It’s no longer about the model. It’s about the buyer.

Marketing and sales models have been, and still are, the foundation for alignment for GTM teams and efforts. And they are a HOTLY debated topic. But what happens to these models as Buyers shift to Self-Serve Buying?

First we must understand that whether it’s the Sirius Decisions Demand Waterfall, Revenue/Flipped/Four Funnel, ABM, SPIN, MEDDIC, Challenger, etc. – these are all purely operational models. In other words, they are internal, intended to drive how the business functions in relation to the buying process. And there’s certainly nothing inherently wrong with that.

But here’s the reality: Buyers couldn’t care less about any of this. They simply want their specific pre-purchase questions quickly and effectively answered in the way THEY choose. That’s it.

And that’s why the rapid emergence of Self-Serve Buying is such a fundamental shift in GTM. It means that everything you do internally HAS to be truly Buyer-centric – because Buyers simply don’t want to speak to those sales reps who are intensely working your chosen operational model.

So, with “Buyer-Centric GTM” – we must think about how we fully align our operations to the Buyer – not the other way around.

Now, as you can see in the image, we have built our platform to leverage most all leading M/S models. You simply select the model your business is using (or build your own), which ensures that all GTM stakeholders are speaking the same internal language. Then you build your Self-Serve Selling strategic plan on top of that. The beauty of this is that it’s your selected GTM model and strategy that are now DIRECTLY measured against your Buyers and your revenue. There’s no squish. You’ll know exactly what works and what doesn’t – and why.

So which model do you choose?

You see in the image our own Self-Serve Buying model, which is based on our years of experience and research in this space. It very simply lays out what the Buyer wants sales to DO for them in each stage of their journey (Educate, Compel and Convince). It’s built on the things they need to know and feel to make the purchase decision.

But what about something like MEDDIC? I was at a GTM Roundtable last week where two enterprise CROs were discussing the merits of this model. Rightly so – because it works. But how will MEDDIC function in the realm of Self-Serve Buying?

We’ll take a look at this in my next post…