AI is changing the rules of the game in Go-to-Market
AI is changing the rules of the game in Go-to-Market
20 AI Tools to power up your go-to-market efforts
Dear GTM Strategist!
It breaks my heart when I see smart people doing unwise things.
One of the biggest self-sabotages I see when working with go-to-market teams is over-engineering or procrastinating the launch.
The window of opportunity is not open indefinitely and the barriers to entry have never been lower. With the widespread availability of AI tools, it's irrational to ignore the fact that AI has fundamentally altered the rules of the game.
You know how much I love it when you share your go-to-market success stories with me 🙌. Seeing how you applied lessons and frameworks from the Go-to-Market Strategist book fills me with joy and motivation.
Today, I have a special eye-opening treat to share with you.
The maker (he wants to stay anonymous for now, so let’s call him Galileus or Gal 😃) spent seven months working part-time on a native AI to answer legal questions based on local legislation. He is a data scientist and a developer, and guess what—he does not like marketing.
Take a quick look at this chart:
What makes it special is that the user acquisition was done with 5 posts to Facebook groups + 1 Reddit post.
It took the founder approximately 6 hours (not days!) to prepare and nurture this launch. From this “buzz,” he got:
5 invitations to media interviews,
4 extremely luring partnership opportunities,
3 great ideas for a business model based on inbound requests.
What is more interesting is that the product has managed to retain some users and trigger referrals. Yesterday, when we had a consultation, I asked the founder: Did you do anything post-launch—an email, social media post, or any in-product messaging?
He said not (yet).
And that, my friends, is a brilliant signal that he is on to something BIG here.
Early signals of product-market fit are lightning.
Let’s dive deeper.
Is simple the new beautiful?
Sometimes good products do not need (much) marketing. Gal is not the only case of bootstrapped founders who have built AI-first solutions and launched super-light products that people love. The speed of execution and feedback loops from the market are the best antidotes for product-market-fit inertia.
In the ever-lasting race of David against Goliath, each has to play on their own strengths. But the quicker and leaner they can both be on this journey, the more likely they are to hit the jackpot. While the enterprise fortresses are nearly bulletproof for indie tech, AI is changing the game dramatically in low- and mid-value markets. There is no universal recipe for winning the Hunger Games of Go-to-Market, but this image can give you an idea that 0-10 customers can be won in a super-scrappy manner if you are playing on your strengths.
I want it all! I want it all now!
When we read such stories, we get hyped. Maybe even impatient. Before you say “go, go”, let’s agree on some fundamental principles:
Go where the audience is. Simply ask them where they actively search for solution in the problem space that you are solving.
How you will get the first 10 customers differs from the first 1000 customers. You probably already know or can easily access your first adopters. To grow further, you will need more scalable go-to-market motions.
Great things take time and reps. Rome was not built in a day. When you start as a new player, you must establish trust, traction, and goodwill. Let’s face it: first attempts will probably not be the best attempt. You get better by doing it again and again.
So before you “go, go”—go and check what is likely to be the best fit for your audience and how long it will take to give that Go-to-Market motion a fair chance. Sometimes, scrappy is just too scrappy. Claiming that “advertising does not work” after you spent $500 in a week or that “InMail is a scam” after messaging 100 companies once makes you look ridiculous. Be smart(er) and more patient.
Adiós Monkey work! 🙈 Hello AI!
However, as a founder or busy professional, you do not have all day to consider your next LinkedIn post. You have other worries and obligations in business. The thought that you need to create a critical mass of texts, images, and videos and follow up on all these sales calls drains you and makes you nervous.
Work smarter, not harder. AI tools can elevate your productivity and quality of work. Save your brain power for strategic work that actually makes a difference, not manually transcribing your meeting notes from a notebook to CRM.
Here is a list of AI tools that can make your life in a certain AI motion a bit easier and more manageable. Let me know if you’d like to add any tool that is helpful to you!
Your turn! Get the ball rolling.
If you feel trapped and stuck with stagnating traction or worse - if you are self-sabotaging and procrastinating launch because it is not “good enough yet”. Stop. Take action. Consider trying a new GTM Motion, find a subsegment of users that love your product, try to get more of them, and most importantly, do not feel sorry for yourself. Seek solutions and good advice from people who have done what you want to do (exclusively, you do not need more fluff in your life), and put in the willpower and work to get the ball rolling. Remember, if it was easy, everyone could do it. You are working on something which is hard to do. And this is how legends are born. So go - strike!
I have a little something to help you started:
🎁 Special Bonus #1: Don’t know where your audience is actively searching for information in the problem space that you are solving? Just ask them. Here is an example of how we did this research by directly asking our ICP member what is relevant to them.
🎁 Special bonus #2: Do you wonder what the magic messaging is to get 1000 users from local FB groups? Of course, I will share. It is much more simple than you imagine.
Thanks for reading this post!
It was a bit more “all around the place” than my regular Substacks, but every conversation I had with my mentees this week ended up with either productivity talks, prioritization, time management, or mental robustness. Therefore, I felt it was important to address these topics and GTM tactics, which we all love.
But before I turn to some “fortune cookie wisdom” whisperer, I’ll say arrivederci and wish you great success and prosperity on your go-to-market voyage!
Let’s go to market!
Maja
PS: Are you ready to dive deeper and work on your Go-To-Market strategy and execution?
Discover my solutions that support your journey from launching to scaling:
🛰️ Explorer: Understand Go-To-Market and develop a winning GTM plan.
Get best selling GTM Strategist book + 20 frameworks (workshops) + online course ($47). Tested by 6500+ companies🚀 Doer: Leverage the 100-step GTM Checklist tested on 650+ launches with templates (emails, launch plans, posts, landing pages), which will guide you from getting ready to launch to an impactful launch and scaling stage.
Get the Checklist ($97)💫 Leader: Guide your team to successfully choose ICP (target market), pricing, positioning & selection of best GTM Motion (channels, tactics). GTM Bootcamp includes 6 hours of applicable videos from top experts.
Get the Bootcamp ($197)🏆 Ready to win: Tackle the most pressing Go-to-Market issues such as selection of ICP, positioning, how to get customers, build teams and select proven ways how to go to market. Book a 90-minute hands-on consultation with Maja, get personalized guidance, a Miro board, and reliable vendor contacts for further work.
Book here for $500