If you’re running sales, RevOps, or go-to-market for a growing B2B company, you’ve probably realized “just adding more tools” isn’t a strategy—it’s a headache. You want real answers about what GTM (go-to-market) platforms actually do, which ones are worth your time, and whether something like Boostup is the right move for your team. Let’s cut through the noise, get practical, and help you pick a tool that won’t turn into shelfware.
What Does a B2B GTM Platform Actually Do?
Let’s start by getting real about what GTM (Go-To-Market) software is supposed to solve. At its core, these platforms promise to:
- Help you forecast sales with more accuracy
- Give you visibility into your pipeline and deals
- Spot risks and opportunities you’d otherwise miss
- Automate the busywork so reps can sell (instead of updating spreadsheets)
- Connect the dots between marketing, sales, and customer success
Sounds great, but here’s the catch: Most tools do some of this, few do all of it well, and even fewer make it easy for growing teams who don’t have a full-time ops person just to wrangle the software.
The Top Contenders: Who’s in the GTM Race?
There are dozens of platforms out there, but if you’re serious about B2B GTM, you’ll keep running into the same names:
- Boostup
- Clari
- Gong (and Gong Forecast)
- Salesforce Revenue Cloud
- Aviso
- InsightSquared (for those still clinging on)
- People.ai
- And a few others trying to carve out a niche
They all market themselves as “the answer” to your revenue problems. Spoiler: None of them are magic. Let’s break down what actually matters.
What to Look for—And What to Ignore
Before we stack up the competition, let’s get crystal clear about what’s worth your attention:
What Matters
- Usability: If your team hates using it, it’s useless. Period.
- Time-to-value: How fast will you get real insights, not just dashboards?
- Integrations: Does it actually play nice with your CRM, email, and calendar, or is it another silo?
- Forecast accuracy: Can it help you avoid ugly quarter-end surprises?
- Deal visibility: Are you seeing the full picture, or just what’s in Salesforce?
- Adoption: Will reps and managers actually use it, or is it just for leadership slides?
- Support & onboarding: Growing teams need hands-on help—not just a PDF and a prayer.
What to Ignore
- AI hype: “Predictive” doesn’t mean “accurate.” Ask how the AI works—and what data it’s actually pulling from.
- Endless features: More isn’t better. Most teams use a fraction of what’s sold.
- Vanity dashboards: Pretty charts don’t close deals.
- Big logo customers: Just because a Fortune 500 uses it doesn’t mean it’ll work for a 50-person team.
How Do the Top GTM Tools Stack Up?
Let’s look at how a few of the big players compare—warts and all.
Boostup
Boostup positions itself as a GTM platform built for growing companies who want clean forecasting, deal health, and pipeline visibility—without drowning in complexity. Here’s what stands out:
What Works: - Genuinely usable: The interface is clean, and most users say it’s quick to onboard (days, not months). - Data coverage: Pulls from CRM, email, calendars, and even call notes—so you see real activity, not just what reps remembered to log. - Forecasting: Uses both AI and rep input. You can see why the forecast is what it is (not just a black box). - Deal health: Flags risk based on actual buyer engagement, not just “last touched.” - Flexible for ops: You can tweak things without calling in consultants every time. - Responsive support: The company is smaller, so you get more attention.
What Doesn’t: - Not a marketing tool: It’s laser-focused on revenue teams. No fancy marketing automation. - Fewer “legacy integrations”: If you’re running 10+ old-school tools, check compatibility. - Still growing: Occasional rough edges in reporting, though most core features are solid.
Who It’s Good For: Teams that want quick wins, fewer headaches, and visibility without a six-figure consulting bill.
Clari
Clari’s the big dog in the space, and it shows. It’s powerful and covers a ton of ground—but that comes with baggage.
What Works: - Robust forecasting: If you need advanced scenarios and custom rules, it delivers. - Enterprise chops: Handles complex orgs, lots of data, and tons of users. - Integrations: Plays nice with most standard CRMs.
What Doesn’t: - Steep learning curve: You’ll need dedicated ops folks. - Can feel bloated: Tons of features most users never touch. - Slow rollout: Expect weeks (or months) before you actually see value. - Expensive: Pricing is not small-team friendly.
Who It’s Good For: Large, mature sales orgs with the resources to “do it right.”
Gong (Forecast)
Gong started as a call recording and analysis tool, then added forecasting. It’s great if you’re already a Gong shop, but it’s not a pure GTM platform.
What Works: - Call intelligence: Unmatched insight into what’s really happening on sales calls. - Coaching tools: Helps managers uplevel reps. - Some forecasting: If you’re all-in on Gong, it’s a bonus.
What Doesn’t: - Forecasting is basic: Not as deep as Clari or Boostup. - Limited pipeline visibility: Focused on recorded conversations, not the whole funnel. - Expensive add-ons: Costs pile up fast.
Who It’s Good For: Teams already using Gong for calls and coaching, who want a little forecasting on the side.
Salesforce Revenue Cloud
Salesforce’s answer to “why do you need another tool?” It’s built into the CRM, but it’s classic Salesforce: flexible, but rarely simple.
What Works: - All-in-one: If you live in Salesforce, it’s seamless (sort of). - Customizable: You can make it do what you want—if you have the admins and budget.
What Doesn’t: - Clunky UX: Not user-friendly unless heavily customized. - Slow and costly: Consultants required for anything non-basic. - Not for lean teams: Better if you’re already deep in Salesforce’s ecosystem.
Who It’s Good For: Enterprises who’ve already committed to the Salesforce universe.
Why Boostup Makes Sense for Growing Companies
Here’s the part you’re really here for: Is Boostup actually the right call for your team? Here’s why it often is—especially if you’re growing fast and don’t have a massive ops bench:
- Speed to value: Most teams are up and running in a week or two. You’re not stuck in onboarding purgatory.
- Real-world visibility: See deal health, pipeline risk, and forecast accuracy—all in one place, with actual engagement data.
- No-nonsense forecasting: You get both machine predictions and rep judgment, so you can trust (and challenge) the numbers.
- Grows with you: It’s not dumbed down, but it’s not overkill either. You can add complexity as you need it.
- People actually use it: Adoption rates are high because the UI doesn’t suck. No more chasing reps to fill in fields.
- Fair pricing: Not cheap, but not in “call us for a custom quote” territory either.
Honest downsides? If you’re a 1,000-person global team, you might eventually outgrow it. If you want a full marketing suite, look elsewhere. But for most B2B teams scaling from 10 to a few hundred reps, it’s hard to beat for day-to-day GTM sanity.
Pro Tips for Picking Your GTM Platform
- Demo with your use cases: Don’t settle for the canned product tour. Bring your own messy pipeline data and ask, “Show me how you’d spot risk here.”
- Talk to real customers: Not just the ones on the vendor’s website. Ask about onboarding, support, and what broke.
- Check integrations, for real: Don’t just ask “Does it integrate with Salesforce?”—ask “How hard is it to actually set up and maintain?”
- Push for transparency: How does the AI forecast work? Can you see the logic or just the number?
- Pilot before you commit: Make sure it fits your team’s actual workflow, not just management’s wishlist.
Bottom Line: Keep It Simple, Make It Useful
Don’t let shiny dashboards or “AI-powered” pitches distract you. The best GTM platform is the one your team will actually use, that gives you a clearer picture, and helps you fix pipeline problems before they blow up. For most growing B2B teams, that means something like Boostup: practical, fast, and focused on what matters. Start simple, get value fast, and tweak as you go. That’s how you win—no magic, just good habits (and a tool that actually helps, not hinders).