Glossary · Product and traction · Updated
Go-to-market is how a company reaches customers and converts them: which segment, through which channel, with what message and at what price. It is not a marketing plan, it is the choice of an acquisition path you can repeat.
The question is not which channel is best in the abstract, but which one matches your price. A €30 per month product cannot carry a salesperson spending six weeks closing a deal; a €2,000 per month product does not sell itself through organic search. Price determines channel far more than the reverse.
Each model demands a different organisation. Self-serve requires a product that explains itself without a human, careful documentation and heavy investment in content. Sales-led requires recruiting, training and equipping salespeople, which means months of hiring before the first euro arrives.
The most expensive mistake is running both too early. A small team building a self-serve funnel and an outbound sales motion at the same time usually succeeds at neither: the two models need different skills, tools and rhythms.
Example: two go-to-market models for one product
The same tool positioned two ways, with the economic consequences of each choice.
| Self-serve: price | €49/month |
|---|---|
| Self-serve: channel | organic search and content |
| Self-serve: sales cycle | under a day |
| Self-serve: CAC | €300 |
| Self-serve: payback | about 8 months |
| Sales-led: price | €800/month |
| Sales-led: channel | outbound prospecting and demos |
| Sales-led: sales cycle | 6 weeks |
| Sales-led: CAC | €4,000 |
| Sales-led: payback | about 6 months |
Both models work, and sales-led even recovers its cost faster. But it requires hiring salespeople before any revenue arrives, so more cash up front. That parameter, not payback, usually settles the decision.
The common mistake
Hiring a salesperson before selling yourself. Until a founder has closed a dozen deals they do not know which message works, and the new hire spends six months discovering what the team should have handed them.
Frequently asked questions
How do you choose a go-to-market strategy?+
Start from price and product complexity. Below around a hundred euros a month, a salesperson is not sustainable and self-serve is the answer. Above several hundred euros, with a decision involving multiple people, assisted selling becomes necessary.
Can you combine self-serve and sales-led?+
Yes, but rarely at the same time early on. The usual sequence is to make one model work, then add the second once the first runs on its own. Running both with a small team most often means failing at both.
Related terms
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