Trailhead Thoughts
“One of the best methods for retention I have found is continuing to add value after the sale. Silence is a retention killer.”
- Adam Toporek
Trail Map - Learn. Think. Act. ™
Simplifying Your Go-To Market Strategy
Using the “Dare to Grow” model, we will break down your Go-To Market (GTM) Strategy into 3 steps.
📚Learn
Let’s look at GTM (Go to Market) in 3 buckets.
Demand- Attract potential customers. Folks typically think marketing here , but this can be marketing, business development, sales - be clear about what “demand” means to you.
Acquisition - Convert prospects into paying customers. This is that first transaction. You only acquire a customer for the first time - once. Design for success here.
Retention and Expansion - Keep customers through expansion. When you increase the value they receive over time, they will stay with you, and your business will grow.
Steps to Simplify:
Segment Customers: One example might be the split into small and medium businesses (SMB) and Enterprise. Know your Ideal Customer Profile at both an Organization and Individual level. Create focus through clarity.
Sales Process: Know your sales process for forecasting. The Catalyst process includes these stages - Validated, Qualified, Confirmed Fit (our side), Client Confirmed Fit. Proposal Approved, and Closed-Won. The stages are past tense, each time a prospect makes it through one of these stages, probability of winning the business increases. Contact us if you want to go deeper with this.
Customer Journey: This runs parallel to the sales process. Document how your customers make a decision. What are the major milestones?
Deconstruct: Break things down into small steps. Isolate for conversions and variables in each segment of your D.A.R.E. to grow model. There are 3 buckets, and you may have 3 segments in each bucket. Know which bucket you are in.
🤔Think
Key Questions:
Demand Generation - How do you attract potential customers.
Consider:
One-to-Many (e.g. marketing campaigns)
One-to-One (e.g. direct sales outreach)
Channel Partners (e.g. referrals)
Acquisition Process - What steps do customers go through from interest to purchase?
Identify where to:
Test Tactics
Improve Conversion Rates
Retention & Expansion - How do you keep and grow your customer base? What is your process? Is it repeatable?
Potential areas of focus:
Strategic Accounts
General Accounts
Testing new products/services
💪 Act
Start implementing these steps:
Map Your Process:
Define each stage from demand to closed/won
Identify key actions at each stage.
Segment & Target:
Divide your customer base into meaningful segments.
Tailor strategies for SMB and Enterprise.
Diversify Tactics:
Implement a mix of demand generation strategies.
Track and analyze results to optimize efforts.
Focus on Retention:
Develop plans for customer retention and expansion.
Create value to turn customers into advocates.
Remember: A simplified approach allows for focused energy and better results. Start small, test, and scale up as you see success.
Beyond the Trailhead
Stop Overcomplicating GTM:
D.A.R.E. to Grow Instead
Go-to-Market (GTM) strategy has become one of those buzzword-heavy concepts that makes some eyes glaze over. At its core though, GTM is simple: How do you find customers, win them, and keep them? That’s it. Seriously, that’s it!
The trick is being intentional about each step.
Enter the D.A.R.E. to Grow model. It breaks GTM down into three buckets:
Demand - Attract potential customers. (Not just marketing. Think marketing, sales, business development…basically anyone who can generate demand.)
Acquisition - Convert those prospects into paying customers. Remember: you only acquire a customer once, so don’t blow it.
Retention & Expansion- Keep customers by increasing the value they get from you. Happy customers stay. Thrilled customers grow with you.
When people stumble, it’s because they try to do everything at once. Instead, deconstruct. Test one segment at a time. Compare SMB vs. Enterprise. Isolate which channels work. Simplify so you can actually see what’s driving results.
A Couple Things to Chew On:
Do you know what “demand” actually means in your business?
Can you explain your acquisition process without sounding like you’re reading from a corporate handbook?
Do you have a repeatable plan to keep and grow customers you already worked so hard to win?
Map it out. Define your stages from first touch to closed-won. Segment your customers. Diversify your demand tactics. And for the love of revenue, don’t forget retention. That’s where the real growth lives.
GTM doesn’t need to be complicated. It just needs to be designed with clarity, tested with intention, and scaled with focus. D.A.R.E. yourself to grow - step-by-step, bucket-by-bucket.
Voices from the Trail
Meet Jonathan (Coach K) Kvarfordt – AI & GTM Strategist
AI isn’t just a tool. It’s a catalyst for scaling expertise and transforming how businesses operate. In this episode, we dive into how effective prompting, automation, and agents can amplify human potential, uncover inefficiencies, and unlock new growth paths. If you’re ready to bridge the comfort gap and rethink your GTM playbook in the AI era, this conversation is for you.
Listen to this episode on Spotify
Hitting the Trail
We’re lacing up and heading out. Here’s where Catalyst will be in the coming weeks. Join us on the path and be part of the conversation.
That’s it for this week.
Keep putting one intentional step in front of the other - the view gets better and better as you climb.
One spark🔥can light another. Pass this along and help someone else find their catalyst for growth.
The Find My Catalyst Team