First 90 Days as a GMT Leader
How to Connect the Dots and Develop a Winning Strategy
People ask me all the time how to go to market. Many times in my career, I stepped in and led GTM strategy to take the business from 0 to 1 and 1 to N. Recently, I noticed that more than ever, people seem to struggle with the process, as if there is a magic bullet for success. They stare at me, seeking the answer. Here is how I did it over and over in the first 90 days as the CEO or CMO leading the GTM strategy.
Step I: Learn the tech and create the product
Being in the tech industry and working with many smart engineers and innovators, I am always humbled as a non-coder by great technologies. When I joined DMAI in March 2019, I met almost a hundred engineers who occupied a whole floor working on many disciplines of artificial intelligence. But there is not a product, per se.
In the first month, I organized a closed-door Pitch-A-Thon. Each product team came in and pitched their project to a great value-creation business strategist, a dear friend of mine, Steve Little, and me.
Everyone can be passionate about tech and how it may change people’s lives. To create a viable product, the strategist must have unique customer insights, define the problem to solve, and design a scalable solution that creates extraordinary value.
In reality, it’s quite often people make products and try to sell them. My advice is to understand the users and your customers and then create the right product, a valuable solution, to solve their pain points and generate value for them.
Note: sometimes, the real users and customers who make the purchase decision may not be the same.
It is essential for someone like me to spend the time and learn the tech in order to determine the product strategy and roadmap. Keep in mind that Product is part of the 4Ps of marketing.
Learn more Startup Stash: Cracking the Code of Product Market Fit Part I and Part II
Step II: Build the core team and have buy-in
Marketing can be subjective, and many people have their own opinions. As a leader, my job is to turn the strategy into a business plan and build the team to execute it. Using the football metaphor, a quarterback can only score a touchdown by having an offensive team execute play-by-play in the playbook. Building that team and having buy-in is fundamental for success.
Step III: Tell the “Purple Cow” story to the world, fund it, and launch it
Different is better than better. Marketing must distinguish one’s product from the competitors to stand out and be remarkable.
From the unique insights with Step I to internal team building as Step II, now a go-to-market leader must unleash creativity and rally the world to the brand and business. It takes a village to raise a child. Building a community with investors, partners, and customers is a GTM leader’s job. This cannot be overlooked amid digital marketing’s focus on conversion.
When I look back at the first 90-day journey at different companies, these three steps set the tone for success.
Check out my other story: How to Launch a New Product in 5 Months
