Why GTM fails and how to fix it at $7M, $39M, and even at $76M
It’s not your team that's failing—it’s that you're not using the right strategy for your stage. Learn the biggest mistakes companies make at each phase of go-to-market maturity.
Thanks for being one of over 175,000 forward-thinking GTM Leaders who subscribe to this weekly research note.
This week’s research note includes:
GTM Research: Why GTM fails and how to fix it at $7M, $39M, and even $76M
Spotlight: GTM Certified Partner Andrew Kappel with LeaderLev
Upcoming Events
Research: Why GTM fails and how to fix it at $7M, $39M, and even $76M
Most companies don’t fail because their product is bad.
They fail because they’re building the right thing—at the wrong time.
They’re scaling sales before they’ve found the right customer.
They’re launching ABM before they know who to target.
They’re hiring RevOps before there’s anything to operationalize.
It’s not a talent issue. It’s not a funding issue.
It’s a stage alignment issue.
That’s why GTM Partners built the MOVE Assessment: a simple tool to help teams diagnose their GTM maturity across three phases: Problem-Market Fit, Product-Market Fit, and Platform-Market Fit—a framework we call the 3 P’s.
If you or your team just completed the GTM assessment and you’re wondering,
“Now what?”—this is for you.
The 3 P’s of GTM Maturity (and Why They Matter)
Before you start analyzing your responses and we get into common pitfalls, it’s important to understand what the 3 P’s are really measuring:
1. Problem-Market Fit
You're still figuring out what problem you solve, for whom, and how they buy.
You’re likely experimenting with different types of customers, value props, and sales motions.
2. Product-Market Fit
You’ve found something repeatable. You’re selling the same product, in the same way, to the same kind of buyer—and they’re sticking around.
3. Platform-Market Fit
You’re scaling across products, geographies, and segments. Expansion and operational efficiency matter more than acquisition.
If your GTM strategy doesn’t match your maturity stage, it will fail—no matter how hard your team works or how good your product is.
Each stage has its own risks. Here's where GTM tends to break down—and what those breakdowns look like.
What Usually Goes Wrong at Each Stage
If You’re in Problem-Market Fit
This is the most fragile stage. The risk is scaling too soon.
Common traps:
No defined ICP or buyer journey
Custom everything—decks, contracts, messaging
Too many GTM motions, not enough proof of repeatability
Example: $7M ARR Company
Recently when we were weekly GTM advisory calls for a $7M ARR company their leadership team filled out the assessment.
Each dot represents a leader.
You can see the team is mostly aligned on the fact that they are in Problem-Market fit.
So why are they operating like a company in Product-Market fit when it comes to expansion? They are selling too many products to too many segments. They need to focus on narrowing down who they market to and what they’re selling them.
What to do instead:
Narrow your focus. Double down on what’s working. Avoid premature hiring or channel investments.
If You’re in Product-Market Fit
You’ve found traction—but might not be structured to support it.
Common traps:
Siloed departments still operating in startup mode
Too many target segments without clear prioritization
Tracking metrics like NRR without organizational readiness
Example: $37M ARR Company
In early 2025, we were doing a GTM workshop for a company in Product-Market fit with $37M in ARR. When we look at their assessment, what we see is they all mostly agree they are in product-market fit, with two exceptions. Their operations and metrics are lagging behind and are that of a much less mature company.
In order to level up and reach their potential, they need greater alignment with their stage.
What to do instead:
Align teams, standardize processes, and build scalable systems around your best-performing segments.
If You’re in Platform-Market Fit
You’re scaling—but scale creates complexity.
Common traps:
Not all products are mature, but being treated the same
Sales, marketing, and CS teams operate on different data and KPIs
Running ABM or expansion plays without understanding segment-level NRR or profitability
Example: $76M ARR Company
Finally, a fast growth company came to us for GTM advisory in Platform-Market fit has unique challenges. Because while the company overall might be in Platform-Market fit, you might have product lines, segments, or geographies that function in an earlier stage.
So you’re kind of in all three stages at once.
Overall, this company’s Executive Leadership Team said they were in Platform-Market fit.
But look at how all over the map they are when it comes to the MOVE framework.
What to do instead:
Segment your metrics. Align around shared outcomes. Optimize for efficiency and expansion—not just activity.
Most importantly, as ZoomInfo CEO Henry Schuck said, “the CEO must own GTM.”
The Goal: Clarity, Alignment, and Focus
This assessment isn’t a diagnosis—it’s a flashlight.
Use it to surface the conversations your team needs to have.
What parts of the business are working?
Where are we still guessing?
Are we acting like a Platform company when we’re still validating the Problem?
If the answers across your team are scattered, you’re not alone. That’s a sign of growth—but also a sign that it’s time to align.
How to Read Your GTM Assessment
The assessment gives you more than just a label—it’s a mirror.
Here’s how to use it to better understand your go-to-market reality:
1. Start With the Stage You Selected
Ask yourself: Does this stage truly reflect how we’re operating?
If you said Problem-Market Fit, do you have a clearly defined ICP and a single repeatable sales motion? If not, that stage is accurate.
If you said Product-Market Fit, can you sell the same thing, in the same way, to the same type of buyer—and keep them? If yes, great. If not, you may still be in the previous stage.
If you said Platform-Market Fit, is your growth primarily coming from expansion and customer lifetime value—not just net-new logo acquisition?
It’s okay to feel “in between.” But being honest about your dominant stage helps clarify where to focus next.
2. Compare Responses Across Your Team
If multiple leaders or departments filled out the assessment, this is where things get interesting.
Did everyone choose the same stage?
Great—there’s alignment.Are people all over the map?
That’s a sign of organizational misalignment. Some teams might be operating like it’s still Problem-Market Fit, while others are trying to scale.
This isn’t a red flag—it’s an opportunity. Use it to start the conversation:
“Where are we seeing success? Where are we still guessing?”
3. Look for Behavior-Stage Mismatches
This is where many GTM strategies fall apart. Ask yourself:
Are we building too much complexity too early? (Problem-Market Fit companies launching too many GTM motions)
Are we tracking advanced metrics we can’t influence yet? (Product-Market Fit companies obsessing over NRR or CLV without the systems to drive them)
Are we treating all our products like they’re mature—even if some aren’t? (Platform-Market Fit companies with legacy products and early-stage launches in the same playbook)
Don’t just evaluate what stage you think you’re in—evaluate whether your actions match that stage.
What’s Next
If you haven’t already, gather the responses from your team and plot them visually. Notice where people agree—and where they don’t.
Then, use the 3 P’s and your assessment results as the start of a strategic conversation:
What’s our real maturity stage?
What should we stop doing at this stage?
What’s the next most important milestone to hit before we scale further?
Growth is only repeatable when it’s built on alignment.
And alignment starts with truth.
Take the MOVE Companion Course: Our Gift To You
As we’ve built GTM Partners, we’ve been deep in the trenches, helping thousands of B2B companies rethink and refine their go-to-market strategies.
Over a 1000 people have taking this course and NOW we’re giving you 14 days of access to the MOVE book Companion—a self-guided resource designed to help you and your team apply the GTM framework from MOVE.
It’s our gift to you with code gtmonday100.
The MOVE Companion Course is normally $499.
We’re offering it as a gift to readers of GTMonday for the next 14 days with the code gtmonday100.
If you spend 60 minutes with this course, you’ll get access to the following resources that tens of thousands of B2B companies have used:
✅ Self-paced learning videos including a clear breakdown of the 3 Ps of GTM (Problem-Market Fit, Product-Market Fit, Platform-Market Fit) that goes much deeper than the description in this research note
✅ A GTM assessment to evaluate where your business stands
✅ Ready-to-use templates and resources we’ve used with companies around the world
✅ A GTM Scorecard that will help you measure success and collaborate across silos
✅ A Netflix-style documentary featuring industry leaders like Geoffrey Moore, Jill Rowley, Christopher Lochhead, Kelly Ford Buckley, Scott Dorsey, Megan Eisenberg, Jay Baer, Bill Nussey, Sydney Sloane, Kyle Lacy, Scott Voigt, Nick Mehta, and Muhammad Yasin
Spotlight: GTM Certified Partner Andrew Kappel with LeaderLev
LeaderLev Consulting helps companies optimize sales and growth through pipeline effectiveness consulting.
Founder Andrew Kappel starts with a Rapid Growth Assessment to identify priorities and benchmark capabilities, followed by 4-week Growth Sprints and ongoing optimization, including RevOps and CRM overhauls.
LeaderLev’s services include:
Rapid Growth Review.
ALIGN. On Executive Priority
BENCHMARK. Current Capability & process
ROADMAP. Solution Plan - Prioritized by impact
Sales Growth Sprints. 4 Week Projects to move the needle on growth initiative.
CRM Overhaul. RevOps Services
If you’d like to be a certified GTM Partner like Andrew Kappel at LeaderLev and many others, we’d love to talk to you about how to make that happen.
Events: Where We’ll Be Speaking in 2025
(DM Sangram for a discount code to attend or to get slides after the talk)
Catch us at our upcoming keynotes and webinars:
How Data Powers GTM Success: Systems, Signals, and Strategy (hosted by Sprout.ai), June 18 on LinkedIn Live
INBOUND (hosted by Hubspot), September 3-5 in San Francisco
DRIVE 2025 (hosted by Exit Five). September 10-11, Burlington, VT
Love,
Bryan and Sangram
great write up