So, your B2B business is finally picking up steam—or maybe it’s more like a controlled explosion. Either way, you’re looking for go-to-market (GTM) software that doesn’t just promise the moon, but actually helps you keep up with growth. The catch: most software sales pitches sound the same and are packed with buzzwords.
This guide is for founders, sales leaders, and ops folks who want the facts: what really matters in B2B GTM software when you’re scaling, what’s fluff, and how to avoid buyer’s remorse.
1. The Basics: What GTM Software Actually Needs to Do
Before worrying about AI, automation, or the “platform of the future,” let’s talk about the non-negotiables. If a GTM tool can’t nail these, skip it:
- Centralize customer and prospect data: If your data’s scattered, your team’s flying blind.
- Support your core workflows: Sales, marketing, customer success—whatever moves your deals along.
- Integrate with the tools you already use: You shouldn’t have to rebuild your stack from scratch.
- Scale with your team: Adding users, roles, or new territories shouldn’t mean a week of IT work.
If a product can’t do these things well, nothing else matters.
Pro tip: Ask for a live demo using your real data or scenarios, not some cherry-picked sample account.
2. Must-Have Features (That Actually Make a Difference)
Here’s what you really want to see when you’re evaluating GTM software for a scaling B2B business:
2.1. Customizable, User-Friendly CRM
No surprise here—the CRM is the heart of GTM. But most CRMs are either too basic for scaling or so complex your team will revolt. Look for:
- Simple, flexible fields: You’ll need to tweak things as your process changes.
- Fast, no-nonsense search and filtering: When you have thousands of records, speed matters.
- Bulk actions: Updating 200 accounts one by one is a special kind of pain.
- Mobile access that doesn’t suck: For teams always on the move.
What to skip: Overly fancy dashboards no one checks, or “gamification” features aimed at sales bros.
2.2. Robust, Open Integrations
You want your GTM software to play nicely with:
- Email and calendar (Google, Outlook, etc.)
- Marketing automation (HubSpot, Marketo)
- Customer support/ticketing (Zendesk, Intercom)
- Data enrichment (Clearbit, ZoomInfo)
- Slack or Teams (if your team lives in chat)
If the software’s integration story is “coming soon,” treat that as a warning. Custom APIs are fine—if you have a dev team. If not, stick to tools with ready-to-go connectors.
What to ignore: “Marketplace” integrations that just push data one way or break whenever there’s an update.
2.3. Reliable Reporting & Forecasting
As you grow, you need to know what’s working and what’s not. Good GTM software should have:
- Out-of-the-box pipeline, conversion, and activity reports
- Customizable dashboards (for the ops nerds)
- Export to Excel/Sheets: Because let’s face it, you’ll still want to double-check the numbers.
Beware anything that hides your raw data or requires a consultant for every tiny change.
2.4. Workflow Automation (That Doesn’t Take a CS Degree)
Repetitive tasks kill productivity. Solid GTM platforms let you automate:
- Lead assignment and routing
- Follow-up reminders
- Data clean-up (deduping, tagging)
- Notification rules (but don’t get carried away—alert fatigue is real)
Look for tools where non-technical folks can set up automations. If it takes a week of reading docs, it’s a pass.
2.5. Access Controls and Permissions
As your team grows, not everyone should see everything. Make sure you can:
- Set roles and permissions by team, territory, or function
- Limit export/download access (especially with sensitive prospect lists)
- Track who changed what (audit trails)
If the platform only has “admin” and “user,” you’ll outgrow it in a month.
3. Nice-to-Haves (But Not Deal Breakers)
Some features are nice, but don’t get distracted. These shouldn’t drive your decision:
- AI “deal scoring”: Most are just black boxes or fancy math on top of your pipeline. Unless you have tons of clean data, it’s mostly noise.
- Built-in dialers/voip: Handy for outbound teams, but you can always add these later.
- Embedded chatbots: Cool for demos, rarely used in real life for B2B sales.
- “Revenue intelligence” insights: If it sounds like something a consultant would sell you, treat it with skepticism.
4. How to Choose: A Practical Checklist
Here’s how to cut through the noise and pick GTM software that’ll actually help you scale, not slow you down:
- List your must-have workflows. What do you actually need to do every day? Map it out—don’t trust a vendor’s vision.
- Test core features, not just the UI. Do a trial or ask for a live sandbox. Test bulk actions, search, integrations, and reporting.
- Talk to real customers. Ask for references from companies your size and industry.
- Check the support model. Will you get real human support, or just a knowledge base and a chatbot?
- Review the pricing model. Watch for hidden per-user or integration fees. Ask what happens to your data if you leave.
- Plan for migration. If you’re moving from another system, what does that process actually look like? (If the vendor glosses over this, it’s a red flag.)
- Start small, then expand. Don’t sign a 3-year contract for seats you don’t need yet.
Pro tip: If a vendor can’t answer a straight technical question, move on. There’s too many fish in this sea.
5. Real-World Watchouts
- Over-customization: The more you tweak, the harder it is to maintain. Stick to what you’ll actually use.
- “All-in-one” promises: Tools that try to do everything often do nothing well.
- Opaque pricing: If you can’t get a clear answer on cost, expect headaches later.
- Data lock-in: Make sure you can easily export your data if you ever move on.
6. Some Solid Options (and Where Extrovert Fits)
A few names come up a lot for B2B GTM: Salesforce (powerful, but heavy and expensive), HubSpot (friendly for smaller teams), and Pipedrive or Close (simple, but may hit limits as you grow).
If you want something newer and more flexible, Extrovert is worth a look. It’s built for scaling with a no-nonsense approach—less bloat, more focus on what teams actually use.
Remember, there’s no “best” tool—only the one that fits your current (and near-future) needs.
7. Keep It Simple, Iterate Fast
Your GTM software won’t close deals for you, but it will make your team’s lives easier—or harder. Don’t get lost in feature lists or shiny AI promises. Pick the tool that fits how you work now, not some hypothetical future state. Get it live, see what breaks, and tweak as you go.
Keep it simple. Stay skeptical. Scale smarter.