Go-to-Market Lifecycle
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The Go-to-Market (GTM) Lifecycle, which is the foundation of your revenue operations and the basis for all your GTM reporting. By the end, you’ll have a deep understanding of how the GTM lifecycle isn’t just about sales stages, but also about marketing, customer success, and implementation teams. We’ll define clear entry criteria for each stage within each segment of your GTM lifecycle, analyze the GTM lifecycle measurements, and provide a roadmap for building stages that align with your business goals.
The GTM lifecycle is a comprehensive view of the marketing, sales, renewals, customer lifecycle, and proof-of-concept (POC) or proof-of-value (POV) stages in a single framework.
Let’s take a closer look at each section of the GTM lifecycle. We’ll go through each stage in detail, but keep in mind that not every stage may be relevant to your business. We’ll call out where that’s the case and provide some guidance on how to think about it.
At LeanScale, we focus on key stages in the GTM lifecycle, which we call “golden stages.” These stages are critical milestones and metrics that are important to track. Some of the most important golden stages are sales-qualified lead (SQL), closed-won, early adoption stage, and the first time-to-value (TTV) event. We’ll go into more detail on these stages later in this guide.
To ensure we’re managing and tracking our GTM lifecycle effectively, we need to establish well-defined entry criteria for each stage. These criteria should be the objective benchmarks that determine when an opportunity or customer moves from one stage to the next. Clearly defined entry criteria will help us report accurately, make data-driven decisions, and ensure alignment across the teams involved in the GTM process.
Measuring the GTM lifecycle is critical to understanding how you are performing and how effective your GTM strategy is. In this section, we will discuss the key metrics and measurements that can help you understand the health of your GTM initiatives. These metrics include sales cycle duration, conversion rates between stages, customer acquisition cost (CAC), customer lifetime value (CLTV), and other relevant measures. By understanding these measurements, you can identify areas for improvement, optimize your GTM strategies, and allocate resources effectively.
In this final section, we'll provide a framework for creating GTM lifecycle stages that are specific to your business goals and situation. We'll cover the best practices for defining stages that truly represent your sales process, customer journey, and revenue model. By taking a customized approach to stage creation, you can be confident that your GTM lifecycle will be a valuable asset in driving growth, optimizing revenue, and reaching your business targets.
The go-to-market lifecycle is a critical construct that spans various stages and touchpoints, extending beyond traditional sales processes. By gaining a comprehensive understanding of the GTM lifecycle, establishing clear entry criteria, measuring key performance indicators, and building meaningful stages aligned with your business objectives, you can elevate your revenue operations and drive sustainable growth for your organization.
Anonymous Visitor
Leads who have visited your website but have not provided identifiable information yet.
Lead
Any person added to your database who is not automatically identified as a non-prospect (e.g. existing customer, competitor, repeated junk, etc.).
MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead)
The handoff point from Marketing to Sales. It is a lead that has been automatically qualified based on ICP fit and intent-level. This is often informed by a Lead Scoring Model.
SAL (Sales Accepted Lead)
Sales has received the MQL, has not immediately disqualified it as junk, and has begun reaching out to the MQL.
SQL (Sales Qualified Lead)
Stage 0 opportunity. A discovery call or product demonstration has been scheduled between the prospect and a sales rep.
SAL (Sales Accepted Lead)
Sales has received the MQL, has not immediately disqualified it as junk, and has begun reaching out to the MQL.
SQL (Sales Qualified Lead)
Stage 0 opportunity. A discovery call or product demonstration has been scheduled between the prospect and a sales rep.
SAO (Sales Accepted Opportunity)
Stage 1 opportunity. A discovery or demo call has occurred, the sales rep determines that the prospect meets sales qualification criteria (e.g. BANT) and intends to continue progressing with the sales cycle. This is typically where a pipeline value is assigned to the opportunity in the form of an estimated contract value.
Evaluation / Use Case
Stage 2 opportunity. An evaluation has kicked off to prove value based on the expected use case.
Proposal / Negotiation
Stage 3 opportunity. A proposal has been sent, and negotiations are in place.
Closed Won
Prospect has agreed to terms and signed a contract.
Renewal
A renwal evaluation has kicked off to prove value based on the expected use case.
Proposal / Negotiation
A proposal has been sent, and negotiations are in place.
Closed Won
Prospect has agreed to terms and signed a new contract.