Make the strategic choices constrain the work
Start with a problem that buyers have confirmed, not a list of every feature your product supports. Define the operational condition in which that problem is costly, the roles involved and the adoption constraints. Choose one initial segment that you can reach and serve credibly.
Specify the standard offer and how a buying decision advances: discovery, scoped evaluation, business case, procurement and agreement. Connect the expected annual value and gross contribution to acquisition effort without inventing a win-rate benchmark. Then identify the largest uncertain assumption and design a bounded test. A channel plan without these choices is a distribution schedule, not a complete strategy.
| Decision | Evidence to use | What changes next |
|---|---|---|
| Who and why | Buyer-confirmed problem, operational fit and disqualifiers | Choose a coherent initial segment |
| How they buy | Stakeholders, evaluation and adoption constraints | Build a buying process and standard scope |
| What to learn | Uncertain assumption, evidence window and decision rule | Run a test that can change the plan |
Work through the decision
Illustrative product: entitlement software for B2B platforms. Instead of targeting all funded SaaS, choose companies adding differentiated enterprise plans while managing access manually. Save public observations but keep the pain hypothetical.
Discovery tests whether access changes create a meaningful problem, who owns it and whether a standard integration is feasible. If buyers confirm the issue but adoption is blocked, change the offer or support plan. If they reject the problem, change the account hypothesis before scaling the channel. The strategy should specify these alternatives in advance.
The strategy describes everything the company hopes to do
An expansive plan can avoid choosing. If the team cannot say which plausible accounts it will reject this quarter, its segment may be too broad. Write a stop condition and explain what evidence would justify expanding beyond the initial focus.
A concrete next step
Fill the GTM worksheet in the longer guide for one segment. Remove any statement that would not change an account, offer or selling decision.
Sources and research notes
- Schematic product documentationCompany product description
- GitLab commercial opportunity stagesCompany operating handbook
- Bessemer: 10 laws of cloudInvestor operating guidance
Primary sources reviewed October 6, 2026. The operating recommendations and worked scenarios are Daavid’s analysis. Illustrative numbers are assumptions, not measured client results. Company marks identify sources and prior experience; they do not imply a customer relationship or endorsement.
Schematic