Why RevOps should own the GTM model: A step-by-step guide

Have you ever wondered who truly owns the go-to-market (GTM) model in your organization? Is it Sales? Marketing? Or could it be RevOps? This question became the center of my focus when I joined Pinpoint, a growing SaaS startup, as VP of Strategy and RevOps. With hundreds of competitors in our space, getting our GTM model right wasn’t just important – it was essential.

But the bigger question was: Who should own it? The answer, for me, was simple: RevOps. Here's why, and how we built the model from scratch, aligning teams and using data to drive growth. Along the way, I'll walk you through the practical steps we've taken, the tools we use, and the lessons learned from our successes and failures.

Let’s explore how RevOps can not only own the GTM model but also use it to create alignment across teams and drive sustainable growth.

The role of RevOps in SaaS and go-to-market models

A go-to-market model is essentially the blueprint for how a company generates and manages revenue. In SaaS, it’s especially critical, as our revenue is often tied to subscriptions, renewals, and upsells. It’s a living, breathing document that tracks the health of the business, often across multiple teams, each with their own perspective on what the numbers mean.

Now, what does the GTM model look like? It’s not just about top-level revenue goals. It’s about understanding the “how” of those numbers – what activities and tactics we’ll use to hit them. In many organizations, this could live in a massive Excel spreadsheet, or more commonly, it might be a shared tool among the finance team, marketing, and sales.

But there's a better way, and it starts with RevOps taking ownership.

Why? Because RevOps sits at the intersection of every team involved in generating revenue. We're tasked with knowing the revenue cycle inside and out, without bias. That means we’re in a unique position to look at things objectively and ensure all the teams are pulling in the same direction. We can build a model that considers all the risks, all the angles, and truly drives alignment.

In a startup environment, where resources are tight and growth is essential, it’s even more crucial that RevOps owns the GTM model.

Setting the foundation for a successful RevOps-driven GTM model

Once we knew that RevOps should own the GTM model, the next step was figuring out how to set the foundation. Here’s where it gets a little tricky, but it’s also where the magic happens.

Understanding business metrics

The first thing I did was take a deep dive into the metrics. I can't stress enough how critical this is for building a sustainable GTM model. You need to understand not just the top-level goals, but also the nitty-gritty metrics that feed into them. Think about things like ARR vs. CAR (Committed ARR), churn rates, upsell potential, and more.

For example, ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue) is often based on contract start dates, but CAR takes into account the revenue we’ve actually committed to today. It's a leading indicator of where the business is going. And it’s these kinds of distinctions that make a difference when building a GTM model that’s future-proof.

At Pinpoint, we started by defining the business’s North Star metrics. These would become the foundation for everything else we did. From there, we could break down all the dimensions that influence these metrics – like deal size, geographic location, and sales cycle length.

We also had to get our data governance in order. You can’t build a solid model without clean, consistent data. We spent a lot of time setting up our business data dictionary, which, if you don't have one already, I highly recommend it. It’s the key to ensuring all your teams (Sales, Marketing, CS, and even Finance) are using the same language when discussing metrics.

Why RevOps should own the GTM model: A step-by-step guide to building it right