Marketer for Startups | I help startup founders develop marketing strategy, execute tactics and scale their businesses

You've tried everything. Reddit, LinkedIn, Product Hunt, communities.
Zero traction. Zero customers. Here's what's actually broken...

After diagnosing 100+ B2B SaaS founders, I discovered 58% have the same execution gaps:
  • They post where their competitors are, not where customers gather
  • They mention their product too early (or too late)
  • They abandon tactics after 5 attempts instead of iterating

I've guided founders from 0 to their first 10 paying customers by fixing these gaps.

Not with more strategies. With better execution.

→ Follow for daily execution fixes
→ Follow me on Medium (https://medium.com/@shamal.r.badhe) where I write in detail why your marketing gets zero traction and how to fix it
→ DM if you're stuck and need immediate diagnosis

Shamal Borole - Badhe

Alexander Estner

I help early-stage SaaS founders build & execute their Go-to-market foundation to grow from €0 to €1 million ARR 🚀

3 WAYS I CAN HELP YOU 👇
1️⃣ GTM Advisory - Work 1-on-1 with me in bi-weekly GTM sprints
2️⃣ GTM Audit - Get a 360° assessment of your current GTM status quo + custom action plan
3️⃣ GTM Content - Bi-weekly newsletter +  Daily LinkedIn posts + Free GTM Library

P.S. You will find the links to all 3 in the featured section.

Among other things, I help you with:
👉 Creating your early/ideal customer profile (ICP)
👉 Working on positioning, messaging & value proposition 
👉 Choosing the right pricing for your business (pricing model, value metric & packaging)
👉 Implementing the right sales strategy (sales-led vs. product-led)
👉 Mastering 2-3 growth channels to continuously generate new deals/trials
👉 Setting up the right tech stack in sales, marketing & customer success
👉 Building your commercial teams.

Send me a DM on LinkedIn or book a free 15-minute intro call to learn more about my offering.

Startup Consultant for B2B SaaS

As a freelance startup consultant, I help early-stage B2B SaaS Startups quickly grow their business with a powerful Growth Strategy 🚀


I work on both, strategic and operational, levels and help you with the following topics.

► For Founders (Launch to Seed Stage):
- Clarify, validate and stress test your business idea
- Win first paying customers and kickstart growth for your SaaS
- Develop and implement a powerful B2B SaaS Growth strategy
- Find product-market fit and close your first funding (business angels & seed)

► For Startups (Seed to Series A Stage):
- Accelerate your growth to 5M€+ ARR
- Review or implement a powerful B2B SaaS growth strategy
- Optimization of direct & indirect growth channels
- Create a growth team mentality, track the right KPIs, and set OKRs

► For more information:
- check out my website (www.alexestner.com)
- subscribe to my FREE weekly newsletter for founders & early-stage startups (https://startupbusinesstips.substack.com/)

► Interested?
- Send me a DM on Linkedin

This GTM problem keeps repeating when I work with AI & SaaS founders:

ICP is defined, but not enforced.

On paper, everything looks fine.
There’s an ICP doc.
Sometimes even a very good one.

But in practice?

• Website speaks to multiple segments
• CRM has no mandatory ICP fields
• Content topics are broad and generic
• Same demo for every prospect
• Broad outbound target lists

So the ICP exists...
but it doesn’t shape behavior.

And that’s the real issue.

A GTM foundation only works if it shows up everywhere:
– which message leads the homepage
– which deals are allowed into pipeline
– which content gets produced
- what channels do we focus on

Especially in 2026, when most product categories are red oceans.

Buyers have zero patience for vague positioning.

Your ICP is the core of your GTM.

Based on it, the rest gets defined (and easier).

Your 
--> Positioning
--> Messaging
--> Primary sales motion
--> Core channels

So let's turn your ICP doc into action.

Helping SaaS & AI founders build and execute their GTM foundation to grow from €0 to €1 million ARR with less trial and error | ‘Hands-on’ GTM Advisor👇

If your GTM feels “busy” but not effective,
check yourself against these 6 mistakes 👇

1️⃣ ICP exists, but not enforced
2️⃣ Buyers don’t know what to compare you against
3️⃣ Demos = feature tours, no structure
4️⃣ Sales process is different for each deal
5️⃣ Assets (website, case studies, decks) are generic and interchangeable
6️⃣ Content is optimized for likes, not pipeline

You don’t fix this with:
❌ more tools
❌ more content
❌ more outreach volume

You fix it by rebuilding your GTM foundation.

Especially in AI & SaaS, where:
– Markets are crowded
– Buyers are cautious
– Trust needs to be earned

Foundations first.
Only then more channels and activity.

Curious:
Which of these 6 mistakes do you see most often in AI / SaaS GTM right now?

No alternative text description for this image

Your ICP must define your daily GTM work.

If it doesn’t, you’re not enforcing your ICP.
You just have one on paper.

If the ICP is real, it shows up everywhere 👇

• Hero section of your website
• Customers you choose for case studies and logo carousels
• Your LinkedIn post themes
• Upcoming blog articles
• The dropdowns in your product onboarding
• Mandatory CRM fields that define ICP fit
• Filters you use for outbound list building
• Keywords you monitor on Reddit and LinkedIn
• Industry influencers you follow
• Events and conferences you participate in
• Which features you show first in a sales demo
• The examples you use in sales calls
• The objection handling scripts you prepare
• The integrations highlighted on your homepage
• The use cases shown in product screenshots
• The pricing page structure and plan names
• The success metrics you track post-onboarding
• The landing pages you build (or don’t build)
• The partners you co-market with
• The communities you spend time in

And that’s just the obvious layer.

👉 What else is defined by your ICP?

P.S. This post is part of a short LK series: 6 most common GTM problems I see working with early-stage founders. 
Check out mrrunlocked.com for all 6 and follow for tomorrow's post.

Most founders choose their positioning anchor randomly.

They don’t decide it. They drift into it.

And that’s dangerous.

Because your primary positioning anchor determines:

→ How buyers search
→ What they compare you against
→ Who owns the budget
→ What proof you need

Here’s the simplified breakdown of the 4 primary anchors:

1️⃣ Activity Positioning
“We help you do X.”
→ You’re replacing manual workflows
→ No category exists
→ Goal: Create awareness

2️⃣ Use Case Positioning
“We help you do X without Y.”
→ You’re fixing broken workflows
→ Category is emerging
→ Goal: Own the use case

3️⃣ Product Category Positioning
“We are a X.”
→ Buyers already compare vendors
→ Clear budget line exists
→ Goal: Win comparisons

4️⃣ Competitive Alternative Positioning
“We’re a [Leader] alternative.”
→ Market leader dominates
→ Budget already allocated
→ Goal: Steal demand

The mistake I see?

Founders choose Category positioning...
...when there is no defined category. So they invent 'new categories'.

Or they try Competitive positioning…
…without a strong enough wedge.

Positioning must match buyer awareness and market maturity.

Quick test:

When buyers evaluate you, are they:

A) Comparing vendors and search for specific categories?
B) Comparing you to a specific leader?
C) Describing what they want to achieve, even if they don’t know what type of software solves it?

Your answer tells you your anchor.

If you want the full guide (incl. the decision tree + worksheet), comment “positioning” and I’ll send it over.

---
P.S. Follow Anthony Pierri, Rob Kaminski, and April Dunford to dive deeper into positioning.

undefined undefined

Newsletter

Join 4500+ SaaS Leaders and get actionable content in your inbox: https://www.mrrunlocked.com/p/saas-gtm-foundation

GTM Foundation

Build your GTM foundation: https://www.mrrunlocked.com/p/saas-gtm-foundation

Listen to Podcast

Listen to the podcast episode on the 3 stages to 1€ million ARR: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s6e18-the-3-step-gtm-playbook-to-grow-your-saas-from/id1670431932?i=1000713247114

Sales Deck

Build your sales deck with my free sales deck template: https://www.mrrunlocked.com/p/high-converting-sales-deck

Vetted Tools

Vetted Partners

SaaS GTM Guides

https://www.alexestner.com/#Best-SaaS-GTM-Guides

14 actionable CRM tactics

SaaS Homepage

https://www.mrrunlocked.com/p/saas-homepage-copywriting-guide

Founder Brand on LinkedIn

https://www.mrrunlocked.com/p/founder-led-linkedin-guide

Customer Success into Referrals

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/alexander-estner_how-moritz-weiss-turned-customer-success-activity-7327573567070420992-DkSk?

GTM Audit

https://alexander-estner.webflow.io/services/gtm-advisory#Pricing-Table

ECP to ICP Guide

https://www.mrrunlocked.com/p/analyze-your-icp

SaaS Vetted Tools

👇GTM templates: https://www.alexestner.com/gtm-templates

360 GTM Audit

https://www.mrrunlocked.com/p/360-saas-gtm-audit

SaaS Pricing Page Guide

Ultimate SaaS Pricing Page Guide: https://www.mrrunlocked.com/p/saas-pricing-page

Nocodefounders Newsletter

Read the full article on: https://nocodefounders.beehiiv.com/p/how-to-build-a-strong-gtm-foundation-0-to-1m-arr

6 founders sharing insights

Hear all 6 founders sharing their tips & mistakes: https://www.mrrunlocked.com/p/6-founders-insights

Experts Tips

📌 From 0 to €1M ARR: 17 Expert Tips Every Founder Should Know: https://www.mrrunlocked.com/p/17-experts-best-tips

MRRUnlocked Signup

Sign up on mrrunlocked.com to get all tips delivered in your inbox (+ 50+ GTM infographics for free).

LinkedIn Playbook

📌 Get the Founder + Team LinkedIn Playbook for free: https://www.mrrunlocked.com/p/founder-linkedin-playbook

6 GTM problems

📌 Full breakdown of the 6 GTM problems that keep repeating: https://www.mrrunlocked.com/p/the-6-gtm-problems

Homepage Teardown

📌 Homepage Teardown of 6 Top SaaS/AI companies: https://www.mrrunlocked.com/p/homepage-teardowns-what-6-top-saas

10 GTM actions

📌 Full breakdown of the 10 GTM actions that you can ship next week: https://www.mrrunlocked.com/p/10-quick-gtm-fixes

Positioning Guide

📌 Get access to the Ultimate SaaS Positioning Guide: https://www.mrrunlocked.com/p/the-ultimate-saas-positioning-guide

Digital Nudging: User Experience positiv beeinflussen

Climate Change, Risks and Challenges

Digital Advertising

The Complete Digital Marketing Course

'Hands-on’ GTM Advisor || I help SaaS founders build & execute their Go-to-market and go from €0 to €1 million ARR with less trial & error || Join 4000+ SaaS leaders & get my free SaaS GTM tactics in your inbox👇

I help early-stage SaaS founders build & execute their Go-to-market and quickly go from €0 to €1 million ARR 🚀

3 WAYS I CAN HELP YOU
1️⃣ GTM advisory - Work with me 1-on-1 in weekly or bi-weekly deep-dive working sessions to build and execute your powerful GTM strategy.
2️⃣ List of 90+ actionable SaaS Growth Tactics and Free SaaS Growth Strategy Worksheet (Links are in the Highlight section).
3️⃣ Free actionable SaaS growth tips: Daily on LinkedIn and bi-weekly in my newsletter (read by 2300+ SaaS leaders)

Bonus: Sponsor my newsletter & reach 2300+ early-stage SaaS founders/leaders/decision makers.

Among other things, I help you with:
- Creating your ideal customer profile (ICP)
- Working on positioning, messaging & value proposition 
- Choosing the right pricing for your business (pricing model, value metric & packaging)
- Implementing the right sales strategy (sales-led vs. product-led)
- Mastering 2-3 growth channels to continuously generate new deals or/and trials
- Setting up the right tech stack in sales, marketing & customer success
- Building your commercial teams.

Send me a DM on Linkedin or book a free 15min virtual coffee to learn more about my offering.

------------
ABOUT ME:

Hi, I'm Alexander Estner - but please just call me Alex.

I'm based in Munich, Germany 🇩🇪 and I've spent my whole career in the startup environment with now more than 10 years of experience in SaaS and marketplaces from being the first commercial employee of a fast-growing SaaS-enabled-marketplace to being a Co-founder of a SaaS startup and now supporting other early-stage founders on their journey from pre-revenue to the first €1 million ARR.

Over the last 2 years, I've helped 25+ SaaS companies grow their business faster with a powerful GTM strategy - as a growth advisor, consultant, or interim manager.

What I care about: 

- Brainstorming new business ideas 💡
- Sustainability, healthy food, and barista coffee ☕.
- Traveling, well-being, and all kinds of sports like skiing, beach volleyball, yoga, and fitness 🧘‍♂️
- Books & podcasts about startups, leadership, personal development, & positive mindset 📚

------------
💡 Currently getting inspired for a new startup

Go-to-market in 2024 is tough.

My best SaaS GTM Guides help you master GTM in 2024.

1️⃣ The Ultimate Ideal Customer Profile Framework
2️⃣ The Ultimate SaaS Messaging Framework
3️⃣ High-converting SaaS Homepage template
4️⃣ The perfect Sales Deck template
5️⃣ The Ultimate SaaS Pricing Guide
6️⃣ The Best Outbound Tech Stack for SaaS
7️⃣ The Ultimate Content Marketing Guide for SaaS

The 7 Best SaaS GTM Guides 2024

The free Workbook helped 3000+ SaaS leaders build their SaaS GTM Strategy.

The Ultimate SaaS GTM Strategy Workbook [Free]

Grow faster from 0€ to 3€ million ARR with 100+ actionable & proven SaaS Growth Tactics (helped 200+ SaaS leaders)

100+ actionable SaaS growth tactics

Get weekly 3 actionable SaaS GTM strategies and tactics to grow your B2B SaaS business from €0 to €1 million ARR 🚀.

MRR Unlocked 🚀 | Alexander Estner | Substack

RevGenius is a group of revenue-generating sales and marketing professionals brought together to learn, share, support, and grow with each other. You can consider us your alt work family!

The Mentoring Club is a pro bono platform where mentors and mentees meet and can schedule mentoring sessions. You can schedule a free mentoring session with me here: https://www.mentoring-club.com/the-mentors/alexander-estner

When I work with AI & SaaS founders, the GTM problem is rarely obvious at first.

On the surface, things look “busy”:
– Content is going out
– Demos are happening
– Tools are in place
– Pipeline exists

But momentum is missing.

When I audit the GTM, it almost always comes down to the same 6 things 👇

1️⃣ ICP exists, but isn’t enforced in decisions
2️⃣ Buyers don’t know what to compare the product against
3️⃣ Demos are feature tours, not a structured narrative
4️⃣ Every deal follows a different sales process
5️⃣ Website, decks, and case studies sound like everyone else
6️⃣ Content is vague and generic

None of this is a “talent” problem.
And it’s rarely a “more effort” problem.

It’s a foundation problem.

How we usually fix it:
– Make the ICP operational (not just a doc)
– Define positioning (what do we replace, how are we different)
– Design a demo structure that guides buyers, not just shows features
– Lock a default sales process with clear next steps
– Align assets around one positioning story

Especially in AI & SaaS, this matters.

Foundations first.
Everything else compounds on top of that.

👉 This post is part of a short LK series: 6 most common GTM problems I see working with early-stage founders. 
Check out mrrunlocked.com for all 6 and follow for tomorrow's post.

Most founders don’t have a strategy problem.
They have a translation problem.

The strategy work is done.
The thinking is solid.
The ICP definition makes sense.

But it never leaves the internal docs.

I often review a team’s Notion and think:
“This is actually very good.”

Then I open:

• The homepage
• The sales deck
• The CRM
• The LinkedIn profiles

And the clarity is gone.

What happens in practice:

--> ICP and messaging frameworks live in Notion/Miro only
--> Sales decks are 80% product feature walkthroughs
--> Homepage copy is fuzzy or overly technical
--> LinkedIn profiles don’t say what the company actually does and for whom
--> No clear category, no status quo problem, no sharp POV
--> Strong insights exist internally, but buyers never see them

👉 My POV: If your positioning doesn’t show up in buyer-facing assets, you don’t really have positioning.

It’s just internal alignment.

How I usually fix this:

--> Translate ICP + positioning directly into the homepage hero

--> Restructure the sales deck:
Status quo → pain → solution → proof → next steps

--> Align website, deck, demo narrative, outbound, and content around one core story

--> Rewrite LinkedIn profiles to be ICP-specific
[Role] @ [Company]
We help [ICP] do [use case] without [problem]

--> Build ICP-specific content (case studies, BOFU pieces, how-to guides, actionable lead magnets)

What GTM asset disconnects do you see most often?

P.S. This is 1 of 6 recurring GTM problems I see. The other 5 are on mrrunlocked.com.

When I review early-stage GTM setups, I often see:

– 4 channels running “a bit”
– Positioning that tries to do everything
– No anti-ICP
– Demo calls that are product tours
– CRM data that no one reviews

And when things are not moving, founders ask:

“Should we try more channels?”
“Should we pivot positioning?”
“Should we hire outbound?”

Most of the time, it's not about doing more.
It's about focus and clarity on the foundation.

So before adding anything new, fix what's already there.

Here are 10 GTM fixes you can ship this week 👇

• Define your ICP + Anti-ICP in 5 bullets
• Pick ONE positioning anchor (category OR use case)
• Kill one weak channel
• Add proper attribution (“How did you hear about us?”)
• Push your best case studies everywhere
• Make your LinkedIn profile crystal clear
• Systematize referrals
• Track lost reasons (mandatory field)
• Define when a deal opens & closes
• Review your last 3 demos critically

Choose 2 for your next week.

👇 What's on your list?

Most differentiation work fails for one simple reason:

It’s not anchored to a category.

Founders say:
“We’re different because we do X, Y, Z.”

Buyers think:
“Cool... but different from what?”

If you don’t clearly decide:

What category you’re in
Or what use case you own

buyers will decide for you.
And they’ll usually pick the wrong comparison.

What this looks like in practice:

--> You get compared to tools you don’t compete with
--> You’re evaluated on the wrong criteria
--> Your best features feel irrelevant
--> Sales conversations become educational instead of directional

Real differentiation happens inside a category.
Not instead of it.

First: anchor the category.
Then: differentiate within it.

This also comes with more benefits:
--> You will show up more in relevant LLM queries
--> You start demos with a high level anchoring
--> Content roadmap becomes clear
--> Social listening gets easier
--> Outbound becomes more targeted 

What else?

P.S. This is one of 6 recurring GTM problems that I see. Check out the link in the comment for the others.

If buyers don’t know what to compare you against, fix this first 👇

1. Decide your anchor

Category positioning (default)
Use-case positioning (if no category exists)

2. Write one clear sentence

We’re a [category] for [use case + ICP]

If you can’t say this cleanly, nothing downstream will work.

3. Name the real alternative you replace today
Not your dream competitor.

The status quo:
-Excel
-Manual workflows
-Agencies
-Internal hacks

4. Define 2–3 competitive buckets

-Status quo
-Incumbents
-Direct competitors

5. Differentiate with sharp contrasts

- Unlike incumbent tools, we...
-Unlike point solutions, we...
-Unlike the status quo, we…

This is GTM foundation work.
Get this wrong and everything slows down:
website, sales, outbound, demos, pricing.

Get it right, and buyers finally know:
“Ah, this is what I should compare you against.”

👉 What's part of your positioning?

P.S. This post is part of a short LK series: 6 most common GTM problems I see working with early-stage founders. 
Check out mrrunlocked.com for all 6 and follow for tomorrow's post.

One GTM problem that keeps repeating:

The GTM assets don’t reflect the 'internal strategy'.

I often review a team’s ICP, positioning, and messaging docs and think:
“This is actually very good.”

Then I look at:

- the website
-the sales deck
-the demos
- the LinkedIn profiles
- the outbound messages

...and the clarity disappears.

What this looks like in practice:

--> ICP and messaging frameworks live in Notion or Miro only
--> Sales decks are 80% product features
--> Homepage copy is fuzzy or overly technical
--> LinkedIn profiles don’t explain what the product is and for whom
--> No clear callout of ICP, category, or status quo problem
--> Strong insights exist, but prospects never see them

This is painful because the thinking is usually solid.

It’s not a strategy problem.
It’s a translation problem.

👇 What's your take?

P.S. This post is part of a short LK series: 6 most common GTM problems I see working with early-stage founders. 
Check out mrrunlocked.com for all 6 and follow for tomorrow's post.

graphical user interface, text, application

Most founders don’t have a product problem.
They have a positioning problem.
Last month I had 8 intro calls.

More than half needed 3+ minutes to explain what they’re building.
If I can’t repeat it back in 30 seconds, your buyers won’t either.

So here’s the simple 3-step framework I use with early-stage SaaS founders:

Step 1: Choose your Primary Anchor (What are you?)

When buyers ask:
“What is your product?”

You must answer in one sentence.

You have 4 options:

1️⃣ Activity Positioning
“We help you do X”

2️⃣ Use Case Positioning
“We help you do X without Y”

3️⃣ Product Category Positioning
“We are a X”

4️⃣ Competitive Alternative
“We are a [Leader] alternative”

Choose based on how buyers think today, not how you want them to think.

Step 2: Add a Secondary Anchor (Why you?)

Inside that primary anchor, differentiate:

• Niche down
• Low-cost
• Premium
• Unique attribute
• Lite version

Max 2. Not 5.

Step 3: Combine both into a clear statement

Strong positioning =
Primary Anchor + Secondary Anchor

Example:

(Product Category + Lite + Niche)
“We are a lightweight CRM built for startups.”

Positioning is a bet.
But no positioning is worse than wrong positioning.

If I asked you right now:
“What are you?”

Could you answer in one sentence without rambling?

P.S. I've launched my new positioning guide on mrrunlocked.com You will find the link in the comments.

Most founders think positioning is about being clever.

It’s not.

It’s about clarity and choosing the right anchor.

There are only 4 real types of positioning in B2B SaaS:
(credits to Anthony Pierri  and Rob Kaminski )

1️⃣ Activity Positioning

“We help you do X.”

You frame your product around a manual activity.

Example (Scheduling):
“Send emails back and forth to find a time.”

You’re replacing spreadsheets, Slack, email.

Best when:
• Market is early
• No clear software category exists
• Buyers still do it manually

GTM goal: Create awareness.

2️⃣ Use Case Positioning

“We help you do X without Y.”

You anchor around a clear job-to-be-done.

Example (Product Analytics):
“Understand how users behave inside your product.”

Buyers know the problem.
They may not think in category terms yet.

GTM goal: Own the use case.

3️⃣ Product Category Positioning

“We are a X.”

Example:
CRM software
Scheduling software
Product Analytics software

Buyers:
• Google the category
• Compare vendors
• Check G2

GTM goal: Win comparisons.

4️⃣ Competitive Alternative Positioning

“We are a [Leader] alternative.”

Example:
HubSpot alternative
Calendly alternative
Mixpanel alternative

Best when:
• A dominant leader exists
• Budget already exists
• You have a strong wedge

GTM goal: Steal demand.

Important:

The same product can be positioned in all 4 ways.
But only ONE anchor should lead your narrative.

Choose based on:

→ Buyer awareness
→ Market maturity
→ What they compare you against

Not based on what sounds cooler.

If you want the full positioning framework + worksheet, head over to mrrunlocked.com

Most startups waste time on growth channels before they’ve even tightened the basics.

Here’s a simple rule: Before adding anything new, fix 2 things you already have. 

Here are 10 quick fixes you can ship this week:

✔ Write your ICP + Anti-ICP in 5 bullets
✔ Choose one positioning anchor
--> product category OR use case. Don’t mix.
✔ Pause your weakest channel
✔ Add "how did you hear about us?" in your signup & demo flow.
✔ Share your best case studies everywhere.
✔ Revamp your LinkedIn profile for ICP clarity
✔ Ask your customers for referrals/warm intros.
✔ Track lost reasons in CRM (mandatory) + review weekly.
✔ Set hard rules for when to open/close deals.
✔ Coach yourself: Review your last 3 demo calls

None of these requires a strategy or expensive experiments.
They just reduce noise, clarify motion, and accelerate pipeline.

Start by simplifying what you already do. Then expand.

👇 What’s that for you?

P.S. For me, long hikes are where most of my GTM simplifications happen.
Distance creates clarity.

Whenever I ask founders to walk me through their sales process, this is where it breaks.

Sales is a set of calls, but not a designed journey.
They don’t guide prospects through a set of clearly defined steps.
 So they can’t describe what should happen after each step.

What this looks like in practice:

- Buyers decide on next steps at the end of the call
- 10 demos, 10 different next steps 'agreed'
- Unclear what the goal of each call is
- Deals are created without a clear definition
- Trials are offered without commitment or success criteria
- Deals stall because the next steps were never designed

The root cause. No 'designed' process. 
Meaning no repeatability.

And as it's not repeatable, it's also hard to measure and optimize.

So here's my recommendation: How to fix:

- Define a simple, explicit sales process 
 e.g., Disco → Demo → Trial/Pilot → Close
- Assign a clear goal and exit criteria to each stage
- Define when a trial is “earned” (qualification threshold)
- Create standard follow-ups for each stage (post-demo, trial kickoff, recap)
- Enforce pipeline hygiene: every deal needs a next step and a close date

Ofc, if you're advanced, implement a methodology like SPICED, SPIN, or MEDDIC.

👉 This post is part of a short LK series: 6 most common GTM problems I see working with early-stage founders. 
Check out the other 5 on mrrunlocked.com and follow for tomorrows post.

Writing blog posts and LinkedIn posts, but still 0 Inbounds.

I call it: "Content is done, but without a strategy"

I mean, the content isn’t designed to support real sales conversations or capture existing demand. 

This usually means teams are creating a lot of TOFU blog posts and random LinkedIn posts.

Results are usually 0 Inbounds.

What this looks like in practice:

- Random LinkedIn posts (or disconnected from ICP pain points)
- No repeatable content format (every post is a different topic)
- No Inbound generating lead magnet
- TOFU blog posts that don’t attract buyers
- Content optimized for likes, not ICP engagements
- No measurement of pipeline influence

How to fix:

- Prioritize BOFU content
alternatives, comparisons, “best X for Y”, use-case pages

- Focus early on the 5% of buyers who are already *in the market*

- Build a content map based on ICP questions by awareness stage
from problem-unaware → problem aware —> solution aware —> product (category) aware —> purchase-decision

- Build a high-performing lead magnet

- Turn real sales objections into posts and articles

- Record customer calls and use insights for your content roadmap (objections, pains, desired outcomes...)

- Measure content by meetings influenced, not impressions
e.g. via self-reported attribution (How did you hear about us?)

👉 What's missing? 

P.S. This post is part of a short LK series: 6 most common GTM problems I see working with early-stage founders. 
Check out the other 5 on mrrunlocked.com and follow for tomorrows post.

If your Go-to-Market feels noisy, slow, or unpredictable, the problem isn’t new channels, it’s a weak GTM foundation. 

Here are 10 quick GTM fixes you can ship this week.

no new playbooks, no new channels, 
just foundational execution that reduces noise.

1️⃣ ICP & Anti-ICP bullet lists
Define WHO you sell to and who you don’t. 
Write them down in 5 bullets.

2️⃣ Pick a single primary positioning anchor
Do buyers immediately understand what your product is?

Decide explicitly. Are you leading with:
A product category?
A specific use case?

3️⃣ Kill one weak channel
Focus beats “a bit of everything.” 
Pause the weakest channel → double down where you see traction. 

4️⃣ Add “How did you hear about us?”
Do you actually know where qualified pipeline comes from?
Add a required “How did you hear about us?” field

5️⃣ Share your best case studies
Don’t hide social proof. Add them on all your customer-facing assets.

6️⃣ Revamp your LinkedIn profile
Does your LinkedIn clearly communicate what we do and who we serve?

Revamp your Headline, banner, featured section.

7️⃣ Ask your best customers for referrals
Make intros easy with templates & suggested lists. 

8️⃣ Track lost reasons systematically
Build a required drop-down in CRM and analyze weekly. 

9️⃣ Hard criteria for deal open/close
Define exactly what qualifies an SQL
 
🔟 Review your last 3 demos
Coach mode on: Watch your last 3 demo calls.

Ask yourself:
- How deep was your discovery?
- Do you really know their status quo and pain points?
- Can you clearly articulate the committed next steps (who, when, what)?

These aren’t growth hacks.
They’re GTM fundamentals that improve your ICP share, shorten sales cycles, and unlock better pipeline this week. 

👇 Let me know which one you are shipping next?

--
P.S. If you want the full guide with all 10 GTM actions, comment "GTM actions" or send me a DM.

Most founders choose their positioning anchor based on opinion.

Here’s a better way:

Choose your primary anchor based on how buyers think today, not how you want them to think.

No strategy debates.
No branding workshops.
Just yes / no.

Use this simple decision tree 👇

Step 0: Leader Dominance Test (Check First)

Q0: Is there a dominant, well-known market leader that:

- Almost every buyer already knows?
- Owns most of the category mindshare?
- Is frequently referenced in conversations?
- Is the default comparison point?

If yes, and you have a clear wedge:
→ Consider Competitive Alternative Positioning

If no, continue below.
(If you choose Competitive Alternative, still validate Category Awareness below.)

Step 1: Category Awareness Test

Q1: When buyers start evaluating solutions, do they:

- Google a specific software category?
- Compare vendors on G2 or Capterra?
- Ask for demos of multiple vendors in the same category?

Examples:

- CRM software
- Scheduling software
- Product analytics software

If buyers already think in category terms:
✅ Yes → Product Category Positioning
❌ No → Go to Step 2

Step 2: Problem Articulation Test

Q2: Can buyers clearly describe what they want to achieve, even if they don’t know what type of software solves it?

Examples:

- “We need to schedule interviews faster.”
- “We need better onboarding walkthroughs.”
- “We need to coordinate approvals more easily.”

If they articulate the job, but not the category:
✅ Yes → Use Case Positioning
❌ No → Go to Step 3

Step 3: Manual Behavior Test

Q3: Is the dominant solution still manual? When you talk to potential customers, do most of them say:

- “We just use spreadsheets.”
- “We handle this in Slack/email.”
- “We don’t really have a tool for this.”

If yes:
✅ Activity Positioning
If no → Re-evaluate your market understanding.

That’s it.
Answer top to bottom.

If you want the full guide + worksheet, send me a DM and I will send it over

Last week Maximilian Fleitmann  and I made a teardown of 6 Top SaaS homepages - What's good, What's bad. Here's a good one.

🟢 Good: Clear “Who it’s for” above the fold

It was immediately clear:

- Who the product is for
- What the product is/does

No abstract slogans.
No technical feature dump.

Just a concrete statement that lets the right buyer think:

“This might be for me.”

That one decision already does a lot of qualification work for you.

This is one of many good & bad examples we collected in our Figma homepage teardown file.

You can check it out for free on the latest mrrunlocked.com episode. 

Link is in the comments.

👇 What good hero section examples do you have?

🎨 Design-as-a-Service @ magier | 🏰 Co-Founder @ Wizard Ventures ► Building an Internet Holding

One thing I’ve learned working with 30+ early-stage SaaS founders:

Positioning debates don’t end after choosing the anchor.

That’s just the beginning.

Because you can choose the “right” anchor...

...and still lose buyers with the wrong level of specificity.

Here’s what I see all the time.

Founders avoid competition by inventing new categories.

“We’re a Revenue Intelligence platform.”
“We’re a Workflow Orchestration Engine.”

Sounds strategic.

But buyers don’t think that way.

Or they go too high-level on the use case:

“We help companies increase revenue.”
“We improve productivity.”

Technically true.
Practically useless.

Buyers don’t buy “increase revenue.”

They buy:

• Manage pipeline
• Schedule meetings
• Guide onboarding
• Understand user behavior

Clear jobs. Clear boxes.

The opposite mistake also happens:

Founders get so feature-driven that their positioning sounds like a Jira ticket.
That’s too narrow.

Strong positioning lives in the tension between:

Too vague → confusing
Too specific → limiting

When we fix positioning specificity in my GTM audit, something interesting happens:

• The homepage headline gets simpler
• Sales calls get shorter
• Prospects “get it” faster

Positioning isn’t about sounding sophisticated.

It’s about being understood.

If you want me to get your positioning right, send me a DM. I have 1 free spot available starting in April.

Using Sales Navigator to build your lists? We all know how cluncky it is.

With Prospeo.io, you finally get a modern lead database that makes list building (and outreach) fun again.

I partnered with Prospeo because almost every early-stage founder I work with does outbound and almost all of them struggle with:

- inaccurate data
- messy list building
- wasting time on cold, irrelevant leads

In the screencast, I show exactly what I’d do if I were selling a webinar software to tech scaleups with a strong HubSpot integration 👇

My setup:

1. Role: Head of Marketing
2. Company size: 50–200 FTE
3. Industry: Software Development
4. Technology: HubSpot
5. Prioritize warm leads with intent for webinar & video-conferencing tools

Result: 305 highly qualified leads, fully ready for outreach.

Here is what I like about Prospeo 👇

1. 98% data accuracy
--> Work email, phone number, and LinkedIn profiles you can actually trust

2. Technographic filters
--> Your ICP uses HubSpot, Personio, or Notion? No problem

3. Intent signals
--> Start with warm leads that are actively looking for your solution
--> Reach out with relevance

4. Company attributes (this one is rare)
--> You can filter for companies that:

- offer a free trial
- offer a demo
- have a mobile app
- have online reviews
- have a public pricing

And with one click, you can enrich all leads (email, mobile, LinkedIn) and push them straight into your outreach tools like Lemlist or Heyreach.

The good part:
You get 100 credits for free, which equals 100 contacts enriched with email and LinkedIn.

What signals do you want them to add next?

taplio

The Battle

Shamal Borole - Badhe

Alexander Estner

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreAlexander Estner's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Shamal Borole - Badhe

Alexander Estner

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

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);}Alexander Estner's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreAlexander Estner's LinkedIn Performance