Go To Market Strategy

Go-to-Market-Strategy — Skill

How This Works

Assigns a launch tier and generates a complete GTM strategy brief grounded in your brain and sharper with every launch. Not a template-filler. A strategic thinking partner that interrogates scope before recommending resource investment.

The skill runs in 7 steps:

Step 0 — Load brain context (ICP, positioning, competitive landscape, proof points, launch history) and guardrails from /context/meta-patterns.md (e.g., "T2 launches with "Brain not found. Run product-marketing-context first. GTM strategy without ICP and positioning produces generic output, not defensible strategy."

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Step 1 — Intake (Conversational, One Round)

Ask in one message. Never generate brief before this is complete.

> "Before I assign a tier and build the brief, three things I need: > > 1. What's the initiative? (Product, feature, pricing change, new segment, market expansion — one sentence) > > 2. What does success look like in 90 days? Specific metric with a number. > > 3. Timeline? Launch date or rough window."

Reflect back in 2 sentences: > "Got it. We're launching [X] for [segment] with a goal of [metric] by [date]. Let me check the brain and assign a tier."

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Step 2 — Load Brain Context

Load silently. Extract Sections 2, 3, 4, 5, 7. Do not narrate.

If launch history (Section 7) shows a tier calibration mismatch (T2 that performed like T1, or T1 that underdelivered), surface as calibration note before assigning tier.

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Step 3 — Assign Tier

Apply all four signals before assigning. Single signal does not override others.

| Signal | T1 | T2 | T3 | T4 | |---|---|---|---|---| | Market impact | New category or primary segment | Major new segment or significant feature | Existing segment, incremental feature | Internal only, maintenance | | Revenue potential | Materially moves ARR/NRR | Meaningful pipeline contribution | Conversion or retention support | Minimal or indirect | | Competitive urgency | Closes gap or creates advantage | Responds to or anticipates competitor | No immediate pressure | n/a | | Resource requirement | All teams, full budget, exec visibility | 2–4 teams, dedicated PMM, targeted budget | PMM + one team, standard budget | Minimal, no external comms |

Tier definitions:

• T1 — Company bet. 6–12 weeks. All channels. Full exec alignment.
• T2 — Major initiative. 2–4 weeks. Targeted GTM. Dedicated PMM.
• T3 — Routine launch. 1 week. Focused enablement. Limited external comms.
• T4 — Minimal lift. Internal or beta only. Changelog or in-product only.

Calibration check: Before confirming tier, check Section 7. If similar initiative was under- or over-resourced, adjust and name precedent: > "Based on [prior launch], similar scope was assigned T2 but performed at T1. Recommending T1 here to avoid under-resourcing."

Output tier with one-sentence rationale before generating brief: > [T#] — [one sentence why, grounded in the four signals]

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Step 4 — Generate Full GTM Brief

Generate only after tier is assigned. Structure (7 sections):

## GTM Brief — [Initiative Name]
**Tier:** [T1 / T2 / T3 / T4]
**Rationale:** [one sentence — four signals applied]
**Launch date:** [date or range]
**DRI:** [name]
**Success metric:** [specific number + timeframe]

### Strategic Context
**Why now:** [1–2 sentences on market timing or competitive signal]
**ICP fit:** [Who specifically this is for, from brain Section 2 + buying trigger]
**Positioning angle:** [Sharpest differentiator, from brain Section 3]

### Channel Strategy
| Channel | Why | Tactic | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| [Primary] | [Specific reason tied to ICP] | [Concrete tactic] | [Function] |
| [Secondary] | [Specific reason] | [Concrete tactic] | [Function] |

### Success Metrics
| Metric | Type | Target | Timeframe | Measurement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Primary] | Lagging | [number] | [date] | [where] |
| [Leading indicator 1] | Leading | [number] | [earlier date] | [where] |
| [Leading indicator 2] | Leading | [number] | [earlier date] | [where] |

### Competitive Context
**Primary alternative:** [From brain Section 4]
**Defensive angle:** [What you say when they bring it up]
**Attack angle:** [Specific gap the alternative has]

### Proof Points
- [Claim + metric or quote]
- [Claim + metric or quote]

⚠️ [If missing proof points: flag]

### Timeline
| Week | Milestone | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| -4 to -2 | Pre-launch prep | PMM |
| -1 | Launch readiness check | PMM + Sales |
| 0 | Launch day | All |
| +2 | First signal check | PMM |
| +12 | Retro trigger | PMM |

### Next Steps
1. Confirm tier and brief with [stakeholder] by [date]
2. Run positioning-messaging to sharpen angles
3. Run pre-mortem to stress-test
4. Run stakeholder-maps for internal alignment
5. After launch, run retro → updates brain Section 7

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Step 5 — Update Brain Section 7 (on Confirmation)

After brief confirmed by user: > "Logging to brain Section 7 as Planned. Run retro after launch to update with actuals."

Write to /foundation/brain.md Section 7:

## Launch: [Initiative Name]
- **Date planned:** [launch date]
- **Tier assigned:** [T#]
- **Tier rationale:** [one sentence]
- **Primary metric:** [metric + target]
- **Status:** Planned
- **Actuals:** [Updated after retro]

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Step 6 — Post-Session Logging

Log to /context/skill-sessions.md with YAML metadata:

skill: go-to-market-strategy
session_date: [YYYY-MM-DD]
decision_type: [new brief / tier calibration / launch audit]
initiative_name: [Name]
initiative_type: [product launch / feature / pricing change / segment entry / market expansion]
quality_score: [0-100]
tier_assigned: [T1/T2/T3/T4]
tier_rationale: [one-sentence rationale]
four_signals:
  - "Market impact: [score reasoning]"
  - "Revenue potential: [score reasoning]"
  - "Competitive urgency: [score reasoning]"
  - "Resource requirement: [score reasoning]"
confidence_score: [🟢 / 🟡 / 🔴]
launch_readiness_score: [0-1.0, if calibration mode]
guardrails_triggered:
  - "[Pattern name if surfaced]"
brain_context_loaded: true
brain_sections_referenced:
  - "ICP (Section 2)"
  - "Positioning (Section 3)"
  - "Competitive (Section 4)"
  - "Proof points (Section 5)"
  - "Launch history (Section 7)"
brain_updates_proposed:
  - "[Emerging pattern or meta-learning, if any]"
calibration_note: "[Prior launch precedent if applicable]"
leading_indicators_count: [count]
proof_point_gaps: [count, if any]
brain_write_executed: [true/false]
success_metric: [metric + target]
output_path: "[Where brief was saved]"

Quality score: 90+ = All four signals applied, proof points present, leading indicators clear. 70+ = Most signals applied, some gaps in proof points. <70 = Major gaps in reasoning.

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Operating Rules

• Load brain before intake. ICP and launch history change what tier is appropriate.
• First-run blocks without brain. Missing brain triggers onboarding, not a warning.
• All four tier signals must be applied. Revenue alone does not make something T1.
• Tier rationale mandatory. One-sentence grounded reason required. "It feels big" is not a rationale.
• Leading indicators required. Every brief has ≥1 leading indicator + primary metric.
• Channel recommendations ICP-specific. Every channel tied to ICP + motion type, not generic.
• Calibration history checked. Before confirming tier, check Section 7 for precedent.
• Brain write requires explicit confirmation. Ask before writing to Section 7.
• Proof point gaps must be flagged. If brief requires unverified claim, surface before launch.

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Quality Gate

| Check | Pass = | |---|---| | Four signals applied | All signals reasoned through before tier assigned | | Brain loaded | Sections 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 extracted before brief | | Intake complete | Initiative reflected back and confirmed | | Leading indicator present | ≥1 leading indicator + primary metric | | Channel specificity | Every channel has ICP-specific reason | | Competitive context | Primary alternative + attack/defend angles | | Proof point check | Missing proof points flagged if brief requires them | | Timeline present | Tier-appropriate timeline with milestones | | Next steps include retro | Retro named as post-launch trigger | | Brain write confirmed | User accepted before writing Section 7 |

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Self-Improvement Loop

Each session logs to /context/skill-sessions.md with:

• Tier assigned and four signals reasoning
• Launch readiness calibration (if auditing)
• Guardrails triggered and usefulness
• Proof point gaps discovered
• Brain updates proposed

Monthly, meta-synthesis reads logs and detects patterns:

• "T2 launches with <0.5 readiness have underperformed" → Guardrail surfaces next time
• "Tier calibration drift: we systematically over-assign T1" → Recommend recalibration
• "Proof point gaps in positioning cause messaging rework" → Alert positioning skill

Patterns feed back into guardrail injection (Step 0) and brain updates (Section 7).

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Do Not Use For

• workflow-orchestrator — for chaining multiple skills end-to-end
• positioning-messaging — for messaging work (use after this skill)
• pre-mortem — for risk analysis (use after this skill)
• retro — for post-launch review (run after)

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: stefanoskarakasis
• Source: stefanoskarakasis/Product-Marketing-Skills
• License: MIT
• Homepage: https://stefanoskarakasis.substack.com/

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.