How to "superalign" your GTM strategy with sales, product, CS
TL;DR: As the CMO you need non-negotiable alignment between all departments to scale well.
Read time: 3 minutes
The following is a conversation with Dave Panek, Partner / CMO Advisor at Aventi Group and longtime technology executive.
You’re a very curious person Dave.
It’s the trait I like to lead with.
I’ve been fascinated by & working in tech since the early '90s, back when we were all using Apple II computers.
My first decade or so was mostly in consulting. It was a period of intense learning and knowledge gains.
I was particularly drawn to analytics, data, CRM and martech spaces.
Predictive analytics was just starting out back then and I found it incredibly intriguing. We had fewer datapoints to work with back then, but it was still exciting.
And you progressed as a marketing leader pretty quickly, right?
I worked with a lot of startups, and interestingly every single one got acquired. So I ended up at large organizations like IBM, Teradata, and Oracle post-acquisition.
Moving into product marketing felt like the right step after that. I’ve had numerous roles always focused on GTM in some way & worked closely with executives.
I've been quarterbacking marketing orgs for a decade, and the last 3-4 years at Aventi have been about leveraging all that experience with clients.
I've helped them transition through different stages – product to platform, Series A to B, C to high growth, focusing on product / market fit, TAM, all that stuff.
How is GTM changing?
If I had to boil it down, I’d say you need non-negotiable, tangible, undeniable superalignment between all departments (sales, customer success, product, marketing).
When you have this it’s easier to create repeatable revenue – the kind of growth that leads to scaling well.
That doesn’t work when each department is on a different page and telling a different story.
But it does work when the story is integrated into the GTM core.
Can you give an example?
In the mid-2000s, I worked with a company hitting their category's limits.
I came in as the director of Product Marketing to help them expand beyond marketing resource management.
We made some acquisitions, built an organic story, which let us reach CMOs with bigger budgets. This shift doubled their revenue in a few years.
But the key was the story that every department was excited to tell, all rowing in the same direction. That’s the ground floor tweaks that make revenue impact long-term.
What signs tell you that you're steering a company in the right direction?
I look at CAC, TAM, category maturity, problem awareness, win/loss ratios, and how close you are to Product-Market Fit. Pipeline metrics and LTV are important too.
I also look at external factors like analyst coverage and the information ecosystem.
Having worked in so many companies, I've gained the ability to view all these elements in context, comparing and sizing up opportunities.
This perspective is one of my "earned secrets" – it helps me identify the right direction for each unique situation.
How do you overcome siloed thinking in story-building?
The challenge is that different departments have their own view of PMF.
Companies usually start inside-out – build a product, then find a market.
It’s why every startup incubator tells their companies to get out of the 4 walls.
Validate, validate, validate. Really understand the market. Do those few things well and things tend to fall into place.
What are your goals for the next quarter, year, or five years?
I'll always stay curious, no matter what. That's why I love marketing tech – it's always evolving, always shifting.
And of course, we've got to talk about AI, right? Next year, one of my main personal goals is to cut through the AI hype and really zero in on what's genuinely useful. I plan to compile a comprehensive list of sticky use cases and products based on my own experiences with AI tools.
This list will specifically highlight those AI solutions that can add real value to GTM leaders.
We’re moving from the trough of disillusionment (per Gartner coining the phrase) phase into sustainable growth with AI, and I’d like to be an educator during that phase.
Any final thoughts?
For product marketers, nail the quick wins and prove ROI upfront. Whether you’re a consultant or in-house.
Once you show you can boost revenue, you earn their trust forever.