Different ways of buying need different ways of selling. A good GTM team connects them rather than forcing one playbook.
The problem is older than the label
Finding customers, communicating value, and choosing distribution channels are not new problems. The useful question is how those activities fit the product and the way its customers buy. Avoid treating GTM as an invention of the AI boom.
Think of this guide as a conceptual map, not a claim that every company passed through the same historical stages. A founder-led enterprise sale and a self-serve app can exist in the same market at the same time.
Product-led does not mean sales-free
Bessemer's 2022 account of product-led companies describes how enterprise sales can complement bottom-up adoption. Product usage can identify promising accounts, while procurement, packaging, and enterprise requirements still need deliberate commercial work.
That is a documented example of a blended approach, not proof that product-led growth is always cheaper or more effective. Its success depends on the product, buyer, and stage of the company.
Source / Bessemer: Enterprise sales in a product-led organization (2022) (opens in a new tab)
Early-stage work starts with learning
Bessemer's guide to generating demand emphasizes a working ideal customer profile and consistent messaging before scaling channels. In other words, learn who responds and why before multiplying activity.
Source / Bessemer: A founder's guide to generating demand (opens in a new tab)
What to ask a founder
Our suggested interview questions: Who has the strongest reason to buy now? What have customers tried instead? Where do deals or trials stall? What would you want this hire to learn in the first month?
A role that offers real experimentation, access to customer conversations, and a clear owner for follow-up can be a good place to build judgment. A vague instruction to "do growth" without product access or measurement support deserves a closer look.