Over the last 20 years, we've built two $100M+ companies and made hundreds of mistakes along the way. Everything we do runs on our GTM Operating System frameworks. We even wrote a book called MOVE — which became a WSJ best-selling book on go-to-market, quoted by Geoffrey Moore (author of the iconic Crossing the Chasm).

Our mission: help 100,000 businesses run on GTM OS to build profitable companies. We're at about 3,000 now so we have a long way to go.

We also run the GTMarketplace — connecting CEOs with 100+ certified fractional CMOs, CROs, and ops leaders all over the world who know the GTM Operating System.

With that intro, let's get moving!

Every company sits in one of three zones. And where you sit determines what you can charge, how you compete, and whether you survive.

𝘈𝘵𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦: You can charge whatever you want because you can prove it. For every $1 invested, your customer gets $3 back. It's measurable. It's undeniable. Your customers understand exactly what you do—so they don't argue on price. $10, $100, $1,000—whatever you charge, they pay.

𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭: You promise your customer a transformation in their business. Think Salesforce. Think email marketing. Nobody asks "what's the ROI of CRM?" anymore. It's assumed. It's transformational. It's in the winning zone.

If you're in the green zone, you charge what you want, go after the customers you want, and do business the way you want.

In the competitive zone, you're either 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘺 or 𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺.

𝘕𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺: Think utilities. Georgia Power. Your water company. You don't switch them easily. Banks are similar—hard to change, even if someone offers something cheaper.

𝘌𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘺: This is where AI tools live right now. "We can enrich your data. We can send emails. We can automate X, Y, Z—and it's cheaper." Great. But there are a thousand tools saying the exact same thing.

The competitive zone is full of ankle biters. Competitors who say: "We do what they do, but cheaper. We do what they do, but faster."

You can survive here. But you're price-sensitive. You're constantly defending. And you're watching your margins shrink.

If you're in the yellow zone, try to be on the necessity side—not the efficiency side.

In the instability zone, your value is 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵. Your customers might say: "I love the product, but I don't know how to show ROI for it."

What they're really saying:

If that’s true, you're in the muddy middle. And it's a trap.

In my CEO roundtable last week, one founder described their product as "strategic enablement." I asked: "Can you prove ROI?" No. "Is it transformational?" Not really. "Is it a necessity?" They weren't sure.

That's the muddy middle. And that conversation made me realize how many companies are stuck there without knowing it.

If you want to watch in detail - watch this video below.

When I look at companies that struggle, I recognize the pattern. Because I've lived it.

At Terminus, we were like a scrappy little startup that hit the jackpot, growing from a measly $1M in our first year to a whopping $5M in the second, and then skyrocketing to over $15M in the third. We started out in a cutthroat arena where ABM was the new kid on the block. It was like a shark tank full of ankle-biting piranhas, all chirping, "We do ABM too”.

But we didn't stay there. We moved into the winning zone by making ABM transformational. We didn't just sell a tool. We sold a movement. We created a category. We made ABM a career path.

That's how you escape the competitive zone. And that's how you avoid the muddy middle entirely.

Now at GTM Partners, we're not just about selling advisory services for quick profits. Our mission is to empower 100,000 businesses to bypass the GTM valley of death and achieve profitable growth. We accomplish this by producing research notes and videos that reach over 100,000 readers weekly. Additionally, we have a network of over 100 certified partners worldwide, all featured on the GTMarketplace, who are equipped to tackle this challenge for businesses of any size.

The companies that win don't compete on efficiency.

They become attributable or transformational.

They move into the green zone—and they stay there.

Here's how to diagnose your zone:

If your customer can say "for every $1 I invest, I get $3 back"—you're attributable. You're in the winning zone. Charge accordingly.

If your product changes how your customer operates—like CRM or email marketing—you're transformational. You're in the winning zone. Nobody questions your value.

If you're something they 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 to have (like utilities), you're in the competitive zone but defensible. If you're efficiency-only, watch out for ankle biters. You'll be competing on price forever.

If your customers love you but can't explain why they need you—you're in the muddy middle. This is the danger zone. Get out as fast as you can.

Most companies don't fail because of bad product or bad team.

They fail because they're in the wrong zone—and they don't know it or they are struggling to tell an ROI story buyers care about.

If you're in the muddy middle, your GTM is going to feel like pushing a boulder uphill. Your sales cycles are long. Your pricing is soft. Your customers churn because they can't justify the spend.

That’s why it feels so hard in this zone and you might be right in the middle of it.

But if you're in the winning zone, GTM gets easier. Customers understand the value. They pay what you charge. They stay.

The zone you're in determines everything: your pricing power, your competitive position, your ability to scale and the ROI story you need to tell.

Ask yourself:

Be honest. Are you attributable? Transformational? Efficiency? Necessity? Or are you stuck in the muddy middle where value is indirect?

Telling a necessity or efficiency ROI story isn’t a bad thing as long as your good at telling it.

Can you make your value attributable? Can you become transformational? Can you tell a strong efficiency story? What would have to change in your positioning, your product, or your GTM?

If you can't prove ROI and you're not transformational, you're in the muddy middle. That's where companies go to die. Get out—or get specific about why you matter.

Want to know exactly what zone your business is in?

Go to runongtmos.com and take the GTM assessment.

It will show you:

And if you're in the muddy middle, it will show you exactly how to get out.

love,
sangram

p.s. 100,000+ GTM leaders read our content every day. If you want more strategies like this, follow along at runongtmos.com/move —and stop guessing what zone you're in. The assessment will tell you.