The GTM Crisis: Burning More Cash for Less Growth
Author: Jason Robinson, jason@revenueinsights.org
I’ve been analyzing a disturbing trend in B2B sales and marketing performance. Recent BenchSights data reveals a painful truth: companies now spend $1.98 in sales and marketing to generate $1 of new ARR—representing a 60% collapse in efficiency compared to just a few years ago.
This is happening despite:
Record attendance at revenue leadership conferences
C-suite prioritization of GTM expertise
Massive investments in revenue operations
An explosion of sales technology vendors
Something is fundamentally broken in our approach.
After consulting with over 50 growth-stage companies, I’ve identified three critical factors driving this crisis:
1. Market Contraction is the New Normal
The era of easy growth is over. The 2015–2020 expansion created unsustainable expectations and spending habits that don’t work in today’s environment.
During that period, we witnessed an unprecedented shift—first CMOs, then CFOs became major technology purchasers, creating a bloated tech stack across organizations.
The evidence is stark: Productiv’s latest research shows enterprises now maintain an average of 367 SaaS applications with utilization rates below 45%. Companies are managing the hangover of excessive purchasing while operating with leaner teams.
This explains the brutal scrutiny on every new purchase and the increasingly contentious renewal conversations. Buyers have fundamentally changed their behavior.
Reality check: Efficient acquisition is now the only path forward. The days of growing at all costs are definitively over.
2. Operational Complexity is Killing Results
The Revenue Operations revolution promised to unify our fragmented GTM efforts. The reality has been disappointing.
Gartner’s latest Revenue Operations Benchmark reveals that 75% of RevOps teams battle persistent data fragmentation, and 64% cannot deliver reliable unified reporting on customer acquisition and expansion journeys.
The most alarming finding: companies with dedicated RevOps functions show only marginally better GTM metrics than those without (4.2% improvement in conversion rates versus the anticipated 15–20%).
What happened? In most organizations, we’ve simply created another specialized function with its own budget, leadership, and territorial claims—adding complexity rather than reducing it.
3. Technology Investments are Yielding Diminishing Returns
The AI revolution promised to transform sales effectiveness, but current implementation approaches are failing to deliver.
Forrester’s comprehensive 2024 B2B Sales Technology Benchmark found that while 72% of sales organizations have deployed AI-enabled tools, only 23% report substantial efficiency improvements.
The disconnect is alarming.
The root cause? We’re applying advanced technology to fundamentally flawed processes.
Chorus.ai’s analysis of over 10 million sales interactions revealed that generative AI-assisted outreach actually produces 14% lower response rates than messages crafted by skilled representatives.
Even more concerning, Sales Engagement Platform data shows activity volumes increased by 37% while conversion rates declined by 12%.
The evidence suggests we’re using technology to do more of what doesn’t work, just faster and at greater scale.
The Path Forward
The data paints a sobering picture: our customers have fundamentally changed, but our GTM approaches haven’t evolved accordingly.
Today’s buyers have learned to operate with constrained resources—fewer people, streamlined processes, and optimized technology stacks. This behavior isn’t temporary; it’s the new standard for B2B purchasing.
The organizations that will thrive in this environment must:
Rebuild acquisition strategies based on current buyer behavior, not pre-2021 assumptions
Simplify operational models rather than adding specialized functions
Deploy technology to transform processes, not just accelerate existing ones
According to McKinsey’s latest Growth Functions Analysis, companies that successfully adapt to these changing conditions are generating 35% higher return on their GTM investments while reducing customer acquisition costs by nearly 30%.
The stakes couldn’t be higher. As GTM effectiveness continues to decline for most organizations, the competitive advantage for those who solve this puzzle will be substantial and lasting.
What fundamental changes are you making to your GTM approach?
