How to Leverage Sales-Led GTM: Capitalising on the Pros and Conquering the Cons

In an earlier article, we discussed how a sales-led GTM strategy isn't suitable for every company. Specific criteria must be met to implement and grow using this strategy successfully. Moreover, it's crucial for company leadership to fully understand the implications of choosing to pursue sales-driven growth.

This article examines the pros and cons companies should note when pondering whether to start with sales-led GTM.

Pros of Sales-Led GTM

1. High Average Deal Size:
   Sales-led companies can effectively target larger businesses and enterprises that require comprehensive support and guidance during their decision-making process. In a sales-led model, it is possible to close smaller deals, but the deals should usually be bigger than those customers purchase independently.
2. Enhanced Customer Engagement and Relationships:
   Sales-led strategies enable direct interactions with customers, facilitating a deep understanding of their needs and allowing companies to tailor offerings accordingly. This leads to strong customer relationships, improved customer experience, and even increased customer lifetime value.
3. Control Over the Sales Process:
   The sales-led approach allows companies to quickly fine-tune their sales tactics and strategies in response to customer feedback, product updates, and market changes, similar to those companies in the founder-led sales model. Sales-led models provide transparent metrics for evaluating performance, such as the amount of sales activities, sales cycle, and customer acquisition costs, making forecasting future sales possible.
4. Targeted Sales Activities:
   This one is undoubtedly related to the above but significant enough to mention on its own. With a sales-led approach, the sales team selects which potential customers to spend time and effort on. Concentrating on prospects that match the company's offering should lead to elevated win rates and, in the long term, high customer retention. The sales team builds a well-informed customer base through product demos, sales materials, and crucial product sheets.
5. Personalised Onboarding and Customer Support:
   Unlike product-led growth companies, where customers may self-navigate through onboarding, sales-led companies often assign a dedicated representative to guide new customers. The approach with personal support helps new users understand the product better, addresses any immediate questions, and personalises the onboarding experience, leading to a more satisfying customer experience and customer loyalty.

The sales-led approach lets companies quickly fine-tune their sales tactics and strategies in response to customer feedback, product updates, and market changes.

Cons of Sales-Led GTM

1. Higher Costs:
   In sales-led GTM, a large amount of capital is invested in the growth driver: the sales team. To drive growth, the sales team requires significant investment, including salaries, bonuses, training, support, and enablement, all contributing to higher customer acquisition costs.
2. Longer Sales Cycles:
   Unlike in product-led growth, the offering in sales-led GTM is not as self-explanatory and won't sell itself. The amount of money the customer is asked to part ways with is usually high, so multiple rounds of discussions and decision-making will be required. A sales dialogue starting this week can easily take weeks and sometimes years, impacting cash flow and revenue growth.
3. Scalability Challenges:
   Sales-led growth can face scalability issues as the business grows and expands. This model relies heavily on sales personnel's abilities to close deals, so the comings and goings of individual account executives can have a noticeable impact on business results. In addition, to grow, the company needs to have access to new skilled sales professionals and a system to nurture talent in-house. These aspects make sales-led GTM less flexible than a product-led strategy.

In conclusion, while a sales-led GTM strategy offers numerous advantages, such as improved customer relationships and better control over the sales process, it also comes with challenges like higher costs and potential scalability issues.

Companies must carefully consider these factors to determine if a sales-led approach aligns with their long-term business goals.