As Senior Director of GTM Operations Strategy at CS2, I work directly with VPs, MOps Leaders, and CMOs at industry-leading growth-stage B2B companies to advance their GTM and Marketing Operations and achieve real business outcomes. 

-Manage 6-7 clients (client lead), provide strategic and tactical consulting, and build a relationship with excellent and regular client communications, spending the time to truly learn about them and their business and create an optimal customer experience to drive retention
-Expert-level advising/consulting across the GTM Ops framework, leading high-complexity work, gathering requirements, and project management
-Develop and refine roadmap to identify the client’s future needs to both help them mature their MOps and to develop a pipeline of impactful project work that align to company goals
-Leading workshops, client requirement gathering calls, and sandbox reviews
-Build and optimize a robust tech stack for clients across all of their tools
-Coordinate work with different members of the CS2 team (Solution Architects, Analytics, Campaign Operations, GTM/Marketing Ops, and CS2 Principal Consultants) to bring in specialized expertise for different projects
-Create and maintain client documentation, as well as create documentation templates
-Develop reporting infrastructure based on quality data for advanced reporting requirements in a client’s SFDC environment
-Mentorship, training, and sharing my expertise with the CS2 team so everyone improves together
-Help the CS2 team with internal initiatives, such as frameworks, methodologies, templates and business ops, project/task coaching, etc.

Senior Director of GTM Operations Strategy (Client Lead)

As Senior Director of Marketing Operations at CS2, I work directly with VPs, MOps Leaders, and CMOs at industry-leading growth-stage B2B companies to advance their marketing operations and achieve real business outcomes. 

-Manage 6-8 clients (client lead), provide strategic and tactical consulting, and build a relationship with excellent and regular client communications, spending the time to truly learn about them and their business
-Sample of projects: Funnel architecture (lifecycle), lead and account scoring, lead source & attribution, nurture, training & enablement, Marketo implementation, opt-in, analytics
-Develop and refine roadmap to identify the client’s future needs to both help them mature their MOps and to develop a pipeline of impactful project work that align to company goals
-Build and optimize a robust tech stack for clients across all of their tools (primarily: Marketo, SFDC but also tools like LeanData, HubSpot, Pardot, Drift, Zoominfo, 6sense, Bizible, Ringlead, Sendoso, Demandbase, Terminus, Outreach.io, SalesLoft, Zoom, GoToWebinar, On24, and more)
-Coordinate work with different members of the CS2 team (Solution Architects, Analytics, Campaign Operations, Marketing Ops, and CS2 Principal Consultants) to bring in specialized expertise for different projects
-Troubleshooting system issues within a client’s marketing automation system or CRM
-Create and maintain client documentation
-Develop reporting infrastructure based on quality data for advanced reporting requirements in a client’s SFDC environment
-Mentorship, training, and sharing my expertise with the CS2 team so everyone improves together
-Coach a team of Marketing Operations Managers on client projects, methodologies, career path, and strengths development
-Contribute to the CS2 team with The Revenue Growth Architects podcast, written content, videos, and events
-Help the CS2 team with internal initiatives, such as frameworks, methodologies, templates and business ops

Senior Director of Marketing Operations (Client Lead)

MarketingOps(dot)com

Ambassador and Founding Member of MarketingOps.com, run by Mike Rizzo. www.marketingops.com

Ambassador & Founding Member

Waystar

As the Head of Marketing Operations, I played a strategic leadership role within the Commercial Operations team to drive business growth across all segments as the expert in marketing technology, smart automation & rigorous performance management. I led a team to monitor, measure and analyze the effectiveness of marketing initiatives and programs, delivered key insights and recommendations that optimize marketing performance, and managed a growing set of technology platforms to drive scale. In addition, I was responsible for developing fact-based, decision-making and higher ROI on all marketing programs and driving process improvements. I combined my analytical thinking, data analysis, and cross-functional collaboration to optimize Waystar's digital programs to drive awareness, generate new prospects and advance existing opportunities.

-Partnered with leadership to define KPIs, create reporting and analyze campaign performance
-Led the improvement of data quality, hygiene practices and processes to enhance segmentation and automation
-Managed a team of marketing operations managers; articulating a vision, setting goals, and helping them achieve results through strong performance management and recognition
-Identified areas to scale Waystar's MarTech stack, including but not limited to Marketo, Drift, Bizible, Demandbase, Chili Piper, GoToWebinar + more
-Analyzed and optimized the Account-based Marketing (ABM) approach
-Led efforts to enhance the customer's digital journey to drive conversion while delivering best-in-class experiences
-Built out and optimized lead & account lifecycle and scoring models
-Collaborated with Sales Intelligence and CRM teams to create efficient reporting, data transparency and to build out data governance
-Managed program and data migration to Waystar's MarTech stack
-Delivered robust, automated, multi-touch marketing reporting that is accurate and tells a visual story

Director, Marketing Operations

Spirion

As Marketing Program Director, I worked closely with the CMO and Director of Communications to strategize and execute new logo integrated marketing programs that drove lead generation and brand awareness. I was responsible for go-to-market programs tracked in Marketo. I defined market themes for GTM lead gen efforts needed to maximize lead gen efforts to hit MQL goals and new business opportunities/pipeline, from strategy to execution to reporting/analytics to optimization. I created targeted ABM campaigns to accelerate leads & accounts through the funnel (improve funnel velocity), in order to increase average deal size and win rates to drive pipeline and revenue growth for the org.

I also was head of Marketing Operations strategy and all MarTech stack (selection, integrations & optimization), and managed Marketing Operations Manager. Oversaw attribution, lead nurturing, lead lifecycle, lead scoring, ABM, forms strategy, PathFactory content experience platform, Drift conversational marketing, webinars, cost allocation, revenue modeling, lead source methodology, funnel & revenue reporting analysis & optimization. 

Created PathFactory for Sales training for sales, customer success, and channel teams and conducted live and recorded training paths. Tech stack includes: Marketo, BrightTALK, PathFactory, Salesforce (SFDC), Drift, Consensus, and more.

I am a 6X Marketo Certified Expert (MCE) at the advanced level (Marketo Certified Master) and a Marketo Certified Solutions Architect (MCSA).

Spirion is the critical first step toward data privacy and security. We build and deliver the most accurate data discovery and classification solutions on the planet to position our customers for unparalleled data privacy, security, and regulatory compliance. https://www.spirion.com/

Marketing Program Director / Marketing Operations Director

Snagajob

As head of Marketing Operations, I led Snagajob's marketing operations strategy. I optimized Snagajob's Marketo marketing automation and was responsible for process building and refinement, marketing technology selection, implementation, governance and roadmap development, data management, prospect and customer segmentation, and best practices syndication. In addition, I was responsible for getting the most out of the MAP and CRM platforms to fuel innovative and effective marketing campaigns, and for building a rock solid operating infrastructure for our customer and prospect database. I maintained/enhanced attribution tracking and provide reporting on the effectiveness of campaigns and suggestions for campaign enhancements. 

I continually defined, developed, enhanced and delivered marketing operations strategies, processes, and analytics to drive quality lead identification, higher lead conversion, customer acquisition and retention and automation for growth at scale. In collaboration with Sales Operations, I owned the prospect and customer database, maintained/enhanced database quality, provided segmentation for marketing campaigns in compliance with applicable anti-spam laws. I also trained internal users on our B2B marketing technology stack and provided suggestions to better leverage Snagajob's marketing technology stack. I am a 6-time Marketo Certified Expert (MCE) and Marketo Certified Solutions Architect (MCSA).

Snagajob is America’s #1 hourly work marketplace; the country’s largest platform for hourly work. https://www.snagajob.com/

Marketing Operations Manager (Head of B2B Marketing Ops)

LeadMD

As Engagement Manager at LeadMD (Now ShiftParadigm), I lead a team of consultants and oversaw that project outcomes were met for the client, with an emphasis on maintaining efficient processes, resource needs and allocation, time management, and profit margin. I helped clients create profitable marketing strategies that drive new business revenue and growth as well as increase overall customer lifetime value (LTV) through retention and upsell/cross-sell. I worked to refine services/solutions that helped the client achieve their outcomes desired, as well as articulate best practices and delivery methodology. 

I also coached and provided professional development to consultants so that they could effectively support the client and broaden their strengths and skill sets in areas of marketing strategy, marketing operations, demand gen and campaign strategy, and business process. Partnered with Revenue Operations, Technology, Sales, and Marketing teams on account strategy and solutions to maintain, develop and expand client relationships.

I am a 6-time Marketo Certified Expert (MCE) and Marketo Certified Solutions Architect (MCSA). In addition, I specialize in content marketing, marketing campaigning, web personalization, social media marketing, and nurture/email marketing strategy. I also contributed to creating and instructing marketing-based curriculum for the modern marketer for our learning division, Six Bricks.

Engagement Manager (Director of Delivery for Go-to-Market practice)

As Senior Marketing Consultant (SMC), I worked with a team of marketing automation experts focused on delivering end-to-end demand generation programs for clients. I identified client needs, designed profitable marketing strategies and a plan for action, and managed their team to produce uncommon results. I provided guidance, mentoring, and thought leadership while overseeing the many moving parts to ensure success of LeadMD’s client organizations. 

In addition, I specialized in go-to-market campaigns, content marketing, web personalization, and nurture/email marketing strategy. 

Co-created and instructed marketing curriculum for LeadMD's career path training, Marketo Certified Expert, taking newbie marketers or experienced veterans through a series of insights from the basics through more complex concepts, testing their learnings in a simulated Marketo environment. 

Specifically, I helped:
*Strategize, create and build demand generation campaigns within Marketo
*Create strategy and implement all facets of the various platforms such as lead scoring, lead nurturing, automation, progressive profiling, cost allocation, revenue modeling & lead lifecycle programs, lead source methodology, all based on the LeadMD methodology
*Manage timelines and expectations to ensure client programs are completed on-time and within budget
*Communicate with clients to manage expectations, deliverables and modifications to their existing CRM and Marketo
*Develop a clear understanding of the LeadMD methodology and effectively communicate the methodology to clients & document requirements and projects
*Analyze, strategize, provide recommendations and implementation in areas of business process improvements, lead scoring, emails, nurture strategy, forms, buyer personas, campaign design (including lead sourcing, cost allocation, basic and advanced attribution, program ROI, reporting), and more

Senior Marketing Consultant

StrengthsDNA

I am a Personal Strengths Empowerment Coach, Owner of StrengthsDNA and The Strong Business Planner, and Host of The Strengths Empowered Entrepreneur Podcast (now retired podcast). I empower online service-based entrepreneurs to discover, appreciate, leverage, and support your strengths so that you can unapologetically be your authentic self, lead with purpose, and create more success, joy, and impact in your business and in the lives of those around you.

I wanted to create a business that could spread the strengths message…a strengths revolution. I want you to build a business that leverages your strengths and that you absolutely love. I want you to wake up every day so freaking excited to work and share your purpose...to use your strengths to serve and change the world.

Personal Strengths Empowerment Coach / Strengths-Based Business Coach / Owner

Independent Marketo Marketing Automation Consultant

Independent Marketo Marketing Automation Consultant and 6-time Marketo Certified Expert (MCE) and Marketo Certified Solutions Architect (MCSA). 

As an Independent Marketo Marketing Automation Consultant, I helped organizations set-up, implement and manage their Marketo instance in order to reach their marketing goals and streamline their marketing automation. From strategy, planning, executing, and coaching, I helped organizations on a project-basis, hourly, and recurring retainer. My specialties: Lead nurturing/engagement, program and campaign set-up and management, subscription center set-up and management, new Marketo instance admin and set-up, email and landing page creation (some HTML experience), program template creation, reporting, revenue cycle models, lead scoring, and overall management. I have experience using the Revenue Cycle Explorer analytics tool, as well as Real-Time Web Personalization module. Depending on the project, I did the work myself, was an extension of the client's marketing team, or trained teams on how to do the work themselves.

I worked virtually but also traveled locally to the Greater Grand Rapids, Michigan area for in-person training and coaching sessions as well. I have done consulting work for small businesses as well as large, global multi-billon dollar companies.

+ Marketo Certified Solutions Architect (MCSA)
+ 6x Marketo Certified Expert (2013-present)
+ 8 years of Marketo experience
+ 12 years of marketing automation and email marketing experience
+ 16 years overall B2B marketing experience
+ Have consulted part-time since April 2015, but full-time self-employed under my StrengthsDNA LLC company since May 2016.

Marketing Automation Consultant (Concentration: Marketo)

NTT Security (US) Inc. (Formerly Solutionary)

As Marketing Automation Manager, I managed all marketing campaigns through Marketo marketing automation platform to drive lead generation. I developed and delivered effective marketing campaigns to support sales initiatives as well as evaluated program effectiveness through analytics and reporting dashboards (including Marketo Revenue Explorer). In addition, I designed and executed an effective lead nurturing strategy to generate qualified leads that drive business growth. I worked with the Salesforce.com Administrator to build dashboards and reports that track campaign metrics, as well as work with other marketing team members, product management, and sales management to enhance lead generation activities. In addition, I managed live chat campaigns for our website in LiveEngage (Liveperson). Other duties: Created, designed and layout of forms, landing pages and emails; wrote and edited emails and marketing materials. 

Solutionary, an NTT Group Security Company (NYSE: NTT), is the next generation managed security service provider (MSSP). Focused on global threat intelligence, Solutionary protects traditional and virtual IT infrastructures, cloud environments and mobile data. Clients are able to optimize security programs, make informed decisions, achieve compliance and reduce costs.  For more information, visit www.solutionary.com. Solutionary is a wholly owned subsidiary of NTT (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone), a $130 billon company operating across 69 countries – the world's largest global IT and telecommunications services company and is ranked 29th on Fortune's Global 500 list. For more information, visit www.ntt.co.jp.

Marketing Automation Manager

BluJay Solutions (Formerly LeanLogistics)

As Marketing Programs Manager, I developed and executed a comprehensive B2B marketing programs strategy that aligned with corporate initiatives, including tradeshows, conferences, webinars, and email marketing & nurturing programs. I managed programs strategy globally for North America and Europe/EMEA. I increased the number of leads generated from webinars and events all while decreasing the average cost/lead (acquisition cost). I developed targeted digital marketing campaigns to nurture prospective customers to support the lead generation and sales teams - including copywriting, design, and execution. Other duties included managing the marketing programs budget, evaluating program effectiveness through metrics, and creating an overall marketing programs strategy. I also assisted in creating targeting online & print advertising campaigns that have been featured in Food Shippers, Logistics Management, Inbound Logistics, and CSCMP. Specific experience in managing SaaS-based cloud technologies and admin-experience with marketing automation platforms Pardot and Marketo.

LeanLogistics provided transportation management software and services. Through mergers/acquisitions, LeanLogistics is now known as BluJay Solutions: http://www.blujaysolutions.com/

Marketing Programs Manager

Experienced marketing strategist with 20 years in marketing operations, GTM strategy, and automation. As a 2022 Adobe Marketo Engage Champion, Adobe Certified Master Marketo Engage Architect and 8-time Adobe Certified Expert Marketo Engage Business Practitioner (Marketo Certified Expert) with 13+ years leading marketing operations teams and administering Marketo (the last 8 of which were at senior consultant and/or Director/Sr. Director level), I have extensive experience helping organizations drive business growth, operational excellence and insightful analytics. 

As an MBA graduate, I bring the business and marketing acumen required to lead others and contribute to company KPI’s. With four years of consulting experience, in addition to in-house positions, I have worked with global, multi-billion dollar organizations, start-ups, and everything in between, allowing me to adapt quickly to a new industry, thrive in a fast-paced environment and be agile in both strategy and tactics to fit the use-case. Excellence, achievement, relationships, vision of the future, strategy, curiosity and coaching are what energize me the most. 

I naturally seek to make things better (excellence & optimization are my middle names) and love learning + teaching/coaching. I strive to do meaningful work that makes a big impact and love thinking & strategizing about the future and using data/analytics mixed with experience to drive that path forward.

Key areas of focus: GTM operations, marketing operations, MarTech strategy & optimization, reporting & analytics (funnel, revenue/ROI, campaigns), program execution & optimization, business process improvement, people management, instructional design/curriculum development + course creation, training + coaching + teaching and mentoring.

MY STRENGTHS PROFILE
Gallup CliftonStrengths® Assessment - Top 10 Strengths Themes:
Maximizer, Responsibility, Relator, Learner, Achiever, Futuristic, Significance, Strategic, Input, Focus
Read descriptions: https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/253715/34-cliftonstrengths-themes.aspx

I earned a Master in Business Administration (MBA) degree from Western Michigan University’s Haworth College of Business. 4-time Featured MBA Alumni in University publications, including being awarded in the 2021 edition of The 30 (see featured section). I am also a graduate of the 2011 Class of Emerging Leaders at the Center for Community Leadership (GR Area Chamber of Commerce) in Grand Rapids.

Joy Martinez, MBA

I'm the Co-founder and CRO at CS2.

WHAT WE DO:

We help Series A–D+ B2B tech teams grow revenue without growing headcount. Teams we've supported include Notion, Gong, Coursera, Salesloft, Superhuman, Scale AI, and 100+ others.

Most companies are trying to scale on a GTM foundation they don't trust:

Data is messy. Handoffs/integrations break. Reports get debated. AI tools produce noise. 

CS2 fixes that by eliminating:

- Pipeline Blindness: you can't see where deals stall, why conversion drops, and what signals drive pipeline.

- Human Middleware: reps, marketers, and GTM Ops become the glue running manual research, fixing data, and troubleshooting. Work that doesn't exist if you have a solid foundation or work better suited for AI + automation.

HOW WE WORK:

STEP 1: Accelerated Roadmapping Process 

- Rapid survey and 60-point inspection process
- Document our findings and recommendations
- Use an effort/impact framework to prioritize the most important work
- Document and align on a roadmap to sequence quick wins and workstreams

STEP 2: Build your GTM Ops Foundation and Deploy a Unified GTM Pipeline Model

- Fix your GTM foundation (tech implementations, enrichment, automation, integrations, sales stages, etc)
- Unify your GTM data into models for trustworthy reporting and analysis
- Deploy AI across critical areas of your GTM (account research, sales process, etc)

STEP 3: Analyze your data to improve GTM and find the next roadmap workstreams

- Analyze conversion, sources/signals, and rep activity to optimize your GTM 
- Use the data to prioritize the next phases of the roadmap 

THE RESULTS:

Improvements in conversion rates, qualified pipeline, revenue, and GTM efficiency. Your GTM team creates pipeline like a team twice its size.  

LEARN MORE:

- Our website: www.cs2marketing.com
- Our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@cs2-gtmops
- Our weekly newsletter: https://www.cs2marketing.com/revenue-growth-architects#subscribe-to-newsletter

NON-WORK ME: 

Outside of GTM Ops, you can find me on my mountain or gravel bike, training for different events, struggling at golf, or hiking with my family.

Charlie Saunders

3 GTM thoughts (I've been reflecting on this week):
 
(1) Claude Code
 
I think I've ended up on the hype train. Ask Crissy how annoying it is. Will post more, but 3 things that have been very valuable for me: 

1. Compounding context.
2. Building tools that are accelerating multiple tasks for me and CS2.
3. Multi-tasking: I can post on LI, answer slacks, etc while guiding Claude Code. It's magic.
 
(2) Context is everything, and there is a risk of context silos 
 
One of the biggest risks in modern GTM that is heavily leveraging AI is context silos, which lead to context misalignment. 

Example:
• You launch a new an ICP definition that you need to influence targeting, messaging, account selection, etc
• You create workflows, you build Clay tables, you have AI prompts in a dozen tools
• A few months pass and you need to add to your ICP 
• So now you have to go through everywhere you may have referenced the ICP context and update it, oooof
• You end up with your CRM with one version. Your signal provider has another. Your sales engagement tool has another.
• Every tool has its own context layer and they are all misaligned.
 
We need a shared context layer that all the tools can tap into via API. 
 
(3) Are GTM Ops teams just going to do everything now?
 
The scope of what GTM Ops is responsible for keeps expanding. And AI is accelerating it.

Think of the typical sales workflow: 
 
Find and prioritize the right accounts > Gather the right contacts > Source signals > Messaging and outreach > Convert all of this into meetings.
 
GTM Ops has always owned parts of this, but as more and more of it can be handled by AI and automation, more of it is owned by Ops. 

Very interesting time to be in GTM Ops.

Co-founder/CRO @ CS2 | GTM Ops For B2B Tech

I've been (over)thinking about an emerging mess coming for GTM ops:
 
Context silos. And AI using old/stale context. For example:
 
PRE-AI: Think about everywhere you needed ICP/Persona information:

• Your sales team need it to create contacts and write messages
• You marketing team needed it to target and write messaging
• You needed mapping in CRM, MAP, and a few other tools

POST-AI: Now lets think about where this context is being used now
 
• 48 prompts in different columns in 18 Clay tables
• Dozens of prompts in Account research, priortization tools
• 32 sales people's web interface AI Chat
• Countless prompts in all your other new AI tools for writing content, finding contacts/accounts, prioritization, research, etc
• Prompts in AI Meeting summary tools 
• Prompts in your automation tools (workato, n8n, tray, etc)
• And still in all your decks, knowledgebase, etc 

THE PROBLEM
 
At best, every very single tool/automation/prompt has the context (i.e. the specific ICP/persona info) available at the time of creation. 

So every time your ICP shifts or persona targeting changes, you have to manually update prompts across ALL these tools. Otherwise the tools are using outdated context and your GTM will suffer. 

The old problem we used to have keeping 20-50 reps aligned on who we're targeting and what messaging to use has got 100x harder to manage. 

And at least with reps, you could do one big training, give them a battlecard, get everyone on the same page.
 
Now? With micro context silos everywhere, how do you efficiently get this context updated? 
 
Most companies won't even realize this is happening. They will think each tool is "working" individually, so the system is fine. But your entire GTM motion could end up running on misaligned context across dozens of tools.
 
GTM NEEDS A CONTEXT LAYER (fast)
 
There are lots of ways to do this with existing tools you may have and new tools trying to address this. I am not going to evangelize the perfect way yet, as I don't have the perfect answer yet. But we're working on it at CS2 and testing ideas to find the best solution, and will share more. 

If any one has cracked this code I want to hear it.

Should you replace Lead Scoring with AI Sourced Signals? 

Do we get run over by a car while trying to record this on a walk?

Does one of us trip over a curb? And do our neighbors pick up after their dogs? 

All is revealed in this video. 

But if you can't be bothered to watch. The TLDR is:

(1) Scoring was good enough in the past 10 years. But AI "harvested" Signals will define the next 10 years. 

(2) High quality signals sourced by AI from unstructured data online give you real context on whether or not an Account is in-market or they have the pain you solve. A "scored up" Lead is less predictive. 

>> signals from things like: job descriptions, quarterly earnings reports, company blogs/press releases, employee posts/interviews/podcasts, chamption job changes, etc

(3) A signal gives your reps a reason to reach out and a way to customize the messaging per Account. 

(4) AI harvested 3rd party signals + 1st party signals (from your website, events, product) are where the magic happens. 

(5) Don't throw out your scoring yet. You need a way to prioritize for now. But start building in a few signal plays (harvest signal > get into MAP/CRM > customize marketing/sales messaging based on signal for each Account > report on what is working). 

(6) Test and iterate. Run more of the plays that work. Get to a stage where you may not need scoring any more. Your team just works handrasiers and signals. 

There you have it. 

Our first "CS2 Walks" video. Note to self: need a better name, need to walk slower so less breathing, and need to make the video shorter.

The Latest in AI @ CS2 
 
(1) Going deep on Claude Code. First thoughts: why the hell did I wait this long? I'll share a lot more on this, but it's been the biggest leap for me when it comes to using AI to do real work for me, vs. answer questions. 
 
(2) Continuing our internal AI acceleration sessions. So far we have covered: 

• better prompting
• different models/modes for different tasks
• chat vs. working with datasets
• when to use the chat interface vs. API vs. specific tools
• getting JSON outputs to support follow on steps in automation
• security and privacy (when to use AI and when not to e.g. PII)
• the top GTM use cases CS2 is focusing on for clients
• automating 90% of the sales process with different AI tools (account research, signals, priortization, messaging, etc)

We're doing these every week with our team. 
 
(3) Claude Code has made a ton of progress on our AI data analyst that will analyze the proprietary Unified GTM Pipeline Model we implement for our clients (aka Project Insight). 

Push data in > run multiple python scripts > AI analyzes each output for insights > AI collects data, insights and actions and builds summary report. 

Everything built out using Claude code. Python scripts, markdown files, etc. Currently using the terminal and local on my computer during the testing phase.  

The goal: 20+ hours of manual exploratory analysis and recommendation generation done in <10 minutes. Almost there. 
 
LESSONS LEARNED
 
(4) Sometimes AI hype can be off-putting, but sometimes it is signal you should listen to. All the hype on Claude Code seemed a bit overblown and even though I am only a couple weeks into my journey down the rabbit hole. I am impressed. This time the hype seems to match the value. 
 
(5) Data analysis using AI is a real use case you can get working (as of about mid-2025). BUT: 

• You can’t just upload messy data in. Shit data in shit analysis out. 
• The magic comes from making the pivots and calculations deterministic. Where specific steps are taken that you set up in the AI analysis process. Then get AI to analyze. You can’t just input data and ask “give me all the insights from this.” So expertise on how to analyze GTM data are still needed to set AI on the right path. 
 
WHAT'S NEXT:
 
(6) Finish the v1 of the data analysis agent before end of Jan to use with clients.
 
(7) I am personally working with a client on how to implement Activelyai + Clay + 6sense email. And how to coordinate the signals, the outreach between tools, and reporting on what is working.
 
𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘊𝘚2 (𝘢 𝘎𝘛𝘔 𝘰𝘱𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘉2𝘉 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩) 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘛𝘔 𝘈𝘐 𝘦𝘳𝘢. 𝘛𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘧𝘧 𝘷𝘴. 𝘩𝘺𝘱𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨.

"Lead scoring is dead." 

People have been saying this for ages. And I think they may finally have a point. 

Side note: I hate saying anything is "dead" as it removes all the nuance. So let's instead say it's maybe time to rethink how you're scoring. 

THE PROBLEM WITH SCORES

They hide the why. A rep gets "100 score lead" with no context, no angle, no timing cue, and no messaging.

Doesn't matter if it's from your MAP scoring them up, or from an intent vendor, etc. It's always been too vague for sales to contextualize their outreach. So sales sends a generic "you interested email?"

This has always converted to pipe at a very low rate. 

But, we didn't have the tools we have today. So you had three choices:

1. Only send handraisers to sales (we've advocated for this in the past)
2. Build a good enough scoring system to prioritize a portion of the prospects engaging with you (was ok)
3. Send everything to sales (disaster)

WHAT HAS CHANGED

We can now access signals (at scale) using AI that would have taken too much manual effort before. 

e.g. Content from job descriptions, content from quarterly earnings calls, content from prospect social posting, content from review sites, etc 

What do you think indicates the most buying intent for a company selling billing software?:

• Example 1: someone comes to your site and downloads a piece of content 

• Example 2: you have AI scrape an active job description that states "a big priority will be to revamp our billing system and invest in a new vendor" 

I'd argue Example 2. Which would be even better if there was also a 1st party signal involved. 

Example 2 gives you a meaningful moment to reach out, gives sales context for their messaging, and if done well, means you don't need an arbitrary score. 

NEXT STEPS I'D RECOMMEND 

It's going to take time to re-architect your GTM system to automate sourcing signals, pains, Accounts/Contacts, and then output the right messaging. 

So, keep your scoring. Especailly if you do a lot of marketing that generates a lot of activity you need to priortize. 

But get started asap with 1-3 signal plays. See the process through. Report on what signals worked. And gradually shift from scoring > signals.

3 GTM thoughts (I've been reflecting on this week):
 
(1) Why GTM analytics struggled the last 10yrs and why it’ll thrive in the next 10
 
Maybe a contrarian thought, but I think most people's issue with attribution isn't the models, it's how hard it is to analyze the data properly. It frustrates people that "what's working" can't be answered by glancing at a dashboard. 

It takes a ton of analysis and context to get insights and actions. And most people don't have time for that. 

BUT, AI is going to unlock this. The last several months I've been working with AI to write Python scripts to do data analysis and then find insights, and the models are just about getting there now. 

As soon as we have an always on analyst feeding insights to the GTM team we will finally get the full value from the GTM data we've been collecting and refining for years. 
 
(2) Signals are pointless without signal-based analytics
 
Going signal-based is almost pointless if you can’t report on what signals are working. There are so many companies and people out there pushing signals on everyone but if you don’t know the Signal → Meeting → Pipeline → Revenue conversion rates then how can you make sure you’re not barking up the wrong tree?

(3) So many companies are nowhere near able to leverage AI
 
Too much tech debt. Tech stack integration issues. A sales process no one understands. Suffering from Pipeline Blindness and not able to answer basic questions like “what signals, marketing programs, and reps are driving pipeline?” 

The companies that pull ahead will sort out this mess and then accelerate once they deploy AI across their GTM.

Everyone in GTM has seen this play out a million times.

GTM Ops does the painstaking work of:

(1) Thoughfully architecting the sales process
(2) Building and training the GTM teams on a rock-solid business process to ensure marketing/sales is tracked properly
(3) Data is unified, cleaned, enriched 
(4) Dashboards are created 

Then...

 ...............nothing 

It's no ones fault. It's just the problem isn't that teams don't have dashboards. It's that dashboards by themselves can't answer complex questions or drive action. 

Dashboards are more like a window into the data. Sure, they show you a bit of what is in the house, but climb in the window and walk around the house and then you'll really get a feel for it. 

FOR EXAMPLE:

You need to understand why Sales Ready > Pipeline dropped 23% in Q4. 

You can't just look at a few charts. You need to explore the data, compare cohorts, and pivot the data in different ways. 

Maybe it's a few reps pushing down the %, maybe it's a new marketing program that isn't converting, maybe it's you ramped up outbound, maybe it's just a data tracking issue you need to fix. 

THE COST:

Unless you have a person or team doing this analysis (or a partner like CS2) your team is likely waiting weeks for analysis requests to be complete while deals are leaking out of your pipeline and budget is wasted because you're flying blind.

You're not using data to improve, so progress slows.

BUT AI IS HERE TO HELP:

At CS2, alongside us building dashboard frameworks, training our clients on how to analyze, having our anaytics team run analysis, we've also been training an agent (using Claude Code) to analyze GTM data (specifically our Unified GTM Pipeline object we implement for clients), proactively surface insights, and recommend actions.  

No dashboard refresh required. No manual exploration bottleneck. Just automated intelligence that tells your GTM team what to do next.  

I walked through the progress so far with Alison and Crissy yesterday and the vision is really coming to life. It's exciting. It's the future. 

Will for sure be sharing more on this as we build and ship it.

What is the true differentiator when using AI in GTM?
 
The AI model you use? How you use it? Or the data you feed it? My take: 

THE MODEL (relatively minor difference):

AI models are becoming commoditized. ChatGPT, Claude, whatever new model drops next week. They're all cheap, accessible, and pretty similar in capability (some may debate me on this).

Everyone has access to all the models so there isn't really a competitive moat. Start using a new model and you are a few days ahead cause everyone else can change as well. 

HOW YOU USE IT (medium, but worthwhile difference):

There is a pretty big difference between:

• Someone chatting away with ChatGPT in the browser vs. 
• Someone building systems to harness context and leveraging automation/code to get AI to actually "do work" 

So yes, it's a big leap. But is it that difficult to graduate from chat to context/automation/code these days? 

In some ways, yes. But the tools and education are getting better. So you are maybe 4-6 months ahead? 

THE DATA (huge difference): 

I am focused on two pieces to this:

1. Context data: helping the model understand you, your business, customers, goals, ICP, personas, etc and making sure this context is up to date and accessible to everyone and all your tools/APIs >> This gives you a huge lift in its usefulness. And is hard to execute at scale. Everyone has context silos. 

2. Core GTM data quality: the data in your CRM, warehouse, MAP, etc >> This is a requirement for all GTM use cases and is VERY difficult to execute at scale. 

So nail both of these, and you are potentially YEARS ahead. Most companies have been working to fix their data for years, decades even, and still not there.

And, most companies refuse to do the work. For larger orgs, it takes months of grinding through data cleanup, process alignment, and system integration. They don't put the budget or time into it. 

The companies that accelerate AI progress spend the time doing the work to:

(1) Unify their GTM data model across all motions 
(2) Fix their pipeline stage definitions and process
(3) Connect signals to actual conversion outcomes 
(4) Built trustworthy, quality, enriched data 
etc etc 
 
Now when they plug AI into that foundation AI can be put to work in very meaningful ways.

Can you easily report on what "signals" are converting into pipe/revenue?
 
If the answer is no, this is what you're missing:

It's likely you have something along the lines of this happening: 

• 1st and 3rd party signals being logged in CRM/warehouse
• An alert is sent to sales in Slack and/or Account/Contacts added to a list
• Sales is mostly randomly picking who to target and you don't really know why 
• You can't tie any of these signals to meetings/pipeline 

HERE'S THE PROBLEM:

• Sales is executing on signals = good (if they are doing it well)
• You have no idea which ones are working and what to ramp/cut = bad 

Nobody can show signal → meeting → pipe → win.
 
And just to be specific, I am mainly talking about 3rd party signals sourced by agents/AI. Unstructured data from press releases, job descriptions, earnings reports, company announcements, etc. 

The stuff you should be finding for all your target accounts > shipping to sales > contextizing sales outreach and messaging > converting to meetings/pipe. 

THE UNFORTUNATE TRUTH:

Signals are not free. There are 100+ types of signals. You're going to run signal plays that are HIGH and LOW at In-Market Predictability. 

Just shipping signals doesn't mean you win. You need a way to measure them and I don't see many of the big signal providers closing that loop. 

HERE'S WHAT WORKS
 
(1) Define 5-10 high quality/custom signals and the exact next action each should trigger.

e.g. Target Account puts job posting up for GTM Ops and on the description it says they need to build a best in breed AI first tech stack with tools like Clay > collect signal > push to CRM > push to sales sequencing tool with messaging customized > sales reviews and sends. Or automate this whole process. 
 
(2) Within this process, track the signal + the initiation of the sales process + the sales sequence added to + meetings and opportunities (to do this we prefer using our Unified GTM Pipe object to connect all the data across objects). 

Now you can track signal → meeting → pipe → win
 
(3) Collect this data for all signals. If there are multiple signals tie multiple. 
 
(4) Analyze the data to see which signals are converting and which ones are not. 

(5) Do more of what is working and less of what isn't. Backed by data.

3 GTM thoughts I've been reflecting on this week:

(1) Sending a sales message along the lines of "It's a new year, are you looking to solve this problem this year?" is not signal-based selling. Just because it's a new year doesn't mean a company is in market for your product. Or am I wrong, is this working for people? 

(2) There is a pretty wide spectrum of where people are with AI in GTM. Some barely even use Chatgpt, others are going deep in Claude Code and their life and work has a full AI operating system supporting it. Will this gap close as the people behind catch up, or will it accelerate? 

(3) Probably the most high leverage AI use case to focus on first is the sales process. Millions of dollars are wasted on: account research, sales clicking around 100 tabs, adding contacts, figuring out what account to target, writing emails, etc. AI can handle almost all of this at a high quality when implemented properly.

I'm not the first person to say this but Wispr Flow maybe the best add to my worklife that I've had for while. (This is not a sponsored post btw)

It's just interesting to me how much of a difference it makes:

(1) I can get through so many more Slacks and emails by just speaking what I want to say vs. writing. It's so much faster and I get way less fatigue.

(2) Anytime I'm using AI prompting, it's much better because I don't just rush out a barebones prompt because I'm having to type it. I can really speak to all of the nuances of what I'm trying to get done.

(3) Because I can respond faster, my responsiveness is better for my team and clients so I'm less of a blocker on other things.

(4) I've got it on my phone as well so I'm responding to texts from family and friends pretty much quicker and easier. 

I know this is all pretty tactical but it's one of those things that makes everything else easier.

It's freeing up my mental bandwidth to be able to work on more creative and valuable work.

Didn't anticipate this at all when I tested it out. Sometimes the little things can make more of an impact than you think.

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Joy Martinez, MBA

Charlie Saunders

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Charlie Saunders's LinkedIn Performance

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