How to Dodge the 7 Biggest Go-To-Market Pitfalls We’re Seeing

Every business wants to grow, but many unknowingly trip over the same hurdles—again and again. Working with businesses across different industries, we’ve spotted some recurring mistakes that stall revenue growth. (And yes, we’ve fallen into some of these traps ourselves!)

Here’s what to watch out for—and how to avoid them.

1. Your Message Is "Vanilla"

With attention spans shorter than ever, your messaging must stand out. Yet, when we compare businesses to their competitors, their messaging often blends into the background—just more white noise.

Fix it: Create messaging that’s bold, distinct, and truly customer-centric. Take a leaf from Brewdog’s book—their CMO once said they’d only run a campaign if no other brand could swap in their logo. Does your message pass that test?

2. Your Sales Team Isn’t Ready

You’ve launched a game-changing product. The marketing campaign is firing. But there’s a problem—your sales team isn’t confident enough to sell it.

Fix it: One-off sales enablement doesn’t cut it. Continuous, bite-sized learning builds momentum and keeps your team sharp. Want a quick pulse check? Run an anonymous survey with your sales team to uncover skill gaps.

3. Compensation Isn’t Driving the Right Behaviour

Salespeople follow the money. If your compensation plan doesn’t align with your strategic goals, they’ll default to what pays best—even if it’s not what the business wants to grow.

Fix it: Adjust incentives to drive the behaviour you need. Could a special bonus encourage sellers to push a priority product?

4. Your Go-To-Market Teams Are Out of Sync

Sales and marketing misalignment is a silent revenue killer. LinkedIn found that 75% of the time, these teams are chasing different ideal clients—a massive waste of effort.

Fix it: Align your Go-To-Market teams on who you’re targeting, how you’re measuring success, and how you communicate. Even a weekly alignment meeting can make a huge impact.

5. You’re Not Learning from Failure

Many businesses still treat strategy as set in stone—but the best ones adapt in real-time based on market feedback.

Fix it: Create a feedback loop with your sales team. The small, seemingly offhand comments from customers are often where the real insights lie. No feedback? You’re just guessing.

6. Slow Execution is Killing Momentum

The businesses that thrive are fast movers—constantly testing, tweaking, and acting on opportunities before competitors do.

Fix it: If speed is a challenge (especially in larger businesses), create small project teams that can act quickly instead of waiting for full-company buy-in.

7. Great Strategy, Poor Execution

Even the best strategy will fail if it’s not executed well. Shockingly, only 2% of leaders are confident they can execute their plans successfully. The reality? 50% of leads generated by marketing never get a callback from sales.

Fix it: Use execution frameworks like 4 Disciplines of Execution (4DX) or EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) to create clear accountability, tracking, and follow-through.

Which of These Are Holding You Back?

It’s easy to spot these pitfalls in hindsight—but the trick is catching them before they cost you growth.