Inside a Real GTM Strategy Project: How NorthBuilt Transformed Its Go-to-Market in 4 Months
A behind-the-scenes look at how one B2B professional services company clarified its positioning, increased margins by 10%, and built a scalable sales engine.
A few months ago, a reader asked me to share a real GTM case study showing "insights, strategies, and implementation aspects." So today, I'm pulling back the curtain on one of my recent client engagements to show you exactly what a comprehensive GTM strategy project looks like in practice.
The transformation was dramatic: gross margins increased by over 10 percentage points, the team hired two additional engineers, and Chris went from "wading upriver" to having prospects raise their hands and ask to work with them.
This isn't a polished marketing case study. I hired a freelancer to interview Chris and get his raw, unfiltered feedback about his experience working with me. What follows is a real look at the messy, iterative process of building GTM foundations that drive growth, featuring Chris's candid insights throughout.
Why GTM Foundation Work Matters More Than Tactics
Before diving into the specifics, let me explain why this type of foundational work we did with NorthBuilt is so critical for B2B companies under $10M.
I've found that nearly every B2B growth problem at this stage traces back to one of five root causes:
No real product-market-problem fit: Either your product isn't solving a must-fix problem, or your audience doesn't feel the pain.
Unclear messaging and positioning: You can't explain who you help, what you do, and why it matters in language buyers use.
Pricing-value mismatch: You're too cheap to be trusted, too expensive for what's perceived, or just misaligned.
Your audience doesn't know you exist: You're not reaching the right people, so no awareness means no pipeline.
Internal chaos: You're chasing too many things, or your team isn't aligned on priorities.
The problem? Most founders and GTM leaders jump straight into growth tactics (ads, SEO, cold outreach) without first clarifying the fundamentals that make those tactics work. They end up wasting money, getting inconsistent results, and blaming the channel instead of fixing the root problem: shaky go-to-market foundations.
It's not a growth channel problem. It's a clarity problem.
That's why scaling past the early messy middle (from ~$1M to $10M) requires getting crystal clear on four GTM foundations: Audience, Offering, Messaging, and Channels. Once you have those locked down, execution becomes simpler and more effective.
The NorthBuilt engagement is a perfect example of this in action.
The Challenge: A Classic "Everything for Everyone" Problem
Chris Morbitzer, CEO of NorthBuilt, reached out through a referral from his fractional CFO. His company had been in business for five years, building custom software, but they struggled with the classic early-stage B2B challenge: trying to be everything to everyone.
In terms of the three phases of startup growth (Learn, Focus, Expand), NorthBuilt was stuck in Phase 1. They had learned some things that worked, but hadn't yet moved into Phase 2, where you build repeatable systems around your best customer segments and offerings.
As Chris put it: "We do anything because we can, right? It's like the anything for money stage. If you want something that can probably be done in Zapier, then yes, we can do that. You want a mobile app? Yes, we do mobile apps. That integration for your mom and pop brick and mortar business? Yes, we'll build it."
This lack of focus was creating multiple problems:
Low margins: Average gross margins were significantly under 50%
Team overwhelm: Every project was completely custom with no repeatable processes
Ineffective marketing: "Our marketing was 10% as effective as it could have been because half measures got me nothing," Chris explained. The cost of this scattered approach was significant. Chris estimates they "wasted over $100,000 in ineffective, failed sales and marketing efforts."
Unpredictable revenue: Completely dependent on referrals and personal networking
No sales engine: "We had no way of growing the business absent the serendipity and good feelings of our customers."
"It felt like we were wading upstream," Chris described the situation. "Like I'm in waist deep water and I'm just taking one slow, painful step at a time, fighting against the current to try and get traction in the business."
The Process: 3-Month Strategy Development + Ongoing Execution
Rather than diving straight into tactics, we started with foundations. Here's exactly how the engagement was structured:
Month 1: Customer Research & Analysis
Goal: Identify best-fit customers and understand what makes them successful
What we did:
Analyzed all customers from the past 24 months to identify patterns
Audience Workshop: Defined initial ideal customer profile criteria and identified which customers to interview
Selected three best-fit customers plus two similar prospects for in-depth interviews
Conducted comprehensive buyer journey interviews with each customer and prospect, asking about their process leading up to purchasing NorthBuilt's services (or similar services for prospects)
Surveyed the internal team to understand current messaging alignment and identify knowledge gaps
Key insight: The buyer journey interviews served as the foundation, making everything else data-informed rather than based on guesswork. These conversations revealed how customers found, evaluated, and decided to work with NorthBuilt. These insights directly informed our ICP definition, messaging strategy, service focus, and channel prioritization.
While NorthBuilt served multiple segments, their most successful customers were independent manufacturing companies in the Midwest with 25-200 employees who needed ongoing software maintenance and support. This became their "best customer case study" to replicate as they moved from Phase 1: Learn to Phase 2: Focus.
Month 2: Messaging Development & Offering Optimization
Goal: Clarify service focus and develop compelling messaging based on customer insights
What we did:
Messaging Workshop: Used interview insights to align the team on which offerings to focus on and how to communicate their value
Clarified and focused their service offering around ongoing software maintenance and support for custom-built operations software
Refined pricing and packaging to align with their chosen customer segment's needs and budget expectations
Clarified competitive alternatives, unique capabilities, and value propositions
Established brand messaging elements, including mission, values, and brand personality
Created a comprehensive Messaging Architecture document that serves as their single source of truth for all communications
Developed new copy and wireframes for key website pages, as well as a sales pitch deck based on customer language from interviews
Key insight: The customer interviews revealed specific language and pain points that customers used when describing their challenges, language different from how NorthBuilt had previously positioned themselves. This disconnect explained why their previous marketing felt generic. By using actual customer language in their messaging, every piece of communication became more resonant and specific to their target audience's real concerns.
Month 3: Customer Acquisition Planning
Goal: Prioritize the right channels and tactics to reach more ideal customers
What we did:
Channels Workshop: Used interview insights about how customers found and evaluated solutions to prioritize GTM motions and acquisition channels
Identified in-person trade shows and local events in the Midwest as the primary channels based on how existing customers preferred to build relationships
Prioritized local SEO optimization to capture regional search traffic
Developed local partnership strategy based on referral patterns from existing customers
Created a GTM Investment Map framework for testing and measuring channel effectiveness
Key insight: The interviews revealed that NorthBuilt's best customers valued relationship-building and preferred working with local or regional partners they could meet face-to-face. This insight led us to prioritize in-person events and local SEO over broader digital marketing tactics (a strategy that has proven highly effective for generating qualified leads and partnerships so far).
Month 4+: Implementation & Ongoing Advisory
Goal: Execute the strategy and measure results while continuing to optimize
What we did:
Updated website with new messaging and positioning, working with talented web designer/developer Nicole Christiansen, whom I recommended based on previous successful collaborations
Implemented weekly GTM team meetings with key initiative tracking
Introduced Chris to an SEO freelancer who has been helping them drive more local traffic to their website, resulting in more consistent leads
Guided execution of prioritized channels, with Chris attending targeted trade shows and events
Ongoing strategic guidance for optimization and scaling
Key insight: This shift from Phase 1 to Phase 2 allowed NorthBuilt to focus on replicating their best customer case studies, rather than trying everything. The systematic approach (starting with deep customer understanding) created a foundation that made every subsequent decision clearer and more effective.
Time investment: Chris estimates that he spent only 20 hours over a 4-month period. This was a fraction of what it would have taken to do internally, and far more effective because of the structured, research-driven approach.
"Even though I had read about this stuff in books, (Garrett’s) knowledge, because of the experience he had implementing this, was 10X what I ever could have done on my own, and therefore the quality of the deliverables were 10X what I could have done on my own," Chris noted.
The Deliverables: What Was Created
One of the reasons Chris chose to work with us was transparency about exactly what he'd receive. Here are the key assets we created:
1. Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) & Buyer Personas
A detailed breakdown of NorthBuilt's best-fit customers, including firmographics, technographics, qualifying characteristics, readiness to buy signals, and key buyer personas with specific details like:
Independent B2B manufacturing companies with 25-200 employees
Located in the Midwest with fewer than 2 FT software developers
Primary champions: COOs, CIOs with >$50k annual budgets
Key pain point: Need for reliable ongoing software maintenance and support
2. Messaging Architecture
A comprehensive document serving as the "source of truth" for all communications that includes:
Point of View: How they frame customer problems and solutions
Positioning: What they do, who it's for, why they should care, what makes them different
Brand elements: Mission, values, personality
Boilerplate messaging: One-liners, elevator pitches, multi-paragraph descriptions
3. Website Copy & Wireframes
Complete copy for homepage, process page, and about page based on the new messaging architecture.
4. Sales Enablement
Sales pitch deck template with customer-informed messaging
Qualification criteria based on ICP research
Objection handling based on actual customer conversations
5. Growth Strategy
GTM funnel mapping with key metrics for each stage
Channel prioritization using the GTM Investment Map framework, focusing on partner-led and event-led motions
Growth experiment tracker for ongoing testing and optimization
The Results: What Changed in 4 Months
The transformation was dramatic and measurable:
Financial Impact
Gross margins jumped from under 50% to regularly over 60%: "It's not unusual for us to have a 60% gross margin on an engagement now because we can quote higher prices to solve the problems that we solve," Chris noted.
Consistent revenue growth: Multiple months in a row surpassing revenue goals
Higher pricing due to clearer value proposition communication
More efficient project delivery through standardized processes
Operational Improvements
Hired two additional engineers using improved margins
Reduced team overwhelm through clearer focus
Developed repeatable processes for their core offering
Sales & Marketing Effectiveness
Dramatically improved lead quality: "Now instead of bubbling over my words, just throwing everything at them to see if their eyes light up at any one of these 20 things that I say, I'm crystal clear on exactly what we do."
Increased top-of-funnel leads through targeted messaging that resonates with specific pain points
Built an independent sales engine beyond referrals
Successful channel execution: Chris has been attending in-person trade shows and events in the Midwest (a prioritized channel), which have been highly successful at generating new clients and partners so far.
Clarity & Confidence
Perhaps most importantly, the entire team gained clarity about who they serve and why. As Chris put it: "I can only say [what we do] with such clarity and precision because I'm working with Garrett."
The Framework: How to Apply This to Your Startup
While every company is different, there are repeatable elements from this process you can apply:
1. Start with Customer Research, Not Assumptions
Don't guess who your best customers are. Analyze your data and talk to them directly. The customer interviews revealed insights NorthBuilt had never heard before, even from long-term clients.
2. Focus on ONE Segment Before You Scale
NorthBuilt had the technical ability to serve many different types of customers, but success came from choosing ONE segment to focus on exclusively. This represents the critical transition from Phase 1: Learn to Phase 2: Focus (a shift that most B2B companies need to make between $1M-$10M in revenue).
3. Build from Positioning to Tactics
We didn't start with "let's run some ads" or "let's do SEO." We started with fundamental questions: Who are we for? What do we do? How are we different? Why should they care?
4. Create Assets, Don't Just Have Conversations
Strategy discussions are valuable, but the real power comes from creating documented assets (ICP, messaging architecture, refined service offerings, etc.) that your entire team can reference and use consistently. We also brought in trusted specialists, such as web designer Nicole Christiansen, to execute the technical implementation, ensuring the strategy translated into real-world results.
5. Plan for Implementation from Day 1
The strategy is only as good as your ability to execute it. Build in processes for ongoing measurement, iteration, and testing.
The Bottom Line
NorthBuilt's transformation didn't happen because of some secret growth hack or marketing channel. It happened because they did the foundational work to understand who they serve, what unique value they provide, and how to communicate that clearly.
The results speak for themselves:
10+ percentage point increase in gross margins
Consistent months of revenue growth
Team growth and reduced overwhelm
Predictable lead generation beyond referrals
Crystal clear positioning and messaging
Most importantly, they now have a scalable foundation for growth rather than relying on "serendipity and good feelings."
Chris concluded, "Working with Prelude was exactly what we needed: a full GTM strategy, clear, precise, and focused on real results. I wish I had done it years ago."
Your Turn
If you're struggling with similar challenges (unclear positioning, low margins, team overwhelm, or unpredictable revenue), the path forward starts with the same foundational questions we addressed with NorthBuilt:
Who are your best-fit customers, and what do they have in common?
What unique value do you provide that others don't?
How can you communicate that value clearly and consistently?
Which acquisition channels align with where your customers spend time?
What processes will help you execute and measure your strategy?
Take some time this week to honestly assess where you stand on each of these questions. The clarity you gain will be the foundation for everything else you build.
What challenges are you facing with your GTM strategy? Reply and let me know. I read every response.
Looking to build stronger GTM foundations for your B2B startup? I help sales-led companies like NorthBuilt develop clear positioning, messaging, and growth strategies. Learn more about GTM strategy consulting here.
Know a manufacturing or industrial service company that needs help keeping its custom applications in top shape? NorthBuilt handles the tech headaches so your team can focus on growth. Learn more about working with them here.