If you’re leading a growth team or wrangling sales and marketing ops, you’ve probably seen a dozen “next-gen” B2B GTM platforms come and go. They all promise to find you more leads, automate your outreach, and turn your pipeline into a rocket ship. But once you peel back the buzzwords, what actually matters? This guide is for folks who want to cut through the sales fluff and pick a tool that does what you need—without wasting budget or time.
Below, I’ll break down the key features that actually move the needle when you’re comparing Floqer to other B2B GTM (Go-To-Market) platforms. No vague promises. Just the stuff you’ll wish you’d paid attention to before you sign another contract.
1. Data Quality and Coverage
Let’s start here, because it’s the foundation of everything. If a GTM platform’s data is spotty, outdated, or full of holes, nothing else matters. You’ll waste hours fixing things or—worse—burn leads with bad info.
What to actually check: - Freshness: How often is the data updated? Daily, weekly, quarterly? Stale data means bounced emails and wasted dials. - Completeness: Do you get the full buyer picture—email, phone, LinkedIn, direct dials? Or just a name and a company? - Coverage: Does it cover your target segments? If you sell to manufacturing in the Midwest, does the platform have those records, or just a pile of Silicon Valley SaaS contacts? - Enrichment: Can the platform automatically fill in missing info on your existing leads and accounts?
Pro tip: Ask for sample data in your target industry and run a match against your own CRM. Don’t just take the sales rep’s word for it.
2. Workflow Automation (and Where It Breaks Down)
Most B2B GTM tools brag about automation—auto-enriching leads, syncing data, triggering campaigns. This stuff can save huge amounts of time, but it’s also where platforms overpromise and underdeliver.
What matters: - Native integrations: Does it actually work with your CRM, MAP, or sales engagement tools, or do you need a Zapier workaround? - Custom triggers: Can you tailor workflows to your sales process (e.g., “If a lead opens an email and visits the pricing page, assign to rep”)? Or are you locked into a rigid set of rules? - Error handling: What happens when a workflow fails? Will you even know, or are you left debugging in the dark? - Manual override: Can reps or ops step in and fix things, or is everything buried in automation hell?
What to ignore: Platforms that “automate everything” but don’t show you what’s happening behind the scenes. You want control, not a black box.
3. Intent Data and Signal Accuracy
Intent data is a hot buzzword—everyone claims to predict when buyers are “in market.” The reality: Most intent signals are noisy or based on shaky assumptions.
What’s real: - Source transparency: Does the platform tell you where intent data comes from (web visits, job postings, ad clicks)? Or is it a “proprietary algorithm” no one can explain? - Signal frequency: Are you getting fresh intent signals, or just a monthly dump? - Noise filtering: How does the platform separate real buying signals from tire-kickers or bots? - Granularity: Can you see which topics/accounts/keywords triggered the signal, or just a vague “high intent” score?
Pro tip: Treat intent data as a hint, not gospel. Use it to prioritize, but don’t bet your quarter on it.
4. Account-Based Marketing (ABM) Tools
If you’re running ABM, you need a platform that helps you identify, reach, and track key accounts—not just spamming a contact list.
Key things to look for: - Target account lists: Can you easily upload and manage your own lists, or is it painful? - Multi-channel reach: Does it help you connect via email, LinkedIn, phone, ads, and more? Or are you stuck in one channel? - Personalization: Can you segment and personalize at the account level, or is it all generic outreach? - Engagement tracking: Do you get real insight into account activity, or just surface-level metrics?
Honest take: Many platforms claim to be “ABM-first” but barely go beyond basic list uploads. Make sure the platform fits how you do ABM, not just how they demo it.
5. Usability and Learning Curve
A tool can have all the features in the world, but if your reps and ops folks hate using it, adoption will tank—and so will your results.
Here’s what to dig into: - Onboarding: How long does it really take to get up and running? Is documentation clear, and is support responsive? - UI design: Is the interface cluttered with features you’ll never use, or clean and focused? - Search and filtering: Can you quickly find what you need (e.g., “show me all CMOs in biotech in New Jersey”)? - Role-based access: Can you set permissions by team or region, or is it one-size-fits-all?
Pro tip: Don’t just watch the demo—ask for a sandbox or free trial and get a few end users to try it. You’ll spot issues fast.
6. Pricing, Contracts, and Hidden Costs
Pricing is often a minefield. Most GTM platforms love to keep things opaque, bundle in “premium” features, or lock you into auto-renewals.
What to question: - Pricing structure: Is it per seat, per contact, per account, or some mystery formula? - Minimums and commitments: Is there a monthly/annual minimum? Can you start small without a multi-year lock-in? - Data export: Can you take your data with you if you leave, or does it disappear? - Overage fees: What happens if you go over contact or API limits?
Honest take: Always get total cost of ownership in writing. Watch for sneaky add-ons—“Oh, you wanted API access? That’s extra.”
7. Support, Reliability, and Trust
When you hit a snag (and you will), support and reliability matter more than any “AI-powered” feature.
What to ask: - Support hours and SLAs: Is help available when you need it, or just a chatbot and a promise? - Downtime history: Does the platform have a public status page? Any recent incidents? - User community: Is there an active community or forum where you can get real answers? - Roadmap honesty: Does the vendor deliver what they promise, or do features stay “coming soon” forever?
Don’t ignore: If support is slow or evasive during the sales process, it’ll only get worse once you’re a customer.
8. Security and Compliance
This is non-negotiable, especially if you’re in a regulated industry or handling EU data.
Checklist: - Certifications: Does the platform have SOC 2, GDPR, or other relevant certifications? Can they prove it? - Data residency: Can you choose where your data lives, if that matters to your business? - User controls: Can you easily manage who has access to sensitive data? - Audit logs: Are there clear records of who did what, in case something goes wrong?
Pro tip: Don’t just check a box. Ask your IT or legal team to review the DPA and security docs before you sign.
What Actually Matters (And What Doesn’t)
It’s easy to get lost in the weeds with feature lists and flashy demos. Here’s what to stay focused on: - Data quality and coverage is king. If it’s bad, nothing else helps. - Automation is only good if you can control and trust it. - Usability trumps complexity. If your team won’t use it, why bother? - Avoid lock-in and mystery pricing. Get everything in writing.
Ignore the shiny “AI” or “next-gen” features unless they solve a real pain for your team. Most of the time, the basics—good data, reliable workflows, and strong support—are what you’ll care about six months in.
Keep It Simple, Iterate, and Don’t Buy the Hype
Don’t feel pressured to buy the “all-in-one” platform with every bell and whistle. Start with what you need most, see how it fits your real workflow, and iterate from there. Most teams do better adding features slowly and ruthlessly pruning what they don’t use.
Keep your process simple, stay skeptical of vague promises, and remember: The best GTM platform is the one your team actually uses—and trusts—every day.