If you work in B2B and your job is to get products to market—think sales, marketing, customer success, or partnerships—someone’s probably suggested you use Microsoft Teams. Maybe your IT team loves it, or your clients are already on it. But does it actually help move the needle for go-to-market (GTM) teams, or is it just another thing you have to check every morning? Here’s a clear-eyed look at Teams in 2024: what it’s good for, where it falls short, and how to make it work for your GTM motion (if at all).
Who Should Care About This Review?
- Heads of Sales or Marketing: Wondering if Teams can help your people close deals, run campaigns, or manage partners.
- RevOps & Enablement: Need to make the tech stack work without making everyone’s day harder.
- Anyone forced onto Teams by a client or partner: You need to know what’s worth your time.
If that’s you, keep reading.
What Microsoft Teams Actually Is (and Isn’t)
First things first: Microsoft Teams is a chat and collaboration tool, not a CRM, not a marketing automation platform, and definitely not magic. It’s part of Microsoft 365, so if your company uses Outlook or SharePoint, you’ve probably got it whether you want it or not.
What Teams does well: - Persistent group and 1:1 chat - Video meetings (integrated with your Outlook calendar) - File sharing and co-editing (built on SharePoint) - Basic integrations with big SaaS tools (Salesforce, HubSpot, Trello, etc.)
What Teams does not do well: - Deep pipeline management or sales analytics (that’s still your CRM) - Customer-facing marketing automation - Replacing dedicated project management tools for complex work
It’s a hub for internal communication and collaboration. Everything else is an add-on, and sometimes a clunky one.
The Good: Where Teams Actually Helps GTM Teams
Let’s give credit where it’s due. For B2B go-to-market teams, Teams can make life easier—if you’re realistic about what it’s for.
1. Keeping Internal Communication in One Place
If your org is already using Outlook and SharePoint, Teams brings everything under one roof. No more hunting through endless email threads or lost attachments. Key benefits:
- Channels for teams, deals, or projects: Set up channels for named accounts, campaigns, or regions. Everyone sees the same info.
- Chat replaces a lot of emails: Quick questions, deal updates, and “can you jump on a call?” all live in chat.
- Meetings are simple: Click to join, with calendar integration.
Pro tip: Don’t go overboard with channels. Too many, and nobody knows where to post. Keep it focused.
2. Real-Time Collaboration on Docs and Pitches
Because it’s all tied to SharePoint, you can co-edit decks, proposals, or spreadsheets right in Teams. No more “final_final_v3.pptx” flying around.
- See who’s editing what, in real time.
- Comments and chat on the side—actually useful in a live pitch review.
3. Working with External Partners
You can invite guests (clients, partners) into specific Teams or channels. This beats sending docs back and forth, and you can control what they see.
- Secure file sharing: You decide what folders external folks can access.
- Joint meetings, chat, and reviews: All in one spot.
But: External access is fiddly to set up. IT needs to get involved, and some partners will never figure out guest accounts.
4. Integrations with Sales Tools (Sort Of)
Teams has connectors for Salesforce, HubSpot, Dynamics, and more. You can get deal alerts or activity notifications right in a channel.
- See pipeline updates, new leads, or closed deals without leaving Teams.
- Set up basic automations (e.g., notify #sales when a deal moves stages).
Don’t expect miracles: These integrations are surface-level. You’re not going to manage your pipeline from Teams. It’s more “heads up,” less “do the work here.”
The Bad: Why Teams Annoys GTM Pros (and What to Watch Out For)
Let’s be honest—Teams isn’t all sunshine. Here’s what frustrates most go-to-market teams:
1. Clunky UX and Notification Overload
- Too many notifications: Every chat, channel, and mention wants your attention. Easy to miss what matters.
- Slow or buggy at times: Especially if your device is a few years old.
- Navigation is confusing: Files are buried, and switching between chats, channels, and calls is not intuitive for new users.
How to cope: Ruthlessly mute channels you don’t care about. Train your team to use @mentions wisely.
2. External Collaboration: Good on Paper, Messy in Reality
- Guest access is inconsistent. Some clients can’t get in due to their IT policies.
- Permissions are confusing—easy to accidentally overshare or lock people out.
- If your partners use Slack or Google, good luck convincing them to switch.
3. Integrations Are Shallow
Yes, Teams connects with a lot of apps. But in most cases, these are just notifications or basic actions—not deep, two-way sync.
- You’ll still need to live in Salesforce or HubSpot for real work.
- Project management integrations (Asana, Jira) are just OK—don’t expect a full dashboard.
4. Meetings: Fine, but Not Special
Teams meetings work, but don’t expect the polish (or fun) of Zoom or the slick features of Google Meet. Breakout rooms, whiteboards, and recording are there, but often feel tacked on.
- Audio/video quality is reliable, but not best-in-class.
- Virtual backgrounds are… let’s call them “hit or miss.”
What to Ignore: Features You Don’t Need
Teams has a lot of “extras” that sound cool but rarely matter for GTM teams:
- Built-in Wiki: Nobody updates it. Use your company’s actual knowledge base.
- Praise and Gamification: Feels forced, rarely used.
- Apps overload: Unless you have a clear workflow, adding more apps just creates clutter.
Stick to chat, meetings, file sharing, and only the integrations your team actually uses.
Making Teams Work for Your B2B GTM Motion: A Practical Approach
If you’re stuck with Teams—or want to give it a real shot—here’s how to make it fit your go-to-market workflow.
1. Set Up Focused Channels
- One channel per major account, campaign, or region.
- Archive old channels ruthlessly.
- Use clear naming conventions (
#client-acme,#marketing-q2).
2. Agree on Communication Norms
- Use @mentions only for real action items.
- Pin important files and messages.
- Decide what goes in Teams vs. email vs. CRM notes.
3. Integrate Where It Makes Sense
- Add your CRM’s Teams app for basic notifications.
- Connect your calendar and file storage.
- Set up meeting templates for common calls (e.g., discovery, QBRs).
4. Train Your Team—Briefly
- Do a 15-minute demo on how your team will use Teams (and what to ignore).
- Share a quick FAQ or cheat sheet.
5. Monitor, Adjust, and Don’t Be Afraid to Say “No”
- If a feature isn’t helping, stop using it.
- Regularly ask: Is this making us faster, or just busier?
Bottom Line: Should B2B GTM Teams Use Microsoft Teams?
If your company is already a Microsoft shop, Teams is a decent “glue” for internal comms and basic collaboration. It won’t replace your CRM, it’s not a marketing automation tool, and it can be a hassle with external partners who live in other ecosystems.
But if you keep it simple—focused channels, sensible notifications, and just the integrations you’ll actually use—Teams can be a solid, if unspectacular, part of your GTM toolbox.
Don’t overthink it. Start small, get your team on the same page, and iterate from there. If it’s not working, don’t be afraid to say so. The best tool is the one your team will actually use.