The Pipeline Problem

Your product is strong. Your team is talented. But the pipeline? Weak, inconsistent, or worse—nonexistent. Sound familiar? For many B2B teams, it's not the market, the competition, or even the tools holding them back. It's a broken go-to-market (GTM) strategy. And it’s costing you more than lost revenue. It’s costing you momentum.

In this article, we’ll break down the real reasons most GTM strategies fail—and how to fix yours using a practical, proven framework.

Problem #1: Sales and Marketing Are Misaligned

Ask your marketing team who the ideal customer is. Now ask your sales team. If their answers don’t match, your GTM is already off track.

Misalignment creates friction at every stage of the funnel. Campaigns are launched without sales input. Leads are handed over with no context. Sales complains about lead quality; marketing complains about follow-up.

The result? Pipeline stalls. And finger-pointing begins.

Key Symptoms:

• Low conversion rates from MQL to SQL

• Reps ignoring marketing-sourced leads

• Campaigns and outreach happening in silos

The Fix:
You need shared goals, shared KPIs, and a documented handoff process. Start with a Sales & Marketing Alignment Workshop to define your funnel stages, lead criteria, and joint scorecard. When everyone measures success the same way, execution improves—and so do results.

Problem #2: Your ICP and Messaging Are Vague

A fuzzy Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) is like trying to sell in the dark. If you’re targeting "mid-market companies in tech," you’re casting too wide a net. That leads to wasted spend, poor engagement, and low-quality leads.

Generic messaging compounds the problem. If your outreach sounds like everyone else’s, it gets ignored—or deleted.

Key Symptoms:

• Low open/reply rates on outbound

• Leads that "aren’t the right fit"

• Inconsistent messaging across channels

The Fix:
Start with data. Analyze your top 20% of customers by revenue and deal velocity. What verticals, company sizes, pain points, and buying triggers do they share? That’s your ICP. Then craft messaging that speaks directly to their needs. Personalized, relevant outreach cuts through the noise and drives engagement.

Problem #3: You’re Executing Without Strategy

Launching campaigns is easy. Launching the right campaigns—with intent and purpose—is not.

Too often, teams run "random acts of marketing": a webinar here, a cold email blast there. Sales is prospecting one list, marketing is nurturing another. The result? Activity without impact.

Key Symptoms:

• High volume, low conversion

• Disconnected outreach and follow-up

• No clear GTM roadmap or cadence

The Fix:
You need a structured GTM engine. Not just tactics, but a full system for aligning strategy with execution. That’s where our 5-pillar framework comes in.

The 5-Pillar GTM Engine: A Framework for Consistent Growth

At PlusFigaro, we help B2B teams build GTM systems that scale. Here’s how:

1. Align
   Unify sales and marketing goals, workflows, and handoffs. Define your funnel stages and KPIs together. Run regular GTM syncs.

2. Target
   Define your ICP, map your Total Addressable Market (TAM), and prioritize accounts. Use intent data and enrichment to get precise.

3. Execute
   Launch multi-channel outbound and ABM campaigns. Email, LinkedIn, events—all coordinated. Focus on quality, not just volume.

4. Enable
   Equip your sales team with decks, scripts, and one-pagers they actually use. Build content tailored to segments and objections.

5. Optimize
   Track real metrics: SQL rate, pipeline velocity, conversion by stage. Run A/B tests, audit your CRM, and continuously refine.

This isn’t just theory. It’s how high-performing teams build momentum.

Real-World Example: The SaaS Company Turnaround

A mid-market SaaS team came to us with stagnant pipeline and low demo rates. We aligned their sales and marketing, refined their ICP, and launched a targeted outbound campaign. The result? 18 ICP accounts activated, 36 meetings booked, and $1.2M in pipeline—all in 90 days.

Conclusion: Your GTM Needs More Than Tools

GTM failure isn’t about missing tech—it’s about missing alignment, focus, and execution. If your pipeline isn’t moving, your GTM strategy needs more than tweaks. It needs a reset.

At PlusFigaro, we help B2B teams fix what’s broken, align what matters, and build systems that don’t just launch campaigns—they close deals.

Ready to build GTM momentum? Let’s talk.