GTM Live

This week on GTM Live, Carolyn unpacks one of the most deeply ingrained—but damaging—habits in B2B go-to-market: measuring success based on which department sourced the deal. While many marketing leaders know this approach doesn’t reflect reality, changing it is hard, especially in legacy orgs with outdated attribution models, internal inertia, and leadership that still demands simple answers to complex questions. In this solo episode, Carolyn breaks down the real problem: measuring performance by team creates siloed decision-making, warped incentives, and misses what actually moves buyers through the funnel. You’ll hear why the future of GTM performance measurement is about mapping buyer behavior across an interconnected journey, not slicing credit by department. And she shares the exact 5-part framework Passetto uses to help teams ditch "department-sourced" for something far more accurate and impactful. If you’ve ever struggled to prove Marketing’s full impact, or if your exec team is still obsessed with MQLs and last-touch attribution, this episode will hit home. Key topics in this episode: * Why “department source” attribution is outdated and misleading * The real structure of a modern buyer journey * How this model leads to misaligned KPIs and credit battles * Why most GTM teams lack the data architecture to measure what matters * A new framework to measure engagement, prospecting, and sales as one integrated system This episode is powered by ⁠⁠Passetto⁠⁠. We help high-growth and equity-backed B2B SaaS companies turn GTM data into better decisions, faster. We unify your GTM and financial data, identify your growth levers, and help you scale. Part SaaS, part advisory. Visit ⁠⁠passetto.com [https://passetto.com]⁠.

This week on GTM Live, Carolyn sits down with Megan Bowen, CEO of Refine Labs, to unpack why so many B2B companies are pouring budget into paid media, and still missing revenue targets. They break down what’s really going wrong: not too much paid media, but too much spend on a strategy that doesn’t convert. Pipeline is down. Revenue is down. And yet, the response is often to spend more, not better. You’ll hear why performance marketing often fails to deliver real outcomes, how misaligned KPIs drive bad decisions, and what separates newer, agile companies from legacy players still running outdated GTM playbooks. Megan shares insights from working with dozens of growth-stage companies and how leadership mindset, speed of iteration, and willingness to challenge old assumptions can make or break your demand strategy. If you’ve been trying to defend paid spend, or wondering why results are flat despite doing “all the right things”, this episode is for you. Key topics in this episode: * Why paid media often fails to convert to pipeline or revenue * The difference between new-school and old-school GTM teams * Why optimizing for MQLs leads to the wrong outcomes * How to rethink measurement for real demand capture * What high-performing growth teams do differently This episode is powered by ⁠⁠Passetto⁠⁠. We help high-growth and equity-backed companies turn GTM data into better decisions, faster. We unify your GTM and financial data, identify your growth levers, and help you scale. Part SaaS, part advisory. Visit ⁠⁠passetto.com⁠ [passetto.com].

This week on GTM Live, Carolyn and Trevor unpack the 9 go-to-market dysfunctions quietly derailing growth at even the most ambitious B2B companies. They dig into why so many teams, despite big budgets, headcount, and tools, are still struggling to drive efficient growth. Spoiler: it’s not the people. It’s the system. You’ll hear why fragmented data, financial secrecy, and siloed ownership are causing misalignment across marketing, sales, finance, and CS. And what it takes to rebuild GTM as a unified, accountable system. Trevor breaks down the real role of RevOps (and why it’s failing in most orgs), while Carolyn makes the case for ditching vanity metrics and rethinking how you measure and invest in growth. If you’re questioning whether your CAC is sustainable or your GTM truly aligned, this one’s for you. Key topics in this episode: * The 9 biggest GTM dysfunctions hurting growth * Why RevOps struggles to drive real impact * How to align GTM and finance on a shared data model * The danger of over-investing in top-of-funnel * Why teams fix symptoms, not systems * What it actually takes to build a full-funnel growth engine This episode is powered by Passetto. We help high-growth companies build the GTM system they should’ve had all along: measurable, connected, and built for real growth. We integrate your CRM, financials, and GTM data to uncover what’s working, what’s not, and what to do next. Part platform, part advisory. All about clarity. Learn more at passetto.com [http://passetto.com].

This week on GTM Live, Carolyn sits down with Nick Flamini [https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-flamini-39931b1b2/], host of the Sales Architecture Podcast, to explore the real reasons most go-to-market teams are still struggling—despite all the headcount, tools, and budget. They dig into the myth of “more BDRs = more pipeline,” and why most organizations are missing the data, architecture, and cross-functional alignment required to scale efficiently. Carolyn explains why “go-to-market bloat” is a symptom of deeper system issues, not bad people. She shares how Passetto is helping companies rethink how they connect marketing, sales, finance, and RevOps through a unified GTM data layer. Nick challenges the hype around AI in outbound, and the two unpack why trust, process, and measurement (not volume) are the levers that matter most. If you’ve ever questioned whether your CAC is actually sustainable, or felt stuck trying to prove marketing’s impact, this episode is your blueprint. Key topics in this episode: * Why most CRM data is unusable, and what to do about it * The epidemic of go-to-market bloat and over-hiring * How AI is flooding outbound and eroding trust * Why finance must own more of GTM efficiency * The trap of MQL targets and performance by team * What it takes to build a real full-funnel revenue factory This episode is powered by ⁠Passetto⁠ [https://www.passetto.com/]. We help high-growth and equity-backed companies turn GTM data into better decisions, faster. We unify your GTM and financial data, identify your growth levers, and help you scale. Part SaaS, part advisory. Visit ⁠passetto.com [https://passetto.com]

Most SaaS teams claim they’re “doing PLG,” but very few are doing it well. This week on GTM Live, Carolyn and Trevor sit down with Wes Bush [https://www.linkedin.com/in/wesbush?miniProfileUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afs_miniProfile%3AACoAAA0xytUB2pTBipAfxbOQc_QW93-fAzrJbtk&lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_search_srp_all%3Bg8A4a3RHQoKWvIjX9rtxVw%3D%3D], CEO of ProductLed [https://www.linkedin.com/company/productled/?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_search_srp_all%3Bg8A4a3RHQoKWvIjX9rtxVw%3D%3D], to unpack why product-led growth often fails—and what to do about it. They explore why PLG isn’t just a pricing model or trial strategy, but a deep, systems-level shift that most teams underestimate. Wes shares the “PLG iceberg” framework: how surface-level features (like a free trial) are only a fraction of the equation, and what’s really beneath the waterline. Carolyn draws parallels to GTM systems and explains why execution gaps usually stem from unseen issues like misaligned metrics, siloed teams, or weak infrastructure. Trevor reveals why so many companies stall out after initial traction and how to diagnose whether PLG is truly viable for your product and team. If your version of PLG starts and ends with a self-serve signup, this conversation will change your thinking. Key topics in this episode: * Why most PLG initiatives stall or fail to scale * The “iceberg” analogy for understanding real PLG systems * How internal misalignment derails otherwise solid PLG ideas * Why surface-level success metrics are misleading * What CEOs and GTM leaders get wrong when trying to “go PLG” * What foundational systems need to be in place before you can succeed with PLG 📘 Grab Wes Bush’s free e-book “Product-Led Growth: How to Build a Product That Sells Itself” at productled.com/book/product-led-growth [https://productled.com/book/product-led-growth#Content] This episode is powered by Passetto [https://www.passetto.com/]. We help high-growth and equity-backed companies turn GTM data into better decisions, faster. We unify your GTM and financial data, identify your growth levers, and help you scale. Part SaaS, part advisory. Visit passetto.com [https://passetto.com]