Hot Take: AI Ain’t the only answer!

🌶️ Hot Take: AI Ain’t the only answer!

GTM workflows are inundated with AI tools and automation, but the old school basics are just as important as ever. In this vein, a few key aspects of the GTM process come to mind:

• Personalization
• True storytelling
• CRM hygiene

1:1 messages, sending merch with handwritten notes, phone calls, voicemail, asking for referrals, customer surveys - many of these foundational principles of GTM motion are going to the wayside in the pursuit of scale and efficiency.

While personalization can be automated and scaled through AI tools, it is of utmost importance for GTM teams to spend a substantial effort researching top prospects. Spending cycles following news, company posts, and the competitive landscape of prospects should be a priority for all members of the customer facing GTM team. Using this research in initial outreach, follow-up messages, sales decks, and even social posts can be a huge assist in cutting through the noise and clutter of bot-toned messages that we see every day.

Nothing can replace talking to customers and getting to the heart of why your solution is a fit for their environment. Understanding specific priorities and business needs is often the result of many conversations across a variety of customers and decision makers. By conducting research with this lens, early-stage GTM teams can create content that resonates and meaningful campaigns that convert. Teams should leverage AI tools where appropriate, but primary research to understand how a product or solution will impact a business is irreplaceable.

While AI tools can be instrumental in surfacing relevant contacts and titles within an organization, successfully mapping an account requires an understanding of relationship dynamics between teams and the priorities of executive teams. Matching this intel with content and storytelling that motivates buying decisions is an art and science, a blend of data and a passion for understanding the customer at a visceral level.

Detailed documentation of each interaction within the CRM also goes a long way toward communicating a particular prospect's sentiment, role in the purchase decision, and personality preferences that can move the relationship forward. Automation may generate thorough recaps from meetings and calls, but drafting a personal note to add in the human context of these interactions is crucial for the broader team to gather cues as to how a particular customer views the solution being offered or how they might weigh deal-related specifics like implementation time or alternative solutions.

These are just a few examples of why AI isn’t always the answer as GTM teams launch new products, refine messaging, and lead customers through the process of making important purchase decisions. While automation and AI will certainly accelerate and augment the GTM process, it is important to remember that buying decisions are made when there is a shared understanding of a problem and solutions, and these fundamentals help GTM teams establish that common ground.