You know what’s funny? The enterprise software sales cycle. Specifically, the part where a buyer spends months doing their homework, and by the time they finally deign to talk to you, they’re 90% of the way to a decision.
Then we ask them to fill out a 15-field form for a demo. Or sit through a 45-minute slide deck. We treat them like they just stumbled off the street, instead of the highly informed, deeply researched prospect they actually are. It’s like we’re actively trying to lose the deal.
Product-Led Growth (PLG) has exposed this absurdity. It’s a wake-up call to the fact that today’s buyers are already halfway through the funnel before they even enter it. They’ve read the G2 reviews. They’ve seen your CEO’s tweets. They’ve probably tried a competitor’s freemium product. The buyer journey isn’t linear; it’s a chaotic, self-directed mess. And your GTM motion needs to stop fighting it.
The new rule is simple: make buying easy. Our job isn’t to educate them from square one; it’s to help them get over the finish line.
The Easy-Button Framework for Enterprise GTM
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Identify the PQL, Don’t Qualify the MQL. Stop obsessing over MQLs, those glorified email addresses. Instead, find the PQLs. These are the people who have already engaged with your product in a meaningful way. They have a high intent because they’ve invested time. Their product usage data is your new BANT.
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Arm the Champion, Don’t Sell to the Committee. You’re not selling to a faceless corporation. You’re selling to a human being who is trying to solve a problem and look good doing it. Your champion has to get internal buy-in. Give them everything they need to make the case: clear ROI calculators, tailored security docs, and bite-sized product walkthroughs. Make them the hero of their own story.
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Default to Transparency, Not Secrecy. Your pricing page says “Contact Sales.” Why? Do you think buyers won’t find out your competitors’ pricing in 30 seconds? Be upfront about what you do, who you do it for, and what it costs. The more you hide, the more you signal you have something to hide. Transparency builds trust before the first conversation even happens.
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Make the Demo a Conversation, Not a Presentation. They don’t need to see your product from the beginning. They’ve already done that. A modern demo starts with the buyer’s unique use case. You say, “I see you’re trying to achieve X. Let’s start with that.” Then you show them, live, in their own environment if possible, how your product solves their specific problem.
The buyer has changed. The best GTM teams aren’t the ones with the most reps, but the ones with the least friction.