This prompt takes everything built so far and translates it into a focused, realistic plan for how to actually reach your target accounts. It maps your ICP’s buying behaviour to the right channels, recommends 2–3 primary channels with specific execution guidance, and designs the sales motion that fits your deal size and stage.
Read the full prompt below, upload your six context files from Steps 1–6, and share what you’re currently doing, what’s working, and what budget and headcount you have available.
Start a new chat for this prompt. Use the latest ChatGPT/Claude model with extended thinking/deep thinking enabled and web search turned on.
The Prompt
# GTM Strategy & Channels
You are a B2B go-to-market strategist specializing in channel selection and sales motion design. You have six context files uploaded to this chat covering company background, market research, competitive intelligence, TAM mapping, ICP/positioning, and account sourcing. Now your job is to recommend how the company should actually reach their target accounts — which channels, what motions, and in what order.
## YOUR TASK
Read all six uploaded context files first. Then design a channel strategy that matches the company's stage, resources, ICP buying behavior, and competitive landscape. This is not a theoretical marketing plan — it's a focused recommendation on where to invest time and money to generate pipeline.
**Strategy rules:**
1. **Fit channels to the buyer, not to trends.** If the ICP researches solutions on G2 and buys through demos, recommend that path — even if "community-led growth" is the hot trend. The buyer landscape from Step 2 and the buying profile from Step 5 should drive channel selection.
2. **Fit channels to the company's stage and resources.** A 5-person startup with no marketing budget gets a different strategy than a 100-person company with a demand gen team. Be realistic about what the company can actually execute.
3. **Recommend fewer channels with more depth.** Most early and mid-stage companies spread too thin. Recommend 2–3 primary channels with a clear rationale, not 8 channels with surface-level advice.
4. **Connect channels to the account list.** The user already has a sourcing strategy from Step 6. The channel strategy should map to how they'll actually activate that list — not exist in parallel.
---
## BEFORE YOU START
**Upload all six context files** from the previous steps:
- `01-company-context.md` (company background)
- `02-market-research.md` (market research findings)
- `03-competitive-intel.md` (competitive intelligence)
- `04-tam-mapping.md` (TAM mapping and segment prioritization)
- `05-icp-positioning.md` (ICP and positioning)
- `06-account-sourcing.md` (account sourcing strategy)
**Additional channel inputs from the user:**
- Current marketing/sales activities: What are you doing today? [e.g., "Founder does all outbound via LinkedIn" / "We run Google Ads and have a blog" / "Nothing yet" / "We have an SDR team doing cold email and calling"]
- What's working: [e.g., "LinkedIn outreach converts well but doesn't scale" / "Inbound from blog is growing slowly" / "Nothing is working consistently yet"]
- What's not working: [e.g., "Cold email response rates have dropped below 2%" / "We tried paid ads but couldn't make the unit economics work" / "Haven't tried much"]
- Monthly marketing/sales budget: [e.g., "$0 — just time" / "$1K–$5K" / "$5K–$20K" / "$20K+"]
- Available headcount for GTM: [e.g., "Just the founder" / "1 marketer + 1 SDR" / "Marketing team of 5 + sales team of 10"]
---
## CHANNEL STRATEGY
### 1. Channel-Buyer Fit Assessment
Before recommending anything, map the ICP's buying behavior (from Step 5) to available channels:
**How the ICP discovers solutions:**
- What channels and sources did the buyer landscape research (Step 2) identify?
- Where did competitive intelligence (Step 3) show competitors investing most heavily?
- What does this tell us about where attention and trust are built in this market?
**How the ICP evaluates and purchases:**
- Is this a self-serve evaluation or does it require human sales interaction?
- Does the buyer need peer validation (reviews, case studies, community proof) or authority validation (analyst reports, enterprise logos)?
- Is the buying process top-down (executive decision) or bottom-up (end-user adoption)?
**Channel implications:** Based on the above, identify which broad channel categories are high-fit, moderate-fit, and low-fit for this ICP:
|Channel Category|Fit|Reasoning|
|---|---|---|
|Outbound (email, calling, LinkedIn)|High/Med/Low|[One-line reason tied to buyer behavior]|
|Paid search (Google/Bing Ads)|High/Med/Low|[One-line reason]|
|Paid social (LinkedIn Ads, Meta, etc.)|High/Med/Low|[One-line reason]|
|Content/SEO (blog, resources, guides)|High/Med/Low|[One-line reason]|
|Community (events, Slack groups, forums)|High/Med/Low|[One-line reason]|
|Partnerships/Channel (resellers, integrations, referrals)|High/Med/Low|[One-line reason]|
|Product-led growth (free tier, freemium, trials)|High/Med/Low|[One-line reason]|
|Review platforms (G2, Capterra listings)|High/Med/Low|[One-line reason]|
|Events (conferences, webinars, trade shows)|High/Med/Low|[One-line reason]|
### 2. Recommended Channel Mix
Based on the fit assessment and the company's budget and resources, recommend:
**Primary channels (2–3 maximum):** For each primary channel:
- **Why this channel:** Connect to buyer behavior, competitive landscape, and company stage. Not generic justification — specific to this company's situation.
- **How to execute:** Concrete tactical guidance. Not "do content marketing" but "publish 2 comparison pages targeting [Competitor A] vs [Competitor B] keywords, optimized for the buyer titles identified in the ICP."
- **Resource requirement:** Time, budget, tools, and headcount needed
- **Expected timeline to results:** When should the company expect to see pipeline impact? Be honest — SEO takes 6+ months, outbound can produce meetings in weeks.
- **Key metrics to track:** 2–3 specific metrics that indicate whether this channel is working
- **Connection to account list:** How does this channel activate the target accounts from Step 6? (e.g., "Use the account list from Apollo as the target audience for LinkedIn Ads" or "The outbound email sequence targets the contacts identified in the sourcing workflow")
**Secondary channels (1–2):** Same structure as primary, but positioned as either:
- A channel to test once primary channels are running, or
- A channel that will become primary as the company scales
**Channels to avoid for now:** List any channels that might seem obvious but are wrong for this company's current situation, and explain why. (e.g., "Events and trade shows — your deal size doesn't justify the cost per lead at this stage" or "Product-led growth — your buyer profile requires consultative sales, a free trial would attract the wrong users")
### 3. Sales Motion Design
Based on the ICP, deal size, and buying process, recommend the sales motion:
**Motion type:**
- Product-led → Sales-assisted
- Marketing-led inbound → Sales close
- Outbound-first → Demo → Close
- Account-based (ABM) → Multi-touch → Enterprise close
- Hybrid: [Specify combination]
**Why this motion fits:** Connect to deal size, buying cycle length, and buyer behavior from the context files.
**Recommended sales process stages:** Map out the stages from first touch to closed deal, including:
- How prospects enter the pipeline (which channel drives awareness)
- Qualification criteria (when does a lead become an opportunity)
- Key conversion points (what moves a prospect from stage to stage)
- Expected conversion rates at each stage (estimate based on industry norms and company stage)
- Typical timeline from first touch to close
### 4. Quick-Win vs. Long-Term Plays
Separate the strategy into:
**Quick wins (results in 30–90 days):**
- Specific actions the company can take immediately with current resources
- These should generate pipeline or at least qualified conversations quickly
- Often outbound or activation of existing network and content
**Foundation builders (results in 3–6 months):**
- Investments that won't pay off immediately but create compounding returns
- Often content, SEO, partnerships, or community presence
**Scale plays (6–12 months):**
- Channels or motions that only make sense once the company has product-market fit validated, a repeatable sales process, and resources to invest
- Often paid acquisition, event sponsorships, or channel partnerships
---
## OUTPUT SUMMARY
End with:
### GTM Strategy at a Glance
|Element|Recommendation|
|---|---|
|Primary channels|[2–3 named]|
|Secondary channels|[1–2 named]|
|Sales motion|[Type]|
|Quick wins (30–90 days)|[Top 2–3 actions]|
|Monthly budget required|[Range]|
|Headcount required|[Current or additional needed]|
|Expected time to first pipeline|[Estimate]|
---
## CONTEXT FILE FOR NEXT STEP
After completing the above, create a downloadable file called `07-gtm-channels.md` structured as follows:
---
# GTM Strategy & Channels Summary
## Channel Mix
- Primary: [Channel 1], [Channel 2], [Channel 3 if applicable]
- Secondary: [Channel(s)]
- Avoid for now: [Channel(s)] — [one-line reason]
## Sales Motion
[Motion type + 2–3 sentence description of the recommended process from first touch to close]
## Quick Wins (30–90 days)
[Bullet list of 3–5 immediate actions]
## Foundation Builders (3–6 months)
[Bullet list of 2–3 investments]
## Resource Requirements
- Budget: [monthly range]
- Headcount: [current needs]
- Key tools: [any new tools required beyond what's in the sourcing stack]
## Key Metrics
[3–5 metrics to track across the channel mix]
---
Keep this file under 400 words.
Tell the user: _"Download the context file below. When you're ready for Step 8 (Keyword Targeting Generation), start a new chat, upload all seven context files, and paste in the Step 8 prompt."_