Changing Habits for Greater Go-to-Market Value Creation Impact

Common go-to-market (GTM) initiatives often focus on leadership, pricing strategies, demand generation, revenue operations and productivity improvements.

Getting to the short-list for a business and blueprinting the to-be state is a straightforward process. The work is in realizing the impact. The secret to realizing GTM value creation impact lies in changing people’s habits. GTM value creation is inextricably linked to getting humans to do things differently.

Case Study: Lessons from a Fitness Club Operator

A fitness club operator sought to accelerate seller productivity. The team completed a comprehensive diagnostic, developing a prioritized list of high-impact initiatives. With a compelling business case made for each, they selected the highest potential initiatives. The future state was detailed and the pilots scoped.

They were ready for launch. Back-office processes, monitoring systems and enablement content in place. Stakeholders were informed, trained and committed. Launch teams were in place and ready to go. On paper, execution plans looked simple. Change these elements of the sales process. Add a new role. The results will come.   

Fast forward to launch. The changes are live in pilot locations. Despite their initial enthusiasm, sellers found comfort in old routines—like falling back into a well-worn groove. Top performers were skirting change. General managers were focused on running the location and didn’t have the bandwidth to drive adherence. 

To combat these dynamics, launch teams embedded themselves in each pilot location. They attended daily meetings, developed relationships with each seller, monitored tactical execution, actively coached to new processes and collaborated with management to make change stick.  

After a few months, there was enough data to indicate the initiatives were delivering positive impact but not at the speed desired. The initiative was on point. The change adoption programming and efforts were substantial. So why the delay in impact?  

The root cause lay in the time and energy needed to help sellers change habits. Depending on the study you reference, changing a habit can take as short as a couple of weeks to as long as a year.  

Whether you are deploying a new pricing strategy, opening a new lead channel, installing a modern pipeline or forecasting process or another GTM value creation initiative, impact will require changing habits.  

Tips For Driving Change

1. Factor the time required to change habits in your model (impact simulation)

Opening a new lead channel might take a couple weeks to change habits (e.g., a higher volume of inbound leads hit the sellers desk each morning, all they need to do is respond and qualify). Adopting new messaging (e.g., in support of a shift to value-based pricing) might take up to a year.  

2. Engage your top performers

Most initiatives do not target this population. They succeed no matter the situation. The issue with this group is they are the population the masses emulate. To realize change across the masses, encourage top performers to model behavior…or at the least not torpedo the change. 

3. Sustained positive reinforcement and incentives

Utilize first-line managers, internal communications and special programs to celebrate the adoption of new ways. First-line managers should be meeting with their teams weekly and syncing with individuals regularly. Internal email communications and social media should celebrate demonstrations of new ways. Highlight specific case examples and customer stories. Utilize rewards and recognition programs (e.g., seller of the week, presidents club or others) to validate those modeling the desired behavior.  

Realizing Go-to-Market Value Impact

GTM value creation is straightforward:  

• Run your diagnostic
• Select the most appropriate plays
• Prioritize and gain alignment
• Mobilize execution

Realizing impact is less straightforward. Success comes down to leadership’s ability to effectively change habits and sustain the desired future state. Speed to impact requires unrelenting focus and energy.  

• Be realistic about the time needed to change habits
• Motivate top performers to model behavior
• Offer frequent and multi modal positive reinforcement
• Utilize noncash-based incentives to reward modeled behavior

Driving GTM value creation is not just about strategy, it’s about execution, behavior change and making new habits stick. The difference between a plan that stalls and one that accelerates impact lies in leadership’s ability to engage teams, reinforce change and sustain momentum. At Alexander Group, we help companies navigate this journey with proven strategies and deep industry expertise.