{"id":389,"date":"2025-03-14T19:20:34","date_gmt":"2025-03-14T20:20:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thereferralchoice.com\/?p=389"},"modified":"2025-05-16T15:42:09","modified_gmt":"2025-05-16T15:42:09","slug":"ai-for-gtm-leaders-how-to-navigate-the-adoption-curve-without-getting-left-behind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thereferralchoice.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/14\/ai-for-gtm-leaders-how-to-navigate-the-adoption-curve-without-getting-left-behind\/","title":{"rendered":"AI for GTM Leaders: How to Navigate the Adoption Curve Without Getting Left Behind"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Hello and welcome to The GTM Newsletter by GTMnow <\/strong>– read by 50,000+ to scale their companies and careers. GTMnow shares insight around the go-to-market strategies responsible for explosive company growth. GTMnow highlights the strategies, along with the stories from the top 1% of GTM executives, VCs, and founders behind these strategies and companies.<\/em><\/p>\n

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AI for GTM Leaders: How to Navigate the Adoption Curve Without Getting Left Behind<\/h2>\n

AI in go-to-market (GTM) is at an inflection point. Some teams are using it to drive efficiency in demand gen, outbound, and retention, while others are still figuring out where it fits. The difference? The companies getting AI right are seeing lower CAC, faster sales cycles, and a more predictable pipeline.<\/p>\n

But AI adoption isn\u2019t plug-and-play. It\u2019s easy to throw money at AI tools and see little to no impact. Many teams automate the wrong things, integrate AI in a way that disrupts workflows, or expect it to magically fix broken processes. AI is a multiplier, not a silver bullet.<\/p>\n

Conversations with AI leaders have helped shape a framework for evaluating AI tools, identifying common mistakes, and assessing team readiness.<\/p>\n

The GTM AI adoption curve: where do you stand?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

AI adoption in GTM isn\u2019t random. It follows a predictable curve, just like any major technology shift. And where you sit on this curve says a lot about your competitive advantage (or disadvantage) heading into the rest of 2025.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how it breaks down:<\/p>\n

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  1. Innovators (5%)
    <\/strong>Building proprietary AI models or deeply embedding AI into every workflow. Think OpenAI-level experimentation but for GTM.<\/li>\n
  2. Early adopters (15%)
    <\/strong>Using AI strategically for outbound, lead qualification, and predictive analytics. These teams have figured out how to make AI drive real revenue impact.<\/li>\n
  3. Early majority (35%)
    <\/strong>Experimenting with AI tools, but haven\u2019t fully integrated them into processes. Maybe some reps use AI for email personalization, but there\u2019s no standardized AI-driven workflow.<\/li>\n
  4. Late majority (35%)
    <\/strong>Hesitant, waiting for proven use cases before investing. They\u2019re watching competitors adopt AI but haven\u2019t committed yet.<\/li>\n
  5. Laggards (10%)
    <\/strong>Still running the 2018 playbook, avoiding AI altogether, and relying on traditional GTM processes. At risk of getting left behind.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Where you sit on this curve matters. The companies moving up fastest are the ones embedding AI into core GTM motions, without over-automating or sacrificing personalization.<\/p>\n

    A practical framework for evaluating AI in sales and marketing<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    AI is everywhere in GTM right now, but not all AI solutions are created equal. Too many teams rush into adoption without clear evaluation criteria, leading to wasted budgets, underwhelming results, and a lot of \u201cthis AI thing isn\u2019t working\u201d frustration.<\/p>\n

    If you\u2019re thinking about adding AI to your GTM stack, here\u2019s how to evaluate tools the right way.<\/p>\n

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    Score each category from 1 (low confidence) to 5 (high confidence).<\/em>If any category scores 3 or lower, rethink the AI investment before rolling it out.<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

    1. ROI alignment<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    Will AI actually improve your GTM metrics? AI shouldn\u2019t just \u201cautomate tasks,\u201d it should drive measurable business impact. Before investing, ask:<\/p>\n