So you’re hunting for go-to-market (GTM) software for your B2B team. Maybe your sales process is a mess of spreadsheets, or you’re tired of tools that promise the moon but can’t even get your reps to log in. Either way, you want something that actually works. This guide is for sales leaders, ops folks, and anyone who’s sick of bloated SaaS and just wants to make buying and selling less painful.
Let’s skip the fluff and get straight to what matters.
What “GTM Software” Actually Means
First, let’s level-set. “GTM software” is one of those terms people toss around to sound smart—sometimes it means a CRM, sometimes a sales engagement tool, sometimes something else entirely. For this guide, we’re talking about platforms that help B2B teams manage, automate, and improve their end-to-end sales process: prospecting, outreach, pipeline management, and maybe a dash of analytics.
If you’re considering a solution like Textus, you’re probably looking for something that makes your sales team’s workflow easier and more effective—not just another dashboard collecting dust.
1. Core Features Your GTM Software Needs (and What’s Just Noise)
Most platforms love to parade a features list that reads like a diner menu. But more isn’t always better. Here’s what actually matters:
Must-Have Features
- Multi-Channel Outreach: Email, phone, SMS, LinkedIn—your prospects live in more than one place. You need to reach them wherever they are, without juggling five tabs.
- Automated Workflows: If your reps are still manually following up or logging calls, you’re burning money. Look for automation that takes care of repetitive stuff without feeling robotic to the recipient.
- Native Integrations: Your GTM platform should play nicely with your CRM, marketing automation, and calendar. If it doesn’t, you’re in for syncing headaches and lost data.
- Reporting and Analytics: Not just vanity metrics. You want actionable insights—what’s working, what isn’t, and where deals die.
- User Experience: This gets glossed over, but if your team hates using the software, they won’t. Clean interface, easy navigation, fast load times—non-negotiable.
Nice-to-Have (But Not Critical)
- AI Everything: Everyone’s slapping “AI-powered” on their product, but auto-writing emails isn’t magic. If it helps, great, but don’t let shiny buzzwords distract you.
- Built-in Dialers or VoIP: Useful if your team does a lot of cold calling. Not a must if you’re mostly emailing or texting.
- Templates and Sequences: Handy for onboarding new reps, but most teams end up customizing these anyway.
Ignore This Stuff
- Endless Customization: Sounds cool until you’re knee-deep in settings and nothing works.
- “Gamification”: Leaderboards can motivate, or they can just stress out your team. Don’t overvalue badges and points.
- Widgets and Add-ons: If you can’t explain what a feature does in one sentence, you probably don’t need it.
2. Integration: The Make-or-Break Factor
You know what kills software adoption? Making people double-enter data or jump through hoops. Integration isn’t a “feature”—it’s table stakes.
- Native CRM Integration: If you’re on Salesforce, HubSpot, or another big CRM, your GTM tool should plug in directly. API-only connections often mean missing data and manual work.
- Email and Calendar Sync: Look for seamless two-way sync, not just one-way pushes.
- Marketing Automation: If your marketing and sales data live in separate silos, good luck tracking attribution or following up fast.
Pro tip: Ask vendors to demo how their tool handles a real lead from start to finish—including integration touchpoints. If they “don’t have that set up right now,” that’s your answer.
3. Automation: Real Productivity vs. More Busywork
Automation is where most GTM platforms either shine or fall flat. The best tools automate the boring stuff so your team can focus on conversations, not clicks.
Useful Automation
- Drip Campaigns: Automatic follow-ups based on prospect behavior.
- Task Scheduling: Automatically create tasks or reminders based on triggers (e.g., missed call, unopened email).
- Lead Routing: Assign leads to the right rep without manager intervention.
Automation to Be Wary Of
- Over-automation: If the system’s sending 10 emails a week to every lead, you’ll get flagged as spam (and annoy people).
- Hidden Logic: You should be able to see and tweak automation rules. If the system’s a black box, that’s trouble.
Gut check: Automation should make your team’s day shorter, not just busier.
4. Usability: If It’s Not Easy, It Won’t Get Used
A lot of GTM software looks great in a demo but becomes a graveyard after rollout. Why? Because it’s confusing, clunky, or just plain slow.
- Onboarding: How fast can a new rep start using it? If you need a week of training, it’s too complicated.
- Navigation: Is everything buried in nested menus? Can you find what you need in three clicks or less?
- Mobile Access: Your team’s not always tied to a desk. Mobile support matters, especially for texting or calling on the go.
Ask for a sandbox or trial. If you can’t get hands-on before buying, that’s a red flag.
5. Security and Compliance: Boring, But Non-Negotiable
Especially for B2B teams handling customer data, don’t ignore this stuff.
- Data Encryption: At rest and in transit—basic, but not always a given.
- Permission Controls: Can you lock down sensitive info by user or team?
- Compliance: If you’re in regulated industries (finance, healthcare), check for SOC 2, GDPR, or CCPA readiness.
Don’t just take their word for it—ask for documentation.
6. Support and Real-World Reliability
The best software in the world is useless if you can’t get help when things break.
- Support Access: Is it chat, phone, or just a ticketing black hole?
- Knowledge Base: Solid documentation means fewer panicked messages to support.
- Reliability: Look for real uptime numbers, not just “99.9%” claims on the homepage. Down time during crunch time is a dealbreaker.
Pro tip: Google “[vendor name] downtime” or “[vendor name] support Reddit” to see real user gripes.
7. Pricing: What You Really Get for Your Money
Most GTM platforms love to play “contact us for pricing.” Here’s what to watch out for:
- Per-seat costs: Make sure the per-user price doesn’t balloon if you scale up.
- Hidden fees: Ask about add-ons, API access, or integration costs.
- Contract terms: Annual lock-in? Month-to-month? Don’t get trapped.
If a vendor can’t explain their pricing in plain English, walk away.
8. Evaluating Textus (and Any Other B2B GTM Platform)
Let’s bring it back to Textus. It focuses on real-time business texting, which is great if your sales cycle relies on fast, personal communication. Here’s how it stacks up on the must-haves:
- Multi-channel: Strong on SMS, integrates with email/CRM.
- Automation: Good drip and follow-up features, but doesn’t try to do “AI everything.”
- Integrations: Direct connections to big CRMs—worth testing yourself.
- Usability: Simple interface, minimal onboarding.
- Support: Live chat and actual humans—not just bots.
What Textus doesn’t do: It’s not a full-fledged CRM, and it doesn’t try to be. If you need deep pipeline management or complex forecasting, you’ll need to pair it with your main CRM.
Bottom line: Don’t buy on buzzwords. Get a trial, run a real sequence, and see if your team actually uses it.
Keep It Simple, Ship It, Then Iterate
Don’t let a massive features list distract you from what you actually need. Start with the basics—does this tool help your team reach prospects faster, with less hassle? Does it play nice with your other systems? Can your reps pick it up in a day?
Pick something simple, use it for a few weeks, and tweak as you go. GTM software isn’t magic—it’s just a tool. The right one should make your sales process easier, not more complicated. Trust your team’s feedback, and don’t be afraid to switch if something isn’t working.
Keep it simple and keep moving. That’s how you actually win.