Looking for go-to-market (GTM) software can feel like shopping for a car from people who speak in riddles. Every product promises “transformation” and “alignment” but rarely tells you what actually works for real B2B teams. If you’re trying to figure out if Airship is a fit—or if some other tool is better—this guide is for you. You’ll get a step-by-step approach that skips the hype, helps you spot red flags, and shows you how to make a decision you won’t regret in six months.
Step 1: Get Clear on What “Go To Market Software” Actually Means (For You)
“Go to market” software is a catch-all phrase. Vendors slap it on everything from sales enablement to revenue operations to account management. Before you can compare solutions, you need to define what you actually need.
Ask yourself (and your team):
- What’s the real job to be done? Are you trying to manage leads, track the pipeline, coordinate campaigns, or something else?
- Who actually uses this every day? Sales reps? Marketing? RevOps? If everyone “owns” it, no one does.
- What do you already have, and what’s broken? Sometimes, you don’t need a new tool—you just need to fix process or train your team.
Pro tip: Write down your top 3 must-haves. If a solution can’t do these well, move on.
Step 2: Make a Shortlist—Don’t Get Distracted by Shiny Features
Once you know what you need, make a shortlist of tools. Airship and a handful of competitors—maybe Outreach, HubSpot, Salesforce Sales Cloud, or Apollo—are the usual suspects. Don’t just Google “best GTM software” and open the first five paid ads. Instead:
- Ask teams like yours: What do they actually use? What do they still use after a year?
- Ignore the feature matrix for now: Most tools look similar on paper. Focus on the core workflow.
- Cut anything that obviously doesn’t fit your size, budget, or region.
If you can’t imagine your team logging into a tool every day, take it off the list.
Step 3: Dig Into Airship’s Real Strengths (and Weaknesses)
Airship claims to help B2B teams coordinate their GTM motion, manage handoffs, and drive accountability. Here’s how to figure out if that’s real—or just good marketing.
What Airship tends to do well: - Workflow coordination: It’s built to stop leads from falling through the cracks, especially across sales, success, and marketing. - Visibility: If you care about seeing who’s doing what (and when), Airship gives you decent reporting and accountability tracking. - Integration-first: It tries to play nice with CRMs, email, and calendar tools rather than replace them.
Where Airship can fall short: - Not a CRM replacement: If you want a full-blown database of every contact, deal, and note, stick with Salesforce or HubSpot. - Can get “process heavy”: If your team hates structure, they may rebel against the workflows. - You’ll need change management: Like any GTM tool, it only works if people actually use it.
What to ignore: Don’t get hung up on “AI-powered insights” or “next-gen automation” unless you see it solving a real problem for you. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Step 4: Run a Real-World Test, Not a Sales Demo
Watching a vendor click around a demo environment tells you nothing about how your team will actually use the software. Here’s how to do a real test:
- Get a sandbox or trial. Insist on access for your actual team, not just the admin.
- Give them a real task: E.g., “Move this deal from marketing to sales and hand off to success,” or “Track an account through the whole funnel.”
- Time it: How long does it take? Where do people get stuck? Ask your least technical user to try it.
- Watch for “demo-ware”: Features that only work in the sales demo but break in reality.
Pro tip: If a vendor won’t give you a trial, that’s a red flag.
Step 5: Compare Real Integration, Not Just API Promises
Every GTM tool says it “integrates” with your CRM, email, and calendar—but integration quality varies wildly.
- Test it with your data: How does Airship (or any tool) pull in leads, update records, and sync with your CRM? Try adding a new contact in your CRM—does it show up in Airship (and vice versa)?
- Watch out for brittle connections: Some integrations break if you change a field or update your CRM version.
- Ask about support: Who actually helps if the sync breaks—do you get a human, or just an FAQ?
Ignore: “Open API” claims, unless you have engineers ready to build and maintain custom integrations.
Step 6: Price Out the Real Cost (and Watch for Gotchas)
List price is almost never the price you’ll pay. Watch for:
- Per seat pricing: Are you paying for every user, or just admins? Can you get volume discounts?
- Implementation fees: Some tools charge four figures just to get started.
- Add-ons and upgrades: Are “must-have” features locked behind higher tiers?
- Hidden costs: Training, change management, or needing to buy add-on tools to fill gaps.
Ask for a total cost of ownership for one year. If a vendor can’t give you a straight answer, that’s a warning sign.
Step 7: Talk to Real Customers (Not Just Reference Calls)
Vendors will always send you to their happiest customers. Go beyond that:
- Look for public reviews: Try G2, TrustRadius, or Reddit for unfiltered opinions.
- Ask your network: Reach out on LinkedIn or industry groups—“Anyone using Airship? Happy with it?”
- Probe for churn: If lots of teams try a tool and abandon it in a year, that’s telling.
Don’t just ask, “Do you like it?” Ask, “What’s still annoying? What did you wish you knew before you bought?”
Step 8: Decide Based on Fit, Not Feature Count
At the end of the day, more features don’t make a better tool. The best GTM software is the one your team actually uses to get their job done.
- Does it solve your top 3 must-haves?
- Will your team use it—or ignore it?
- Is the price worth the value?
If you’re not sure, pick the simplest option and revisit in six months. Overthinking usually leads to shelfware.
Keep it Simple, Stay Skeptical
It’s easy to get lost in the weeds when evaluating GTM software. Stay focused on what your team actually needs, ignore the buzzwords, and don’t be afraid to walk away if nothing feels right. Simple tools, used well, beat “transformational” platforms every time. Choose something you can start using this quarter, and adjust as you learn.