{"id":12989,"date":"2026-09-09T14:43:30","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T12:43:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aggrator.com\/?p=12989"},"modified":"2026-09-09T16:03:20","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T14:03:20","slug":"du-har-sannsynligvis-ikke-et-salgsproblem-du-har-et-go-to-market-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aggrator.com\/en\/du-har-sannsynligvis-ikke-et-salgsproblem-du-har-et-go-to-market-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"You probably don't have a sales problem. You have a go-to-market problem."},"content":{"rendered":"

Many companies believe that growth is about selling more. More meetings. More campaigns. More salespeople. More countries.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When results fail to materialize, the level of activity is further ramped up. The problem is only that more activity does not help if the company is targeting the wrong market, talking to the wrong people, or offering a value that the customer does not perceive as important enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then you don't get a growth machine. You get an expensive collection of random activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A go-to-market strategy therefore is not just about sales and marketing. It describes the entire journey from a promising solution to a repeatable, scalable, and defensible market position. To succeed, the business must master three phases: analyze, attack, and grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


First you have to choose to be away<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Most markets are larger than the capacity of the company that wants to process them. Yet many startups describe their target market as \u00aball businesses in need of \u2026\u00bb. That sounds ambitious. In practice, this often means that the company has not prioritized it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Segmentation is not primarily about describing the market. It's about choosing which market you can actually win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most attractive segment is not necessarily the largest one one thinks of. It is the segment where the need is clear, customers can be reached, the willingness to buy can be documented, and the company has sufficient credibility and potential to make an impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here also arises the first uncomfortable question: Does the product solve a problem that the customer really wants to pay for, or is it just interesting?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many value propositions start with features: the platform uses artificial intelligence, sensors, advanced algorithms, or proprietary technology. All of this can be impressive. But the customer is not buying the technology. The customer is buying a better situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A credible value proposition must therefore explain who the customer is, what problem it solves, why the problem is important, how the customer handles it today, and how much better the new solution is. Ideally, the improvement must be measurable in terms of money, time, risk, productivity, or quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, if you can\u2019t explain the value without starting with the product\u2019s features, you probably don\u2019t have a finished value proposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


The first customer might deceive you<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Winning the first customer is often seen as a breakthrough. Sometimes it is. Other times, the first customer is an exception disguised as market validation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early adopters often accept risk, incomplete integrations, and manual processes. They may buy because they like the team, want to experiment, or have a particularly committed internal advocate. The mainstream market operates differently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More established customers need documentation, references, security, and organizational support. They must be able to defend the decision to management, finance, IT, purchasing, and their own users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is where many companies get stuck. They try to bridge the gap between the pilot and the market by doing more of what brought the first customer. But the transition requires not only greater sales efforts. It requires a more mature sales logic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In complex B2B sales, there is rarely only one customer. There are initiators, users, influencers, decision-makers, approvers, buyers, and gatekeepers. All of them consider the solution from different perspectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In reality, the user can love the product while the CFO rejects the investment. A project manager can move the process forward without having real decision-making authority. The IT department can stop the purchase because the integration creates extra work. A middle manager can help train the team because the solution challenges established roles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One should therefore always ask two questions about each central figure: What is the person measured by, and what authority does the person actually have?<\/p>\n\n\n\n


A no doesn't always mean no<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Be aware that the situation in a commercial setting can change quickly. When a potential customer does not sign, the supplier usually assumes that the price is too high or the need is weak. That may be true. But often the obstacle lies in a completely different place, and it can change over time or even disappear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, the customer\u2019s project portfolio may be full. The budget may belong to a department other than the one receiving the profit. The decision-maker may be experiencing personal career risk. A major competitor may have promised a similar function \u00absoon.\u00bb Or the solution may require system integration, training, and change management that the customer does not have the capacity to handle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is therefore dangerous to interpret a standstill as a simple no. Before the company gives up, it must understand what is actually blocking the decision. The product\u2019s price is, after all, not the customer\u2019s only purchase cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Sales must become a system<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Growth does not only occur because the company has many names in a CRM system. A pipeline only has value when each stage of the sales process is clearly defined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What distinguishes a general lead from a prospect? When is a prospect a qualified lead? What must be clarified before the opportunity can be considered a real purchase process?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without such definitions, the pipeline becomes a distraction rather than management information, and the entire organization must be in agreement on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same applies to partnerships. A logo on the website is not a sales channel. A good partner has access to the target audience, relevant capabilities, and an economic interest in the product\u2019s success. If the partner does not prioritize the solution, share the risk, or receive a clear benefit, there is likely no real partnership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Growth without a defense strategy is only temporary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When the sales finally take off, the next challenge begins: growing without being copied, pressured on price or replaced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growth can come from existing customers, value-enhancing services, partners, regulation, megatrends, or control over more parts of the value chain. But no growth driver lasts forever. At the same time, the company must build a competitive advantage that sustains the growth momentum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Competitive advantage is always something very concrete, unique, and sustainable over time, but can largely be classified into six different categories. It can be proprietary technology, high switching costs, privileged access to data or resources, scale advantages, or control over critical parts of the value chain. The point is not which mechanism the company chooses. The point is that it chooses one \u2013 and builds it consciously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

A strong go-to-market strategy does not need to be complicated, but it must be precise enough to create action: Choose the market. Prove the value. Understand the buying process. Build a repeatable sales engine. Remove friction. Defend the position.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So before you hire another salesperson or enter another market, you should ask the most important question:<\/em> Do you really have a growth problem \u2013 or have you still not decided how to win?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Salvador Baille leads our Executive Workshops, where we bring in the leadership expertise to help you and your company with a specific issue or part of the business. Read more here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mange selskaper tror at vekst handler om \u00e5 selge mer. Flere m\u00f8ter. Flere kampanjer. Flere selgere. Flere land. N\u00e5r resultatene uteblir, skrus aktivitetsniv\u00e5et ytterligere opp. Problemet er bare at mer aktivitet ikke hjelper dersom selskapet angriper feil marked, snakker med feil mennesker eller tilbyr en verdi kunden ikke oppfatter som viktig nok. Da f\u00e5r man […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":177941438,"featured_media":13003,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","_thinkrank_schema_form_data":"","_thinkrank_selected_schema_type":"","_thinkrank_additional_schemas":"","_thinkrank_canonical_url":"","_thinkrank_og_title":"","_thinkrank_og_description":"","_thinkrank_og_image":"","_thinkrank_twitter_title":"","_thinkrank_twitter_description":"","_thinkrank_twitter_image":"","_thinkrank_imported_from":"","_thinkrank_focus_keywords":[],"_thinkrank_focus_keyword":"","_thinkrank_robots_meta_enabled":0,"_thinkrank_robots_meta":"[]","_thinkrank_advanced_robots_meta":"[]","_thinkrank_exclude_from_search":0,"_thinkrank_exclude_from_archives":0,"_thinkrank_primary_category":0,"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1,1464],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-ressurser"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/aggrator.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/slvad.jpg",750,750,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/aggrator.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/slvad-150x150.jpg?crop=1",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/aggrator.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/slvad-300x300.jpg",300,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/aggrator.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/slvad.jpg",750,750,false],"large":["https:\/\/aggrator.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/slvad.jpg",750,750,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/aggrator.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/slvad.jpg",750,750,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/aggrator.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/slvad.jpg",750,750,false],"trp-custom-language-flag":["https:\/\/aggrator.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/slvad-12x12.jpg",12,12,true],"newspack-article-block-landscape-large":["https:\/\/aggrator.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/slvad.jpg",750,750,false],"newspack-article-block-portrait-large":["https:\/\/aggrator.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/slvad.jpg",750,750,false],"newspack-article-block-square-large":["https:\/\/aggrator.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/slvad.jpg",750,750,false],"newspack-article-block-landscape-medium":["https:\/\/aggrator.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/slvad.jpg",600,600,false],"newspack-article-block-portrait-medium":["https:\/\/aggrator.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/slvad.jpg",600,600,false],"newspack-article-block-square-medium":["https:\/\/aggrator.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/slvad.jpg",750,750,false],"newspack-article-block-landscape-intermediate":["https:\/\/aggrator.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/slvad.jpg",450,450,false],"newspack-article-block-portrait-intermediate":["https:\/\/aggrator.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/slvad.jpg",450,450,false],"newspack-article-block-square-intermediate":["https:\/\/aggrator.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/slvad.jpg",600,600,false],"newspack-article-block-landscape-small":["https:\/\/aggrator.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/slvad.jpg",300,300,false],"newspack-article-block-portrait-small":["https:\/\/aggrator.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/slvad.jpg",300,300,false],"newspack-article-block-square-small":["https:\/\/aggrator.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/slvad.jpg",400,400,false],"newspack-article-block-landscape-tiny":["https:\/\/aggrator.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/slvad.jpg",150,150,false],"newspack-article-block-portrait-tiny":["https:\/\/aggrator.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/slvad.jpg",150,150,false],"newspack-article-block-square-tiny":["https:\/\/aggrator.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/slvad.jpg",200,200,false],"newspack-article-block-uncropped":["https:\/\/aggrator.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/slvad.jpg",750,750,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Salvador Baille","author_link":"https:\/\/aggrator.com\/en\/author\/salvadorbaille\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Mange selskaper tror at vekst handler om \u00e5 selge mer. 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