#14 The First Four Quarters
I was reviewing my notes from my first year building a sales organization and realized I failed a lot. Like a lot.
I eked out some success and avoided getting gas-piped.
What struck me was that the majority of potentially fatal mistakes occurred when I was suckered into “playbook thinking.”
What is playbook thinking you may ask? Well, no disrespect to VCs, but it’s when you, as an operator, implement “best practices” developed by investors who’ve never operated a day in their life.
Blindly implementing these sales playbooks, without lean experimentation, is a recipe for disaster.
Sandler, PLG, MEDDICC - all of these buzzy GTM playbooks have a shelf-life. Not to say they aren’t useful, but they aren’t right for every company, and over time they become less effective.
What’s valuable in here then?
My objective was to write a concise guide contextualizing where the focus should be when designing hypotheses and running experiments, during each of the first 4 quarters.
The key here is that the scientific method is a timeless principle, will always work and is applicable for any industry (not just tech).
I won’t guarantee you will make zero mistakes, but you will minimize them and develop the right combination of GTM strategies, informed by market data, that will result in an optimized revenue engine for your company.
It’s $40…like $10 a quarter + 3 bonus sections…
If you’re not yet ready to buy, feel free to subscribe below.