From chaos to clarity: a practical guide to GTM Enablement

So, you’ve decided to tackle GTM (Go-to-Market) Enablement. Great choice! But where do you start? GTM Enablement isn’t just about sales - it’s about the entire customer journey, from the first touchpoint to retention and expansion. That means looking at the bigger picture and ensuring that every team involved is aligned and empowered.

If you’re thinking, “Sounds like a lot,” you’re right. But don’t worry, we’re breaking it down step by step.

Step 1: Start with the customer journey (The Bowtie Model)

GTM Enablement isn’t just about getting customers in the door - it’s about keeping them and growing their value over time. That’s why the bowtie model is your best friend. Unlike the classic sales funnel that ends at the deal closing, the bowtie recognizes that revenue is driven beyond the initial sale through adoption, retention, and expansion.

Your first task? Map out the customer journey. Identify every single touchpoint customers (and partners) have with your company - from marketing to sales, onboarding, support, and renewals.

Step 2: Conduct a data-driven audit

Once you have the customer journey mapped, it’s time for an audit. No, not the scary tax kind—the kind that helps you see what’s working and what’s broken.

Go through all existing processes, enablement materials, and customer interactions:

• Where are the biggest drop-offs in the journey?

• Are there inconsistencies in how different teams interact with customers and partners?

• Is there a disconnect between what marketing promises and what sales delivers? Between what sales sells and what customer experience supports?

• What data do you already have, and what’s missing?

A data-driven approach ensures that you’re making decisions based on facts, not assumptions.

Step 3: Talk to the teams (yes, all of them)

Numbers tell you part of the story, but people tell you the rest. Interview stakeholders across sales, marketing, customer experience, partnerships, and product to understand their perspectives. Ask them:

• What challenges do they face in their role?

• Where do they see friction points or gaps in our current customer journey?

• How aligned do they feel our processes are with customer expectations?

• What feedback do they get from prospects, customers, and partners?

• Where do they see gaps in enablement?

These conversations will uncover friction points and misalignments you might not see in the data.

Step 4: Build a GTM Enablement Framework

Now that you have both qualitative (interviews) and quantitative (data audit) insights, consolidate everything into a structured framework. A simple spreadsheet works wonders here:

Example of GTM Enablement Framework

This framework serves as your single source of truth and helps ensure alignment across teams.

Step 5: Define your action plan

Now comes the fun (and sometimes overwhelming) part - figuring out what to tackle first. But instead of throwing everything at the wall and hoping something sticks, you need to prioritize initiatives based on business impact.

Let’s say your GTM audit reveals low customer retention and a poor NPS due to misalignment between what Sales promises and what Post-Sales delivers. How can Enablement help?

1️⃣ Clarify customer expectations

• Align Sales, Marketing, and Post-Sales messaging so customers receive what was promised

• Train Sales on selling outcomes, not just features

2️⃣ Enable post-sales for a seamless experience

• Provide onboarding guides & success playbooks for consistent customer engagement

• Train CS & Support teams on handling common friction points proactively

• Introduce a certification program to standardize post-sales expertise

3️⃣ Refresher training for Sales

• Reinforce what Sales should and shouldn’t promise to set realistic expectations

• Bring in CX teams to share real customer challenges

Enablement isn’t just about helping Sales sell - it’s about ensuring the entire customer journey delivers on its promise.

Final Thoughts: Think Big, Start Small

GTM Enablement isn’t built overnight. Start with small wins, show impact, and build from there. The goal is to create a repeatable, scalable system that supports long-term business growth.

And hey, if it ever feels overwhelming, just remember: success in GTM Enablement isn’t about speed - it’s about taking the right steps in the right order. 😉

Sales Enablement vs. Go-to-Market Enablement: What's the difference?

Sales Enablement vs. GTM Enablement: two sides of the same coin?

At first glance, sales enablement and go-to-market (GTM) enablement might seem like variations of the same theme. And while they share common ground, their scope and impact are quite different. Think of them as siblings-closely related, but with distinct roles in your company's growth strategy. Let's break it down.

The Revenue Bowtie Model: A holistic view

To understand the distinction, let's reference the Revenue Bowtie model by Winning By Design. This framework visualizes the entire revenue lifecycle, where the left side focuses on acquiring customers (sales), and the right side covers retention and expansion (customer success, renewals, upsells & cross-sells).

Sales Enablement traditionally focuses on just the left side - helping sellers close more deals. GTM Enablement, however, ensures every stage of the customer journey, from first touch to renewal and expansion, is fully optimized. In essence, GTM Enablement takes a full-bowtie approach rather than stopping at closed-won.

What is Sales Enablement?

Sales Enablement is like training a Formula 1 pit crew - its purpose is to make sure your sales team is fast, efficient, and always ready to win.

Objective: Equip sales reps with the tools, training, and resources they need to close deals faster and more effectively.

Key focus areas:

• Onboarding new sales hires quickly

• Providing sales playbooks, qualification frameworks, and deal execution assets.

• Coaching reps on core sales skills like qualification, discovery, demos, and negotiation.

Who it supports: primarily sales teams, including account executives (AEs) and sales development reps (SDRs).

What is Go-to-Market (GTM) Enablement?

GTM Enablement, on the other hand, zooms out to look at the bigger picture. It's about aligning all customer-facing teams - not just sales - to deliver a seamless, consistent customer experience across the entire bowtie.

Objective: ensure that sales, marketing, customer success, partnerships, and even product teams are aligned on messaging, strategy, and execution.

Key focus areas:

• Training cross-functional teams on product positioning, value propositions, and market strategies.

• Creating standardized playbooks for product launches and new market entries.

• Driving collaboration across teams to ensure a smooth customer journey from first touch to renewal.

Who is supports: everyone involved in acquiring, retaining, and expanding customers - not just sales.

At a glance

Sales vs. GTM Enablement throughout the Revenue Bowtie by Winning By Design, Interpretation by Ambre Jeanneau

When should you focus on each?

• Start with sales enablement, if your biggest challenge is ramping up your sales teams or improving deal execution. It's the foundation for any enablement function.

• Expand to GTM enablement if your company relies heavily on retention and expansion revenue. If you start seeing misalignment between sales, marketing, and customer experience, it's time to think bigger.

In France, we say "L'union fait la force" (strength comes from unity). GTM Enablement embodies this philosophy - it ensures that everyone is rowing in the same direction. But as any rower will tell you, it only works if each individual knows how to handle their oars (hello, sales enablement!).

Final thoughts

Both Sales and GTM Enablement are critical for growth, but their impact depends on your business stage and challenges. By starting with Sales Enablement and expanding into GTM Enablement, you build a well-oiled machine that drives individual deal success and long-term growth.

The blueprint for building an enablement team from scratch

Starting enablement initiatives in a growing company can feel like trying to assemble IKEA furniture without the manual (or worse, with one in another language). But with a clear plan, you’ll soon have a team that’s driving real business impact. Let’s break it down step by step.

1. Know what problem you’re solving

Before thinking of assembling a team, take a step back and ask, “What’s broken?”

• Is it inconsistent messaging across different reps?

• A painful and long onboarding process leading to extended ramp time?

• Lack of alignment between sales and CS?

Identify the pain points that are slowing down your business. These will shape your enablement priorities and help you gain leadership buy-in.

2. Secure leadership support (your best allies)

Let’s face it—enablement doesn’t run on enthusiasm alone. It needs leadership backing to succeed.

• Align on priorities: Be clear on the pain points you’re solving.

• Define your action plan: Show how enablement will address these issues and outline the timeline to achieve business impact, like reducing ramp time, improving productivity, and driving revenue.

• Focus on ROI: Bring data to the table. For example, companies with enablement often report 10-20% faster quota attainment.

• Commit to quick wins: Solve one visible issue—like building a sales playbook or shortening onboarding time—within your first 90 days.

This approach will help you secure the resources and headcount needed to achieve your goals.

3. Build smart, not big

You don’t need a huge team to make a big impact. Start with strategic hires:

• Enablement Generalist: A jack-of-all-trades who can handle training, content creation, and tools.

• Content Strategist: If consistent messaging or finding the right materials is a challenge, this is your person.

A common misconception is that every enablement team needs a dedicated Sales Coach. I challenge that. Whether or not you need one depends on the bandwidth of your front-line managers, who often have more expertise and authority in coaching than external hires.

4. Collaborate across teams

Enablement thrives on alignment. Remember, you’re not building a silo—you’re building bridges.

• Work with Sales Managers: They’re your frontline allies. Partner with them to integrate enablement into daily workflows.

• Loop in other revenue teams: Collaborate on content strategy, collaboration guidelines, and ROI calculators to ensure sales reps have what they need, when they need it.

5. Build the right toolkit

Enablement is about efficiency, so start with tools that amplify your efforts:

• Sales Playbook: A centralized resource covering processes, messaging, and tools. Think of it as your team’s ultimate cheat sheet.

• Onboarding Framework: A structured 30-60-90 day plan for new hires to ramp up faster.

• Enablement Platform: Once you’ve nailed the basics, invest in tools like learning management systems (LMS) and content management systems (CMS). Focus on creating foundational content first, before diving into additional tools.

6. Measure, iterate, and celebrate

• Set Metrics Early: Track key metrics like time-to-first-sale, content usage rates, and quota attainment.

• Ask for Feedback: Sales reps and managers will let you know—sometimes loudly—if something isn’t working.

• Celebrate Success: When onboarding time drops by 20% or a playbook improves win rates, shout it from the rooftops!

Final thoughts

This blueprint is your starting point. In upcoming chapters of Scaling Smarter, we’ll explore how to extend this foundation into key areas like sales enablement, partner strategies, and the role of AI.

As we say in France, “Petit à petit, l’oiseau fait son nid”—little by little, the bird builds its nest. Your enablement team is no different. Start small, stay focused, and watch it grow.