against evidence and agree when to review them.
This go-to-market plan template is for founders of B2B companies with around £1 million to £3 million in revenue, where growth is driven by sales and the founder remains closely involved in commercial decisions.
The GTM strategy template. 10 decisions to make
Work through the template with the people responsible for sales, marketing and customer success. Involve finance in pricing decisions and your salespeople in defining the sales process.
1. Current position and commercial targets
If teams use different figures, performance reviews can become arguments about lead quality or sales follow-up. Agreeing and recording a baseline before the plan starts gives everyone the same starting point for measuring progress.
How to complete the template
- Record this year’s commercial targets alongside the latest actual results for each measure. Include the measurement date and period, and compare them with the equivalent figures from last year.
- Export the last 20 to 30 closed-lost deals and the closed-won deals from the same period. Note where deals slowed or were lost, using the reasons recorded.
- Export your open pipeline, including each deal’s stage, days in that stage, last activity date and agreed next step. Flag deals with no next step or no activity within a timeframe agreed by the team.
- List the commercial decisions that needed founder approval last quarter. Note whether anyone else had the authority to make them.
Template output
| Field | Your answer |
| Commercial targets this year | |
| Current baseline for each target, with measurement date and period | |
| Stages where deals stall | |
| Main reasons recorded on lost deals | |
| Open deals with no next step or recent activity | |
| Decisions that wait for the founder because nobody else is authorised | |
| Evidence and source, such as CRM exports and the date each was taken | |
| Who is responsible for the targets, and their review date |
2. Market and ICP
Your ideal customer profile describes the companies you can win profitably and retain. Early customers often come through the founder’s network, but they may not represent the best fit for future growth. Build your ICP around evidence of who buys, stays and expands, alongside what it costs to serve them.
How to complete it
- Export your customer list, including industry, company size, contract value, buying trigger and renewal or expansion history. Add gross margin, onboarding effort and ongoing support effort where available. Mark customers as expanded, retained or lost, keeping those not yet due for renewal separate.
- Export your open pipeline, including industry, company size, proposed contract value, buying trigger, stage, days in stage and last activity date. Include renewal or expansion history where the opportunity relates to an existing customer.
- Compare segments by retention, expansion, gross margin and delivery effort. Use the won and lost deals from section 1 to compare win rates and sales cycles. Check whether slow-moving opportunities suggest a poor fit or simply a longer buying process. If your customer base is small, treat apparent patterns as assumptions to test.
- Agree the criteria sales will use to disqualify prospects. Turn each into a question for the first call, such as “Who will run the project day to day?”
Template output
| Field | Your answer |
| Priority segments this year | |
| Segments left for later | |
| ICP criteria, such as industry, company size, and buying trigger | |
| Commercial fit by segment i.e. gross margin, delivery effort, win rate, and sales cycle | |
| Disqualification criteria | |
| Evidence and source, including customer records, delivery-cost data, and won, lost, and open opportunities, with the date checked | |
| Owner and review date |
For example, a software company might target UK logistics firms with 50 to 200 staff that have outgrown spreadsheet-based scheduling. A prospect without a named operations lead would fail its qualification criteria.
3. Positioning
Positioning helps buyers understand why they should choose your business over the alternatives. If the difference is unclear, the conversation can narrow to features that competitors can readily match.
How to complete it
- Interview customers in your priority segments who bought during the same period as the closed-lost deals reviewed in section one. Record, in their words, the problem they needed to solve, its impact and the alternatives they used or considered.
- Review the reasons recorded for lost deals and stalled opportunities. Note where price or competitors’ features influenced the decision.
- Compare these findings with the claims on your website and in your sales deck. Mark which claims have supporting evidence and which still need it.
- Draft a positioning statement that explains who you serve, the problem you solve, the alternatives buyers consider and what sets you apart. List any proof still needed and assign someone to secure each piece.
Template output
| Field | Your answer |
| Target customer (ICP) | |
| Problem the business solves | |
| Main alternatives buyers use | |
| What sets the approach apart | |
| Proof still needed, with who secures each piece and by when | |
| Evidence and source for each claim, such as interview notes, closed lost reasons, and case studies | |
| Who is responsible for the positioning, and its review date |
4. Messaging
Messaging turns your positioning into the words teams use with buyers and customers, from the website and sales deck to onboarding. Members of a buying committee may care about different outcomes, such as reducing risk or saving time. Keep the core proposition consistent, while adapting the emphasis and examples to each person’s priorities.
How to complete it
- Draft your core proposition using the language customers used in interviews to describe their problem and the outcome they bought.
- Write a line for each member of the buying committee explaining the outcome that matters most to them.
- Gather recurring objections from open-opportunity call notes and closed-lost deals. Agree how the team will respond to each.
- Test the core proposition by using it consistently across calls. Review buyer feedback and first-call-to-opportunity conversion at agreed intervals. Assess win rates once those opportunities have had time to close, and record when you make significant changes to the messaging.
Template output
| Field | Your answer |
| Core proposition, with the problem, the result, and the proof | |
| Result that matters most to each committee member | |
| Top objections and agreed responses | |
| Where the message must appear, such as the website, deck, proposal, and onboarding | |
| Evidence and source, such as interview notes and win and loss reasons | |
| Owner and review date |
5. Pricing and packaging
Pricing connects what buyers pay with the value they expect, such as lower costs or increased revenue. Packaging sets out the features, services, usage limits and support they receive. Both need to suit how customers buy, married with what you can deliver profitably.
How to complete it
- Export the closed-won deals from the period reviewed in section one. Include the package, list price, discount, who approved it, and payment, contract and renewal terms. Add estimated delivery costs where available. Compare by segment, deal size and salesperson to see where discounting is concentrated and which packages put pressure on margins.
- List open proposals with their current package, price, discount and terms. Flag those awaiting approval and note whether the requested changes affect delivery costs or margins.
- Review lost deals and stalled proposals where price was cited as a barrier. Check the notes for evidence of whether the issue was affordability, perceived value or the package itself.
- Define each package’s inclusions, exclusions, usage limits, support and additional charges, along with the segments it serves. Check expected delivery costs and target gross margin before setting standard prices and discount limits. Record who can approve discounts, what you ask for in return and when a deal needs escalation.
Template output
| Field | Your answer |
| Pricing model | |
| Packages, including inclusions, exclusions, usage limits, support, and additional charges | |
| Which package fits each segment | |
| Expected delivery cost and target gross margin for each package | |
| Payment, contract, and renewal terms | |
| What the business asks for in return for a discount | |
| Discount each role can approve | |
| How often discounts are given, and how large they are, by salesperson and deal type | |
| Evidence and source, such as closed won and lost exports and the date each was taken | |
| Who is responsible for pricing, and its review date |
6. GTM motion
The GTM motion describes how buyers find your business, assess your offer and decide to buy. In a sales-led business, it connects marketing, sales and any partners involved in that journey. If this knowledge sits mainly with the founder, new salespeople can inherit a pipeline without knowing what brought buyers in or what they need to move forward.
How to complete it
- Use CRM records and customer interviews to map how recent customers found your business, assessed the offer and signed a contract. Record who was involved, what marketing, sales and any partners contributed, and how long each step took.
- Compare these journeys with lost deals and open opportunities at each stage. Look for large differences in time spent at a stage between salespeople, and check whether these reflect different sales processes or buyer circumstances.
- Define what the buyer must have done before a deal can move to the next stage, such as confirming a budget or involving the right stakeholders.
- List the materials salespeople need at each stage, such as first-call questions or a proposal template. Flag deals that still rely on the founder to progress, and record why.
Template output
| Field | Your answer |
| Pipeline stages | |
| Route to purchase, including discovery, evaluation, and the roles of marketing, sales, and partners | |
| What the buyer must have done to move to the next stage | |
| Time in stage for won, lost, and open deals | |
| Materials needed at each stage | |
| Deals that still need the founder to move forward | |
| Evidence and source, such as the deal exports and the date each was taken | |
| Owner and review date |
7. Channels
Assess channels over time. Buyer feedback and engagement from target accounts can give you early signals. Qualified opportunities, conversion and the quality of customers won take longer to assess. Give each channel enough budget, time and team attention to test its intended role. Only test as many at once as you can properly support.
How to complete it
- For won, lost and open opportunities in the review period, record the first known contact, significant interactions and the recorded opportunity source. Note whether each detail comes from the CRM or the buyer, and flag gaps in the history.
- Ask customers whose deals closed in that period where they first heard of your business and who they consulted before buying.
- Combine the CRM records with customer feedback. Compare channel spend, team time, qualified opportunities, conversion and customer quality over comparable periods. Identify whether each channel creates demand, captures existing demand or does both. Treat the findings as indications rather than definitive attribution as several interactions can influence a deal, and records rarely capture the full journey. Choose a focused mix that fits your budget and team capacity.
- Give each chosen channel an owner and a budget. Agree what results would justify continued investment, what would prompt you to stop, and when you will review the evidence.
Template output
| Field | Your answer |
| Chosen channels | |
| Job of each channel (demand creation, demand capture, or both) | |
| Early indicators and commercial outcomes used to assess each channel | |
| Person responsible and budget for each channel | |
| Result that justifies continued investment | |
| Result that would stop it | |
| Date by which results are judged | |
| Channels to pause or stop | |
| Evidence behind each choice, including CRM records, customer answers, spend, and known limitations |
8. Handoffs and definitions
A handoff is when responsibility for a buyer moves between teams, such as from marketing to sales or sales to customer success. Without a clear owner, leads can sit without follow-up and customer expectations can get lost. A handoff record sets out what the receiving team needs and who is responsible for the next step.
How to complete it
- Compare how marketing and sales currently define a lead and a sales-qualified opportunity. Agree one shared definition for each.
- Check how many qualified leads, including those still in the pipeline, waited longer than the agreed timeframe for a recorded sales follow-up.
- For customers who signed during the period reviewed in section one, check whether their expected outcomes and success milestones were recorded in the CRM before onboarding began.
- Create a short record for each handoff. For a new lead, include its source, context and likely use case. For a signed customer, include expected outcomes and success milestones. Name the receiving owner and make the completed record a required CRM step before responsibility transfers.
Template output
| Field | Your answer |
| Definition of a lead | |
| Definition of a sales-qualified opportunity | |
| Information passed with each new lead, such as source, context, and likely use case | |
| Agreed response time for a new lead | |
| What the handoff record must include when the contract is signed, such as expected outcomes and success milestones | |
| Evidence and source, such as lead response times from the CRM and the date checked | |
| Person responsible for each handoff, and review date |
9. Retention and expansion
Renewals protect the revenue you’ve already won, while expansion grows it. Warning signs, such as falling usage or the loss of a key contact, can appear well before renewal. If you only track renewal dates, you may not discover a problem until the renewal conversation.
How to complete it
- For each ICP segment, define the first result a customer should see and how soon after signing they should see it. Base this on the outcomes agreed in the proposal.
- Review customers who left or reduced their spend during the period covered in section one. Identify when the first warning sign appeared and how long it took for someone to act.
- Check customers whose renewals fall before the next quarterly review. Flag any already showing signs of risk.
- Record renewal risks and expansion signals in the CRM, with a named owner and an agreed response time for each. Set when renewal conversations should begin, and act sooner if warning signs appear.
Template output
| Field | Your answer |
| First result each ICP segment should see, and how soon after signing | |
| Renewal risk signals, such as declining usage, unresolved support tickets, or the loss of a main contact | |
| Expansion signals, such as more users, wider use of features, or more stakeholders involved | |
| Person responsible and response time for each signal | |
| Planned start of the renewal conversation and triggers for earlier intervention | |
| Accounts at risk now | |
| Evidence and source, such as usage data, support tickets, and churn records, with the date checked |
10. Metrics, bets and review cadence
Revenue and closed-won deals reflect earlier work. If you judge the plan only on those results, problems can build before you spot them. Leading indicators, such as stage conversion and time spent in each stage, can give you an earlier warning.
A bet is a time-limited test of an assumption, with a fixed budget. Agree what would justify further investment and what would make you stop before launching it. Otherwise, spending can continue after the evidence no longer supports it.
How to complete it
- List the decisions made in leadership meetings last quarter and the figures used to support them. Identify which measured completed results and which provided an early signal.
- Check which pipeline signals reveal changes first, such as stage conversion, time in stage or deals without an agreed next step. Compare these with the outcomes of deals reviewed in section one, allowing for the time between an early signal and a final result.
- Give each metric an owner, a clear calculation and a threshold that triggers action. Record when you expect a useful early signal and how long you need to assess the outcome. Assess win rates once the relevant opportunities have had time to close. Measure retention over a defined period using the same group of customers.
- List spending that tests a new assumption, such as a new segment, channel or package. Before committing more money, record the assumption, budget, result needed to justify expansion, result that would trigger a stop and decision date.
- Agree two review schedules. At routine reviews, such as every fortnight, marketing, sales and customer success check leading indicators using one shared set of figures. Tests continue unless they reach an agreed stop threshold. At quarterly reviews and each test’s decision date, decide whether to expand, change or stop it. Assign an owner to carry out each decision.
For example, a business tests a partner channel with two software resellers for one quarter, with a £6,000 budget. Before launch, the team agrees to track how many ICP-fit introductions become sales-qualified opportunities. It also agrees to stop if there are no ICP-fit introductions by week six.
At fortnightly reviews, the team checks introductions and qualified opportunities in the CRM. At the quarterly review, it decides whether to expand, change or stop the test against the criteria agreed before launch. Win rates are assessed later, once those opportunities have had time to reach a decision.
Template output
| Field | Your answer |
| Leading indicators, and when each first signal appears | |
| Definition, assessment period, and relevant cohort for each outcome measure | |
| Person responsible and decision threshold for each metric | |
| Bets, each with the assumption tested, budget, expand result, stop result, and decision date | |
| Routine review, how often, and who attends | |
| Decision review dates, and who chairs them | |
| Status of each bet at the last review (continue, expand, change, or stop) | |
| Evidence and source, such as pipeline and CRM reports, with the date each was taken |
Choosing your next step
A completed GTM template may reveal several gaps. Trying to close them all at once can overstretch a small team, particularly where one decision depends on another.
Start by resolving the strategy: who you sell to, why they should choose you and how you communicate that value. This gives processes and commercial leadership a clear direction. Then tackle the gap that most limits progress elsewhere. Decisions about extra delivery capacity, technical reporting support or a permanent hire can be made alongside this work.
You can address each gap internally if someone has the time, experience and authority to do it. The table below outlines the internal route and when to consider outside help.
| Gap the template shows | Internal route | Outside help to consider |
| The ICP, positioning, messaging, or GTM priorities remain unresolved | The leadership team makes the strategic choices, with time set aside and customer evidence in hand | The 28-Day GTM Sprint, which diagnoses the gaps, settles the ICP, positioning, and messaging, and hands over a prioritised roadmap with a named person responsible for each priority |
| The strategy is clear, but processes, assets, handoffs, automation, retention, or reporting are missing | A named operations lead documents and builds them, with protected time for the work | The Founder-Free GTM System, which builds on the agreed strategy and adds the missing marketing assets, documented processes, automation, a mapped buyer journey, early warning signals and expansion triggers, and an executive dashboard showing who is responsible for each metric and what triggers a decision |
| The strategy and systems exist, but nobody senior takes responsibility for commercial performance | An existing senior leader takes on the role, with the authority to make commercial decisions | A Fractional CMO/GTM Lead, embedded part time, who takes accountability for agreed commercial performance and sets the decision rights so decisions no longer route through the founder |
| Senior leaders run delivery, but the founder or board needs an outside perspective on high-stakes decisions | An existing board member or trusted adviser | GTM & Board Advisory, which offers ongoing GTM advisory and, where the board needs it, a board advisory or non executive director (NED) role, without taking on delivery |
| The remaining problem is CRM configuration, data architecture, or technical reporting | An in-house systems lead, where one exists | A revenue operations (RevOps) specialist |
| The role’s responsibilities and ongoing workload justify a permanent leader | A permanent hire, building internal capability | A handover from any fractional leader who held the role, covering the frameworks in place and the schedule of reviews |
| Agreed work is delayed for lack of people or specialist skills, despite clear direction and ownership | A new hire, for work that will continue long term | An agency or freelancer, for specialist skills or work with a fixed end |
Turn the completed template into a GTM plan
Bring the agreed decisions from all ten sections together on one page. Keep the detailed answers and supporting evidence in the completed template, then work through these four steps.
- Flag blank answers and those based on opinion without supporting evidence. These are the gaps to address.
- Rank the gaps by their likely impact on your targets for the period.
- Set three to five priorities, each with a named owner, a measure of success and a date to review progress.
- Record what you are postponing, so new requests during the quarter can be assessed against the priorities you’ve agreed.
If the completed template does not show which gap to close first, book a call and bring the template with you. We’ll go through your answers together, agree where to start, and I will advise whether your team, one of my services, or another specialist is better placed to close the gap.