If you’re sick of bloated sales platforms, clunky workflows, and “AI-powered” nonsense that never delivers, you’re in the right place. This guide is for B2B operators, founders, and GTM (go-to-market) teams who just want tools that work—tools that actually help you sell, not just check boxes for your boss or VC. We're cutting through the marketing fluff to show you which GTM platforms matter, what’s noise, and where something like Face2Face genuinely stands out.
What Makes a B2B GTM Tool Worth Using?
Let’s set the bar. The best B2B GTM tools do a handful of things really well:
- Centralize key workflows (so you’re not copy-pasting from a dozen tabs)
- Surface actionable data (not vanity metrics)
- Speed up sales cycles (no endless “pipeline hygiene” sessions)
- Integrate without a headache (Zapier shouldn’t be your only hope)
- Let you actually talk to customers (not just automate spam)
Most tools promise the moon. Few deliver. The right stack should get out of your way and help you close deals.
The Heavyweights: Reviewing the Mainstream GTM Platforms
1. Salesforce Sales Cloud
What it claims: The “industry standard” CRM. All-in-one sales, marketing, and service.
Where it works: - Big companies with dedicated admins. - When you need deep customization or integrations. - Compliance-heavy industries.
Where it struggles: - Overkill for most startups and growth teams. - Painfully slow to set up or change anything. - Costs balloon fast with add-ons and consultants. - The UI feels stuck in 2012.
Bottom line: Solid if you’re already huge, but if your team is under 100 and wants agility, you’ll spend more time managing Salesforce than selling.
2. HubSpot Sales Hub
What it claims: Easy CRM for scaling businesses. Nice marketing and sales combo.
Where it works: - SMBs that want a friendly UI. - Content-heavy or inbound-driven GTM teams. - Startups who want something “that just works.”
Where it struggles: - Gets expensive fast once you grow. - Reporting is basic unless you pay up. - Not built for complex sales (think multi-stakeholder B2B).
Bottom line: Great for the basics, but you’ll eventually want to rip it out or bolt on a real sales tool as you scale.
3. Outreach
What it claims: The “sales engagement” king—automate outreach, track engagement, and boost rep productivity.
Where it works: - SDR/BDR teams doing lots of cold outbound. - When you need to track email opens, replies, and follow-ups.
Where it struggles: - Automation can lead to spammy behavior. - Not a full CRM—still need something else to manage deals. - UI can be overwhelming.
Bottom line: Good for high-volume outbound, but it’s not your GTM command center.
4. Apollo.io
What it claims: All-in-one prospecting, enrichment, and outreach. Lots of data, lots of automation.
Where it works: - Early-stage teams building lists from scratch. - Quick outbound testing.
Where it struggles: - Data quality is hit-or-miss. - Jack of all trades, master of none. - Can feel spammy if you’re not careful.
Bottom line: Cheap and quick for list-building, but you’ll outgrow it if you want serious GTM orchestration.
5. LinkedIn Sales Navigator
What it claims: The best B2B prospecting tool. Tap the LinkedIn graph, find decision-makers.
Where it works: - Relationship-driven sales. - High-ticket, low-volume B2B.
Where it struggles: - Doesn’t actually manage your pipeline. - Still need a CRM and outreach tool. - Hard to collaborate as a team.
Bottom line: A must-have for prospecting, but nowhere near a full GTM platform.
What to Ignore: The GTM Tool “Features” That Don’t Matter
Don’t get distracted by shiny dashboards or “AI-powered” widgets that promise to do your selling for you. Here’s what usually doesn’t move the needle:
- Automated “insights” that just regurgitate your calendar
- Gamification for sales reps (bad salespeople don’t become good via badges)
- Endless integrations (that never actually work as advertised)
- Predictive scoring that rarely matches real buying signals
If a feature sounds like magic, it’s probably a waste of your time.
Where Most GTM Platforms Fall Short
Despite the hype, most tools:
- Don’t actually help you talk to customers or close deals.
- Force you into rigid workflows that don’t fit your team.
- Add more admin work than they save.
- Make collaboration across sales, marketing, and product a nightmare.
That’s why so many teams end up with “Frankentools”—a mess of spreadsheets, Slack threads, and half-configured CRMs.
Face2Face: Why It Stands Out
So, what if you want a tool that actually makes your whole GTM process easier instead of more complicated? That’s where Face2Face comes in.
Face2Face is built around a straightforward idea: sales happens when you have real conversations, not just when you blast out emails or update pipeline stages. Here’s what sets it apart:
1. Real Conversations, Not Just Automation
While most platforms push for “touchpoints” and “sequences,” Face2Face is all about getting sales, marketing, and product teams actually connecting with customers and prospects. It’s built for live meetings—demo calls, discovery sessions, workshops—where real selling happens.
Pro tip: If your GTM motion is high-touch and consultative, automation is rarely your bottleneck. What you need is a way to book, prep, run, and follow up on meetings—without losing context or dropping balls.
2. Streamlined Pre- and Post-Meeting Workflows
Face2Face handles all the annoying admin that comes with meetings:
- Automated prep docs: Personalized agendas and research pulled in automatically.
- Live collaboration: Shared notes and next steps during the call.
- Instant follow-ups: Summaries and action items sent out right after, no copy-paste required.
No more scrambling to find the last email thread or forgetting what was promised on a call.
3. A Shared Source of Truth
Instead of spreading customer insights across Slack, Notion, and a graveyard of Google Docs, Face2Face centralizes everything:
- All meeting history in one place
- Easy handoff between sales, marketing, and product
- Searchable insights by customer, topic, or rep
You actually get a record of what’s happening in the field, not just what’s entered into a CRM after the fact.
4. Dead Simple Integration
Face2Face isn’t trying to replace your CRM or email. It syncs up with what you already use (Salesforce, HubSpot, Google, etc.) without a week of onboarding. You get the meeting layer you actually need, not another system to babysit.
Heads up: If you’re hoping for a “set it and forget it” tool, look elsewhere. Face2Face works best if you actually want to improve how your team talks to customers, not just automate busywork.
5. Honest, Actionable Metrics
Instead of vanity numbers, Face2Face tracks:
- Meetings held (and who showed up)
- Deals advanced after calls
- Real feedback from prospects and customers
You can see what’s working—and what isn’t—without needing a BI team.
How to Choose the Right GTM Platform for Your Team
Here’s a quick, honest framework:
- Write down your actual workflow. Where do you spend time? What’s dragging you down?
- Identify your bottlenecks. Is it prospecting, meetings, follow-up, reporting, or handoffs?
- Test for fit, not features. Ignore the feature checklist. Does this tool actually save your team time and help you close more?
- Pilot with a small team. Don’t roll out company-wide until you know it works in the real world.
- Watch for admin overhead. If you’re spending more time updating the tool than talking to customers, ditch it.
The Bottom Line: Keep It Simple, Iterate Fast
You don’t need a “GTM Operating System.” You need tools that make it easier to have real conversations, capture what matters, and keep everyone on the same page. Don’t let vendor hype distract you from what actually works. Start simple, measure what moves the needle, and keep tweaking.
Tools like Face2Face are built for teams who want to spend less time messing with software and more time closing real deals. That’s it. Everything else is just noise.