514 episodes

Hosted by Scott Barker, the GTM Podcast has interviews with well-known tech executives, VCs, and founders. Dissecting a story from their past: what worked, what didn't and how things actually went down. You can also participate by sending in questions for the guests to answer on future episodes!GTMfund is our early-stage venture fund focused on B2B SaaS. We invest in startups with product-market fit, some traction, and are ready for hyper-growth.

The GTM Podcast GTMfund

    • Business
    • 4.6 • 138 Ratings

Hosted by Scott Barker, the GTM Podcast has interviews with well-known tech executives, VCs, and founders. Dissecting a story from their past: what worked, what didn't and how things actually went down. You can also participate by sending in questions for the guests to answer on future episodes!GTMfund is our early-stage venture fund focused on B2B SaaS. We invest in startups with product-market fit, some traction, and are ready for hyper-growth.

    GTM 85: A $2.6 Billion Lesson and Embracing Ecosystem-Led Growth with Bob Moore

    GTM 85: A $2.6 Billion Lesson and Embracing Ecosystem-Led Growth with Bob Moore

    Bob Moore is Co-Founder and CEO of Crossbeam, an Ecosystem-Led Growth (ELG) platform that helps companies use their partner ecosystems to generate leads, close deals, and grow faster. 

    He previously co-founded the cloud data pipeline company Stitch (acquired by Talend in 2018) and business intelligence platform RJMetrics (acquired by Adobe by way of Magento Commerce in 2016). Prior to RJMetrics, Bob worked on the Investment Team of Insight Partners.

    Bob is a proud Philadelphian, where he serves as a Trustee of The Franklin Institute. He has also previously served as the Board Chair of Philly Startup Leaders and Board Member of Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and Technologies (PACT).

    As a writer and speaker, Bob has appeared in The New York Times, Forbes, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, Web Summit, TEDx, Business of Software, and many more.  He guest lectures regularly at Princeton University and The Wharton School.

    Discussed in this Episode:
    Ecosystem-led growth is about leveraging partnerships to make your go-to-market teams more successful. It involves creating a mesh of interconnected products and services that deliver a joint value proposition to customers.Product-market fit is not static, and both the product and the market need to constantly align. The SaaS industry is experiencing a transition from defense to offense, with leading indicators showing positive signs of growth.Lessons have been learned from previous market cycles, but the challenge lies in passing down this knowledge to future generations of founders and investors.The story of a $2.6 billion mistake that Bob made and lessons learned from it. Highlights:
    (7:40) Navigating the current SaaS landscape and macro trends. 
    (12:26) Learning from the past: Market cycles and founder experiences.

    (17:15) The future of M&A: Ecosystems and strategic partnerships.

    (23:10) Diving into ecosystem-led growth (ELG).

    (24:14) The misconceptions and realities of partnerships.

    (27:41) Building initial partner relationships.

    Guest Speaker Links (Bob Moore):
    LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/robertjmoore/
    Bob's book, Ecosystem-Led Growth: www.robertjmoore.com/book

    Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):
    LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
    Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

    Sponsor:
    Today’s episode is sponsored by The ELG Conference, presented by Crossbeam and The ELG Alliance. The smartest companies are embracing Ecosystem-Led Growth, or ELG.
    Join us at the gorgeous Proper Hotel in Austin on May 15-16 and hear how the top SaaS companies are leveraging partner ecosystems in their GTM motions aka Ecosystem-Led Growth. Early-bird tickets expire next week.
    What you'll get at ELG Con:
    Case studies from companies like Datadog, Cloudera, and more.A chance to tour (and maybe even race on?) Austin's F1 track.Candid, off-the-record conversations — no recordings here.A highly curated group of 200 GTM leaders, 85% director level and above across Sales, Marketing, and Partnerships.Claim your tickets today, including a limited number of special two-for-the-price-of-one tickets.
    The GTM Podcast
    Don’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

    • 47 min
    GTM 84: Outbound Isn’t Dead: This is How to Reach the Inbox with Stephen Hakami

    GTM 84: Outbound Isn’t Dead: This is How to Reach the Inbox with Stephen Hakami

    Stephen Hakami is the Founder and CEO of Wiza - the most accurate way to find verified contact information for B2B prospects. Stephen started the company in 2019 after a sales career of being frustrated with bad data, and set out to build a prospecting tool that's powered by live LinkedIn data.

    Discussed in this Episode:
    The frustration with bad data and the inspiration behind building Wiza.The importance of email deliverability and strategies for improving it.The recent acquisition of Drift by Salesloft and the topic of consolidation in the sales tech stack.Stephen's journey from sales to CEO, highlighting the value of creative prospecting. The hardest lesson Stephen learned in sales.Effective tactics of cold email and deliverability.Highlights:
    (3:27) Strategies for email deliverability.
    (08:01) The journey from sales to entrepreneurship.

    (11:06) Sales technology and the consolidation.

    (20:41) Strategies for effective cold emails.

    (25:49) Understanding your competitors.

    (27:38) The importance of being a true consultant.

    (28:32) Redefining your competitors.

    (31:55) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Stephen thinks is bull$***.

    (34:26) One thing that is working for Stephen/Wiza in go-to-market right now.

    Guest Speaker Links (Stephen Hakami):
    LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-hakami-5babb21b0/
    Website: www.wiza.co/

    Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):
    LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
    Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

    Sponsor:
    Today’s episode is sponsored by The ELG Conference, presented by Crossbeam and The ELG Alliance. The smartest companies are embracing Ecosystem-Led Growth, or ELG.
    Join us at the gorgeous Proper Hotel in Austin on May 15-16 and hear how the top SaaS companies are leveraging partner ecosystems in their GTM motions aka Ecosystem-Led Growth. Early-bird tickets expire next week.
    What you'll get at ELG Con:
    Case studies from companies like Datadog, Cloudera, and more.A chance to tour (and maybe even race on?) Austin's F1 track.Candid, off-the-record conversations — no recordings here.A highly curated group of 200 GTM leaders, 85% director level and above across Sales, Marketing, and Partnerships.Claim your tickets today, including a limited number of special two-for-the-price-of-one tickets.


    The GTM Podcast
    Don’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

    • 38 min
    GTM 83: Redefining Marketing with AI and Personalization | Amanda Cole

    GTM 83: Redefining Marketing with AI and Personalization | Amanda Cole

    Amanda Cole serves as Chief Marketing Officer, leading the execution of the company’s marketing strategy to drive further business demand and brand awareness. Amanda is a passionate marketing professional with more than 15 years of experience in helping SaaS companies build impactful brands, communicate differentiated value, and grow high-performing marketing teams. She previously served as the company’s Senior Vice President of Global Marketing, having joined in January 2021 through the acquisition of Exponea. Prior to joining Exponea, Amanda served as Vice President, Demand Generation at Blueshift, a Customer Data Platform, and before that served as Vice President of Marketing, Americas and Global Programs at Basware, a financial software company.

    Discussed in this Episode:
    The challenges of personalization in marketing and the role of AI in addressing these challenges. Insights on the future of AI in marketing and the importance of storytelling in building impactful brands.Personal journey lessons learned, emphasizing the value of mentorship and the power of vulnerability. Advice on navigating a company rebrand and challenges the belief that marketing generates pipeline. The importance of being a support function for revenue teams and the need for marketers to focus on storytelling and emotional connection.Highlights:
    (05:11) Challenges of personalization in marketing.
    (08:01) The role of AI in personalization.

    (10:44) Regulations and ethical considerations of AI.

    (16:04) The future of AI in marketing.

    (19:32) Lessons from personal journey.

    (23:09) Hiring and mentoring.

    (28:21) Navigating a company rebrand.

    (35:17) Shifting perspective on marketing's role.

    (40:04) Challenging the belief that marketing generates pipeline.

    (44:07) The power of storytelling in marketing.

    (34:21) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Amanda thinks is bull$***.

    (38:00) One thing that is working for Amanda in go-to-market right now.

    Guest Speaker Links (Amanda Cole):
    LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/aelam/
    Website: www.bloomreach.com/

    Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):
    LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
    Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

    Sponsor:
    Today’s episode is sponsored by Flex, a finance super app built around a credit card with unique Net-60 day terms that enables businesses to make an investment today and pay it back 60 days later with zero percent interest. If your business growth is constrained by the cashflow you need for inventory, advertising, or something else, Flex could provide you with an interesting growth lever.


    The GTM Podcast
    Don’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

    • 41 min
    GTM 82: Use These Sales Negotiation Tactics to Win with Richard Harris

    GTM 82: Use These Sales Negotiation Tactics to Win with Richard Harris

    Helping founders with GTM Strategies and teaching sales reps how to earn the right to ask questions, which questions to ask, and when is the primary driver for Richard Harris. He brings 20+ years of experience, having done all the roles - SDR, AE, Manager, Director, VP of Sales, and Director of Sales Ops - to the table. His client list includes Zoom, Salesforce, Gainsight and 80+ SaaS start-ups. He is also the Co-Founder of Surf and Sales as well as the host of the Surf and Sales Podcast. 
    What You Will Learn:
    Key strategies for handling sales negotiations, including preparing for negotiations with procurement departments, and delivering pricing effectively. Perspective on the future of AI in the sales industry.Common mistakes that Richard sees founders make and how to avoid them. The importance of sales coaching and role playing. Highlights:
    (5:13) Unveiling Richard's book: The Seller's Journey.
    (10:51) The art of negotiation: engaging with procurement.

    (19:52) Understanding pricing and commercial terms.

    (21:47) The art of negotiation: offering discounts. 

    (25:31) The future of sales in the age of AI. 

    (31:26) Common mistakes founders make and how to avoid them.

    (36:44) The importance of training and role playing in sales.

    (34:55) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Richard thinks is bull$***.

    (36:39) One thing that is working for Richard in go-to-market right now.
    Guest Speaker Links (Richard Harris):
    LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/rharris415/
    Phone Number: 415-596-9149
    Book: www.thesellersjourney.co/the-sellers-journey-free-preview
    Book (Amazon): www.amazon.com/Sellers-Journey-Guidebook-N-T-ebook/dp/B0CV32BJ5K
    Surf and Sales Podcast: www.surfandsales.com/the-surf-sales-podcast

    Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):
    LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
    Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

    Sponsor:
    Today’s episode is sponsored by Wiza. If you’ve used big-name prospecting tools before, you know that they all share one, massive problem: bad data. These tools are built on static databases, playing cat-and-mouse to keep up with job titles changes, employee turnover, and bouncing emails. As sales professionals and operators ourselves, we needed more. So, we built Wiza, the only prospecting platform that sources and verifies its data in real-time, the moment it’s requested, using LinkedIn as its source of truth.

    Wiza offers an accuracy-obsessed B2B contact database with 99% coverage of LinkedIn profiles as well as a powerful Chrome extension that works on LinkedIn and with Sales Nav. If you’re struggling with inaccurate data from clunky database tools, try Wiza for free today at wiza.co - and see why 300,000+ GTM professionals trust it in their daily prospecting.
    The GTM Podcast
    Don’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

    • 39 min
    GTM 81: Signal-Based Sales and Entering GTM 5.0 with Alexa Grabell

    GTM 81: Signal-Based Sales and Entering GTM 5.0 with Alexa Grabell

    Alexa Grabell is the Co-Founder and CEO of Pocus. Pocus is mission control for your pipeline. Pocus brings together product usage and other intent signals (customer, community, marketing data) to surface top leads, enabling reps to act fast. Alexa’s passion for democratizing data for go-to-market teams began when she led sales strategy & operations at Dataminr, where she built internal solutions to power sales teams with data.
    What You Will Learn:
    The evolving landscape of go-to-market strategies, including the concept of Go-to-Market 5.0.The significance of shifting from traditional 'predictable revenue engines' to data-driven, personalized, and intention-focused go-to-market strategies to enhance sales effectiveness.The critical role that data plays in tailoring sales approaches, and how certain companies have successfully implemented these strategies to achieve remarkable growth.The importance of incorporating automation and artificial intelligence in sales processes to increase efficiency and relevance in customer interactions.Strategies for fostering a strong, values-based company culture that supports innovative go-to-market strategies and empowers decision-making grounded in both data and intuition.Insightful advice on the initial hiring of salespeople, emphasizing the need for alignment with the company's culture and go-to-market vision.Highlights:
    (4:52) The story of how Alexa met her co-founder, Isaac, and the importance of picking the right co-founder.

    (6:38) The concept of go-to-market 5.0, including jobs to be done. 

    (12:48) Examples of companies that are doing a good job of figuring out which signals they should care about and what the playbooks are from there that they should run.

    (20:40) Getting to go-to-market fit and the importance of taking advice as a data point.

    (26:00) Demanding excellence while fostering an enjoyable experience, and Pocus' company values and expectations.

    (30:12) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Alexa thinks is bull$***.

    (32:12) One thing that is working for Alexa in go-to-market right now.

    Guest Speaker Link:
    LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/alexagrabell/
    Blog Post: www.pocus.com/blog/building-your-signal-based-gtm-tech-stack

    Host Speaker Links:
    LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
    Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

    Sponsor:
    Today’s episode is sponsored by Wiza. If you’ve used big-name prospecting tools before, you know that they all share one, massive problem: bad data. These tools are built on static databases, playing cat-and-mouse to keep up with job titles changes, employee turnover, and bouncing emails. As sales professionals and operators ourselves, we needed more. So, we built Wiza, the only prospecting platform that sources and verifies its data in real-time, the moment it’s requested, using LinkedIn as its source of truth.

    Wiza offers an accuracy-obsessed B2B contact database with 99% coverage of LinkedIn profiles as well as a powerful Chrome extension that works on LinkedIn and with Sales Nav. If you’re struggling with inaccurate data from clunky database tools, try Wiza for free today at
    The GTM Podcast
    Don’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

    • 34 min
    GTM 80: AI in GTM Deep Dive | Overcoming Analysis Paralysis and Tactical Use Cases with Andy Jolls

    GTM 80: AI in GTM Deep Dive | Overcoming Analysis Paralysis and Tactical Use Cases with Andy Jolls

    Andy Jolls is 25+ year executive with several years in CMO roles. As a full stack marketer, Andy has re-architected six brands and identities, and built three funnels from the ground up. He’s been a B2B leader in businesses from pre-revenue to $600MM. Andy co-Chairs the CMO group for Pavilion (6000+ GTM leaders) and is active in several marketing communities. He’s also a proud alum of Michigan and Northwestern. He began his ML/AI journey several years ago and has been working in Generative AI since August 2022. Currently, he operates his own consultancy helping leaders with marketing strategy and AI in GTM.
    What You Will Learn:
    Andy's entrance into machine learning and generative AI starting in 2018.Actionable use cases like localization/translation, SEO strategy development, analyzing CRM and other datasets.A framework for thinking about AI initiatives as quick wins, differentiated use cases, and transformational.Approaches for operationalizing AI learnings across go-to-market teams.Tactics individuals and startups can take to get started with generative AI tools.Highlights:
    (3:44) Andy’s journey into machine learning and AI.

    (6:08) Getting ChatGPT to write Andy's father's obituary.

    (8:26) AI's impact on go-to-market, including Gartner's 3-stage framework: quick wins, differentiated use case, and transformational initiatives.

    (14:25) Analysis paralysis and how founders can approach AI implementation.

    (26:00) Overcoming adversity in business school.

    (30:00) Tactical use cases for AI and examples of how Andy is leveraging it.

    (40:26) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Andy thinks is bull$***.

    (43:20) One thing that is working for Andy in go-to-market right now.

    Guest Speaker Link:
    LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ajolls/

    Host Speaker Links:
    LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
    Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

    Sponsor:
    Today’s episode is sponsored by Flex, a finance super app built around a credit card with unique Net-60 day terms that enables businesses to make an investment today and pay it back 60 days later with zero percent interest. If your business growth is constrained by the cashflow you need for inventory, advertising, or something else, Flex could provide you with an interesting growth lever.
    The GTM Podcast
    Don’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

    • 47 min

Customer Reviews

4.6 out of 5
138 Ratings

138 Ratings

amit_a55 ,

Always feels authentic

Best source of real-world startup stories I’ve seen. Never fails to provide great conversations and valuable insights

YouShouldTalkTo ,

A must listen

If you’re in any sort of sales/marketing role, you’d be hard pressed to find a better, more real, podcast to listen to.

So many goodies from folks who have ACTUALLY been in the arena. A must listen.

Flora Q. ,

Refreshing and definitely refreshing

Easy follow along, interesting topics and keep up with the newest trends. Great for any sales either learn new tips or reminding what’s more important. Highly recommend!

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