Navigating the Talent Gap in Go-to-Market Strategies: Insights from Industry Leaders
Authored By Eric Walczykowski
While 87 percent of CEOs agree that having the right people with key go-to-market skills is crucial to their success, only 46 percent think they have it right. Those are the findings from recent research conducted by SBI, a go-to-market (GTM) growth advisory firm.
I recently had the privilege of interviewing SBI’s CEO Mike Hoffman on the topic of an emerging gap between GTM talent and growth strategies for PE backed portfolio companies. The insights shared by Mike highlight the impact of GTM talent on a company’s ability to grow, create value and eventually exit.
Below is a summarized Q&A of my conversation with Mike.
Eric: Talk to me about the gap between GTM strategy and go-to-market talent?
Mike: If you look at the greatest growth strategy in the world tied to the greatest go-to-market operating model that you could ever have, but wrap it around bad talent, you will not get the juice from the squeeze. CEOs feel like our go-to-market talent is massively important to our growth success and our value creation success. And if you just read into it, about half of the CEOs will say, “I’m not really comfortable that we have the right go-to-market team on the ground.” You know, ramifications for that are they feel like it’s a bit of a black box. The CEOs who are the most confident in their go-to-market talent are the people who have the highest level of confidence in their CRO and their CMO.
You can see the full interview with Mike in our Tailored Talent vodcast series, here.
Eric: That really underscores the work that we do here at Bespoke Partners, scorecarding that CRO or CMO role, is so important. Both of us are CEOs and if we have faith and confidence in our key leaders, that’s going to flow down throughout the organization. Talk to me about getting the role design right for CROs and CMOs in an organization and how it impacts exit.
Eric: How do you feel about go-to-market being a primary value creation lever and aligning board composition around that on the board of directors and its influence?
Mike:
In private equity, you can make money without growth, but you probably have to be buying assets at six times EBITDA. But from a standpoint of having a person on the board that, one, understands it, two, can help the management team and specifically the go-to-market team, think differently about how they get to the outcomes that they’re looking for, and three, be an advocate on the board for the investors.
The data does suggest that if you have a growth plan, your plan will be wrong. So below are the three things you need to think about:
- Constant reassessment, is the current plan the right plan?
- Have multiple plans. If you only have one plan, your growth plan is wrong. If you have five plans, you are closer to right.
- Planning for capacity that can take advantage of market dynamics. Set yourself up to grow when the opportunity arises.
Eric: One of the biggest mistake CEOs make is not planning for the right capacity, specifically around go-to-market talent. Talk to me about capacity planning within that context.
Mike:
You’ve got to understand the lead and ramp time for capacity. In today’s market, it might take six months to find the right leader, then another three to six months to get ramped up. So, you’ve got to be thinking 12 months in advance about your capacity planning.
Secondly, you want to make sure you have the right mix of go-to-market talent and support roles to ensure your go-to-market strategy is fully supported. Lastly, you’ve got to consider the scalability of your capacity. Can your current team scale with the growth, or do you need to bring in additional resources?
Mike’s viewpoints demonstrate the importance of confidence in leadership, the need for alignment between growth objectives and GTM strategies, and the critical role of capacity planning.
For CEOs, understanding and addressing these elements can significantly impact the ability to create value and achieve growth. As the market continues to evolve, having a robust and flexible GTM strategy, supported by the right talent and capacity planning, will be more crucial than ever for success.Bespoke Partners Named in Top 10 of the “Top 49 Retained Executive Search” 2-Years Running by C-Suite CV Secure.
About SBI
SBI provides Go-to-Market Growth Advisory for innovative companies. Their unique approach to collaborative consulting comes from strategic implementors who have owned and operated marketing and sales at some of the world’s most successful growth companies.
They have developed an intimate understanding of the buyer-seller journey, which enables SBI to help actively apply relevant data, strategies, and tactics for significant outcomes.
Connect with SBI to learn more:
About Bespoke Partners
Bespoke Partners is the largest recruiting firm solely focused on software and SaaS companies, and we specialize in firms backed by private equity sponsors. Bespoke Partners can help companies seize emerging opportunities by staying ahead in the software and SaaS leadership market.
Connect with Bespoke Partners to learn more:
Author:
Eric Walczykowski
Chief Executive Officer
Eric is passionate about building high-performing teams that value doing their best, working together, overcoming adversity and learning.
As a proven growth executive, Eric has served as CEO, President, Board Member, Investor and Advisor for technology companies that achieved over $4.5B in successful exits.
Eric brings to Bespoke Partners significant professional services experience from Deloitte and Andersen, as well as the high-growth client executive perspective for private equity-backed technology companies.
Eric earned an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a BS in Business from Fresno State University.
Outside of work, Eric enjoys spending time with family, coaching baseball, travel, attending live events and sipping good wine.
Featuring:
Mike Hoffman
Chief Executive Officer
SBI, The Growth Advisory
About Mike
Experienced executive leader with a demonstrated history of value creation through growth strategies in the technology, industrial, and software markets. Highly skilled in Enterprise Software/technology, International Business, Go-to-market Strategy, and Global Talent Acquisition.
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