How do you approach pivoting GTM strategy if you're not seeing expected results i.e. pipeline growth, customer momentum,ACV and ARR goals etc.

If you’re not seeing the expected results, do this immediately: dig into why you’re not seeing results. Investigate the data to better understand why your GTM strategy isn’t working. Whatever metric is “down”, you need to know why. Look at the data again, and talk to customers to supplement with qualitative data. Is the problem really with the strategy or is there a misalignment of expectations vs reality? This is a key question to explore with the GTM team (PM+PMM+Sales). 

Personal example: I once worked at a small company that was the incumbent in an industry. For years, we were the market leaders. But then things changed. More competitors popped up. We started losing deals. Revenue was slipping. We needed to pivot our GTM strategy. Historically, we relied upon direct selling and selling through consultants. After doing a thorough analysis (leveraging market research, customer research, and sales data), we found that selling through a distribution channel (partners!) would yield greater results. In our case, the market changed (more competition) and previous methods for delivering the product to the world were not working. Once we realized this, here’s how we made the pivot: 

1. Data! Research! Both quantitative and qualitative. We spoke with customers and analysts to better understand customer needs and buying behaviors.

2. Leadership buy-in! Once we had the analysis, we shared it with our company leaders and stakeholders. We let the analysis lead to an open discussion, centered around our recommendation. A major point to make here is that, while we had an analysis and final recommendation, we made it a discussion so that everyone played a role in finalizing the GTM strategy pivot. This is more likely to lead to buy-in and support. 

3. Socialize! Once everyone was aligned in the new GTM strategy, we followed the same path as before; we socialized the strategy and made it accessible to everyone else who needed to see it. 

Pro-tip: Embrace transparency! When something isn’t working and you’re not seeing the results you expected, let your stakeholders know. Your sales and marketing partners will appreciate knowing that you’re keeping a finger on the pulse and that you’re taking action to improve. When the GTM strategy is strong, their work will also be strong. If they know you’re on-it to make the GTM strategy even stronger, it will increase their trust in you.

Strategy is generally made without a complete knowledge of whether it will work or not. Sometimes you will need to pivot your strategy based on the results. Here are a couple of steps to help you pivot:

1. Dive into the data to troubleshoot whether it's truly an issue with your strategy: Strategy requires a certain amount of time to succeed and many companies give up too early. I would first ask if your strategy is not working, or if you have not given it enough time yet. Make sure to compare performance against benchmarks, expected timelines, and historical data to determine if the lack of results is short-term or a persistent issue.

2. Determine the underlying causes: Seek input from sales, marketing, customer success, operations, and other teams to understand their experiences and challenges with executing the current strategy. I would also conduct a thorough analysis of the data on pipeline growth, customer momentum, ACV, ARR, etc. to identify underlying trends and patterns. Try to consider factors such as seasonality, market dynamics, and the competitive landscape when interpreting the data.

3. Get alignment with key stakeholders: It is especially important to get buy-in from major stakeholders for any pivots to strategy. Try to facilitate discussions with key stakeholders across departments to ensure a shared understanding of the challenges and opportunities. Clearly lay out the issues with the current approach, the data that you're looking at, and assumptions you're making. Try to foster a discussion of what's happening and where pivots need to occur. It's important that key stakeholders walk away with a shared understanding of the "why" behind any decisions so that they can communicate this to their teams.

4. Define the new approach and a set of goals and KPIs: Now that you've discussed the new strategy, make sure to clearly lay out the revised GTM strategy based on the discussion with stakeholders, especially calling out any changes made and why. Establish measurable goals and KPIs to track the performance and effectiveness of the new approach and a cadence of check-ins to hold yourself and all teams accountable to whether the new approach is working.

5. Continue iterating and refining: Encourage continuous improvement and learning throughout these regular check-ins, making sure to reflect the feedback and insights to inform future iterations of the GTM strategy. Since the market, product, company, and people change over time, try to remain flexible and adaptable in response to evolving conditions and customer needs, iterating on the strategy as needed based on what's working for the organization today and into the future.