<quick_start> ICP scoring: 80+ = Ideal | 60-79 = Good | 40-59 = Marginal | <40 = Pass

Positioning statement:

For [target] who [need], [product] is a [category] that [benefit]. Unlike [alternative], our product [differentiator].

Value-based pricing: Price at 10-20% of quantified value delivered

Opportunity score: /100 across Market Fit, Technical Fit, GTM Fit, Personal Fit, Economics </quick_start>

<success_criteria> GTM strategy is successful when:

• ICP documented with scoring criteria (firmographics, technographics, psychographics)

• Positioning statement follows April Dunford framework

• Pricing anchored to quantified value (not cost-plus)

• Tier structure follows Good/Better/Best with clear feature gates

• Opportunity scoring identifies red flags and good signals

• Battle cards created for top 3 competitors

• Launch checklist completed (pre-launch, launch, post-launch) </success_criteria>

<core_content> Comprehensive guide for B2B go-to-market strategy, pricing, and opportunity evaluation.

Quick Reference

Framework Purpose When to Use

ICP Development Define ideal customer Before any outreach

Positioning Differentiate in market Product launch, pivot

Messaging Hierarchy Consistent communication Sales enablement

Competitive Intel Understand landscape Deal strategy, positioning

Value-Based Pricing Price by value delivered Setting initial prices

Tier Structure Package offering Feature gating decisions

Opportunity Scoring Evaluate fit New client/project decisions

Part 1: Go-To-Market Strategy

ICP Development Framework

Build your ICP across three dimensions, then score each prospect:

Dimension 1 -- Firmographics (who they are):

• Company size: employee count range, revenue range

• Industry: primary verticals, secondary, and explicitly excluded

• Geography: target regions, excluded regions

• Company type: startup, growth-stage, enterprise, SMB

• Funding stage: bootstrapped, seed, Series A-D, public/PE-backed

Dimension 2 -- Technographics (what they use):

• Required stack: must-have tech, nice-to-have, incompatible

• Tech maturity: early adopter, early majority, late majority, laggard

• Current solutions: CRM, ERP, industry-specific tools

• Integration requirements: what your product must connect to

• Pain indicators: manual processes, disconnected systems, spreadsheet workarounds

Dimension 3 -- Psychographics (how they buy):

• Awareness stage: unaware, problem-aware, solution-aware, product-aware

• Buying committee: economic buyer, technical buyer, user buyer, champion, blocker

• Decision criteria: primary (speed, cost, features) and secondary

• Risk tolerance: budget concerns, implementation risk, change management, vendor stability

ICP Scoring Rubric:

Score Label Action

80-100 Ideal Prioritize -- full outreach cadence, executive sponsorship

60-79 Good Pursue -- standard cadence, qualify thoroughly

40-59 Marginal Conditional -- only if specific signal changes (budget, timing)

<40 Pass Decline -- opportunity cost too high

Behavioral Signals to Watch:

• High intent: searched for competitor alternatives, visited pricing page 3+ times, downloaded buyer's guide

• Medium intent: attended webinar, engaged with case study, connected on LinkedIn

• Low intent: blog subscriber, social follower, newsletter open

ICP Validation Checklist:

• TAM/SAM/SOM calculated with minimum 1,000 companies in ICP

• Historical win rate against ICP >30%

• ICP customers have lowest churn and highest NPS

• Sales team, CS, and product all agree on the profile

See reference/gtm.md for full YAML ICP worksheet templates and an example ICP (MEP contractors).

Positioning (April Dunford Framework)

The 5 Components of Positioning:

• Competitive alternatives -- What would customers use if you didn't exist? (Not just direct competitors -- include spreadsheets, manual processes, hiring, doing nothing)

• Unique attributes -- What do you have that alternatives don't? (Features, architecture, team expertise, data, integrations)

• Value -- What does the unique attribute enable for customers? (Time saved, revenue gained, risk reduced, cost avoided)

• Target customer -- Who cares most about that value? (The segment where your strengths matter most)

• Market category -- What market do you position in? (Existing category, subcategory, or create new category)

Positioning Statement Template:

For [target customer segment] who [key need/pain], [product name] is a [market category] that [primary value proposition]. Unlike [competitive alternative], our product [key differentiator tied to unique attribute].

Messaging Hierarchy (3 levels, max 3 differentiators each):

Level Audience Message Type

Strategic C-suite, board Business outcomes, ROI, risk reduction

Solution Directors, VPs Capability, integration, workflow improvement

Persona End users, admins Features, UX, daily workflow benefits

Competitive Battle Card Essentials: For each top-3 competitor, document:

• Overview: founded, HQ, funding, target market, pricing model

• Strengths (acknowledge honestly -- credibility requires it)

• Weaknesses mapped to your advantages

• Common objections with value-based responses

• Win strategy: lead differentiator, proof point, reference story

• Questions to ask the prospect that expose competitor weaknesses

See reference/gtm.md for battle card template, positioning examples, and competitive positioning framework.

GTM Motion and Launch

GTM Motion Selection:

Motion ACV Sales Cycle Team Needed CAC

Product-Led Growth (PLG) <$5K Days Growth/product Low

Sales-Assisted $5-50K Weeks SDR + AE Medium

Enterprise $50K+ Months AE + SE + CSM High

Partner/Channel Variable Variable Partner Manager Variable

Channel Mix: 60-70% primary motion, 20-30% secondary, 10% experimental.

Launch Checklist Milestones:

• T-30 (Pre-launch): ICP validated, positioning finalized, messaging hierarchy complete, battle cards created, pricing approved, sales team trained, demo environment stable

• T-0 (Launch): Website updated, outbound sequences activated, press release distributed, social campaign live, partner notifications sent

• T+30 (Post-launch): Win/loss analysis started, messaging refined from feedback, pipeline reviewed, competitive response documented, metrics dashboard active

See reference/gtm.md for full launch checklists, channel strategy details, and complexity-to-resource matching.

Part 2: Pricing Strategy

Value-Based Pricing Method

Step 1 -- Quantify customer value:

Total Value = Time Savings + Revenue Impact + Cost Avoidance

Time Savings: Hours saved/month x Hourly rate x 12 Revenue Impact: Additional revenue enabled per year Cost Avoidance: Costs eliminated or reduced per year

Step 2 -- Set price at 10-20% of quantified value:

• 10% = conservative (easy sell, high perceived value)

• 15% = balanced (standard B2B SaaS)

• 20% = aggressive (strong differentiation required)

Step 3 -- Validate against willingness-to-pay:

• Van Westendorp price sensitivity: ask "too cheap / cheap / expensive / too expensive"

• Competitive benchmarking: where do alternatives price?

• Customer interviews: "Would you pay $X for Y outcome?"

Pricing Models

Model Best For Pros Cons

Flat rate Simple products Easy to understand Doesn't scale with value

Per seat Team tools Predictable, scales with org Discourages adoption

Usage-based APIs, infra Aligns cost with value Unpredictable revenue

Tiered (Good/Better/Best) Feature differentiation Anchoring, clear upgrade path Complex to design

Hybrid (seat + usage) Enterprise SaaS Predictable base + upside Complex billing

Tier Design (Good/Better/Best)

Tier structure principles:

• 3-4 tiers optimal (more creates decision paralysis)

• Middle tier should be your target -- it gets the "Most Popular" badge

• Top tier makes middle tier look reasonable (price anchoring)

• Free tier only if PLG motion (land, qualify, viral growth)

Feature Gating Rules:

Gate By Examples When to Use

Scale Users, API calls, storage, projects Usage naturally grows with value

Sophistication Advanced analytics, AI features, workflows Features require maturity to use

Control SSO, SAML, audit logs, custom roles Enterprise compliance needs

Support SLA, dedicated CSM, phone support Willingness to pay for service

Never gate: Security features, data export, basic integrations. Gating these breeds resentment and churn.

Discounting Strategy

Type Trigger Range Use When

Volume Commitment to scale 10-30% Large seat count, multi-year

Term Annual commitment 15-25% Monthly-to-annual conversion

Competitive Switching from competitor 20-40% Match remaining contract value

Strategic Reference customer, logo value Up to 50% Brand-name + case study commitment

Protect your pricing -- never discount when:

• Customer hasn't articulated the value they'll receive

• No competitive pressure exists

• You're early in negotiation (discount later, not first)

• Customer is purely price-shopping (they'll churn anyway)

Alternatives to discounting: Extended payment terms, additional training/onboarding, extended trial period, success-milestone feature unlocks, multi-year lock-in at current rate.

Key SaaS Pricing Metrics

Metric Target Formula

LTV

3x CAC ARPU / monthly churn rate

CAC Payback <12 months CAC / ARPU

NRR

100% (Start MRR + expansion - contraction - churn) / Start MRR

Gross Margin

70% (Revenue - COGS) / Revenue

See reference/pricing.md for per-model deep dives, price increase playbook, services pricing, productized service model, and revenue model templates.

Part 3: Opportunity Evaluation

Quick Score (/100)

Dimension Points What to Assess

Market Fit 25 Problem clarity (10), market size (8), timing (7)

Technical Fit 20 Can I build it (10), infrastructure fit (5), maintenance burden (5)

GTM Fit 20 Sales complexity (8), channel access (7), competition (5)

Personal Fit 20 Interest/energy (8), growth potential (7), lifestyle fit (5)

Economics 15 Revenue potential (8), time to revenue (4), risk/reward (3)

Score Interpretation and Action

Score Action Next Step

80-100 STRONG PURSUE Prioritize immediately, allocate resources

60-79 EXPLORE Worth a time-boxed deep dive (1-2 weeks)

40-59 CONDITIONAL Park it -- revisit only if a specific factor changes

0-39 PASS Decline -- opportunity cost too high

Red Flags (Automatic Deductions)

Any of these should subtract 10-20 points from your score:

• Unclear payment terms: "We'll figure out compensation later"

• Expanding scope pre-start: Requirements growing before contract signed

• Pressure to decide fast: "We need an answer by Friday" on a major commitment

• Misaligned incentives: Their success doesn't require your success

• Economics don't work even optimistically: If best-case math doesn't pencil, walk away

• Single-threaded champion: Only one person wants this; no organizational buy-in

• No budget allocated: Interested but no approved spend

GTM Complexity Levels

Level Buyer ACV Cycle Decision Style

PLG Individual user <$2K Days User = buyer, self-serve

Low-Touch Manager $2-15K 1-4 weeks Light demo, quick approval

Mid-Market Director/VP $15-100K 1-3 months Committee, multiple stakeholders

Enterprise C-suite $100K-1M 6-18 months RFP, security review, legal

Complex Board-level $1M+ 12-36 months Transformation project

Match complexity to your resources:

• Solo / side project: target Level 1-2 max

• Small team: target Level 2-3

• Funded startup: target Level 2-4

• Enterprise sales org: target Level 3-5

5-Minute Viability Test

Before deep-diving any opportunity, answer four questions:

• How much will one customer pay? $____/month

• How many customers can I realistically get in 6 months? ____

• What does it cost to serve one customer? $____/month

• How many hours/week will this take? ____

Quick math:

• Monthly revenue at 6 months: #2 x #1

• Monthly costs: #2 x #3

• Monthly margin: Revenue - Costs

• Effective hourly rate: Margin / (hours x 4.33)

• If hourly rate < $100 --> needs rethinking

Build vs Partner vs Buy Decision

Signal Build Partner Buy

Core differentiator Yes

Commodity capability

Yes

Complementary strength

Yes

Time-critical

Yes

Learning value high Yes

Maintenance burden high

Yes Yes

No good alternative exists Yes

See reference/opportunity.md for detailed scoring rubrics per dimension, full scorecard YAML templates, unit economics worksheets, cost structure analysis, break-even calculations, and build-vs-partner decision trees.

Reference Files

• reference/gtm.md

• ICP YAML templates, behavioral signals, validation checklist, channel strategy, launch playbooks, battle card template, positioning examples

• reference/pricing.md

• Model deep dives, tier design, price increase playbook, services pricing, discount framework, SaaS metrics dashboard

• reference/opportunity.md

• Full scoring rubrics (5 sections), scorecard YAML, unit economics, cost analysis, break-even formulas, build/partner/buy decision trees </core_content>