Paul · Feb 5, 2023

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Clara Smyth officially joined Klue this week.

It’s the most exciting piece of news since we announced our acquisition of DoubleCheck Research two weeks ago. 

(January was a big month!)

Adding Clara to the Klue Crew is like your favourite sports team signing a big-name free agent.

Except even better because I’ve already called Clara my friend for more than a year now. 

She’s excited too. Just look at her response when I asked her earlier this week:

“Yes, Ben I’m very excited. I told you already. Please stop messaging me I need to get back to work.”

What a rockstar — already hard at work in her first week on the job! 

Clara’s announcement post on LinkedIn is our feature story in the   Community Corner   today.

Plus we’ve got the Season 3 Premiere of the Competitive Enablement Show.

And last call for the first CE LIve of 2023 featuring Brandon Bedford and Robyn Welfare. 

It’s a jam-packed edition of  ☕️ Coffee & Compete   

Let’s get moving!

Ben

Three takeaways on how the best leaders GTM 

Meet Devon O’Rourke. 

Founder and managing partner at Fluvio, GTM expert, avid golfer and avid showerer (more info on that last point in the rapid-fire round of this episode.)

He’s also the host of the new Compete Network show Embracing Erosion. 

Devon sat down with Adam for the Season 3 Premiere of the Competitive Enablement Show to talk about what it takes to build a great GTM motion.

Here are three key takeaways from the episode. 

The best leaders do the market research before launch

Devon says there are three foundational elements leaders need to instill in their teams to achieve a successful GTM motion. 

Being thoughtful and actively listening to the voice of customers and prospects.

Doing the research and investing in customer/prospect interviews.

Formulating strategies to test and iterate after launch.

These three elements need to be in place before bringing anything to market. 

On the flip side…

“Those who aren’t successful are often those too focused on pure outbound work and production. Those who say, ‘We need pipeline now!'” 

Ensuring these three fundamental elements are in place doesn’t mean you need to move slowly. (More on that in takeaway number two.) 

But it does bring up the fact that there are several moving parts in a GTM motion all working in synchrony. 

Putting the foundations in place gives all those moving parts a structure to fall back on. 

No decision is a one-way door

Virtually no decision you make is irreversible — a decision so bad it blows everything up.

At the same time, you can slowly bleed your company or product to death by not making decisions fast enough.

Especially in GTM world, as Devon suggests, she who hesitates is lost.

“A lot of people are hesitant to make decisions; they feel like once they make a single decision, it’s done. In reality, there’s almost no decision that’s a one-way door.”

During his time at Amazon, Devon learned the best leaders encourage their teams to be nimble, move fast, iterate, learn, adjust and optimize.

It’s a mentality that serves him — and his customers — very well when bringing something to market.

Because a GTM market motion is never linear.

And requires continual adjustment to the reality on the ground.

️‍♀️ Know your competition before you go to market  ️‍♀️

Grasping the macro factors of one’s market are a must for a successful GTM motion. Know your TAM, know your ICP, know where the market is heading in the next several quarters.

But you also need to understand the companies playing in the same ecosystem as you.

• Who’s the most well-regarded?
• Who’s the leader?
• Who are the laggards?

Devon says leadership needs to have an informed opinion on their competitors’ position in the market, and how their own company will compete.

“Now, I don’t think leadership is required to go super deep on each player at the feature level. But they need to have a macro view on the space they operate in.”

It stands to reason why Devon doesn’t recommend leadership teams become totally immersed in the nitty-gritty of the competition.

Because that’s what Klue’s for .

Coffee & Compete Community Corner

Tom Brady to the Buccaneers 

⚾️ Bryce Harper to the Phillies

Lebron James to the Heat

Wayne Gretzky to the Kings

‍♀️ Clara Smyth to Klue

It’s a big deal when all-stars change teams. And we couldn’t be happier to be on the receiving end of this free agent signing!

Check out my new colleague’s LinkedIn post below and learn more about why she’s excited to join Klue. 

Welcome aboard Clara!