Let’s be honest: picking a B2B go-to-market (GTM) platform is overwhelming. Every vendor promises to “accelerate pipeline” and “revolutionize sales,” but when you dig in, half of it’s fluff. If you want to avoid buyer’s remorse and actually help your team, you need to cut through the noise. This guide is for buyers who need to evaluate platforms like Hellorobin—and want direct, practical advice, not sales pitches.
Who Should Read This
- Sales, marketing, or ops leaders tasked with picking a GTM platform
- RevOps folks who have seen one too many flashy demos
- Anyone who’s tired of “AI-powered” promises and just wants results
Let’s get into what you really need to look for.
1. Does It Solve Your Actual Problems?
Before you even look at bells and whistles, get clear on your team’s real pain points. Write them down. If you don’t, you’ll get dazzled by niche features and end up with a tool nobody uses.
Reality check: - Are you struggling to generate qualified leads, or is the handoff between sales and marketing broken? - Does your team waste hours on manual data cleanup, or is reporting the main headache? - Do you need another “dashboard,” or do you need better data in the tools you already use?
Pro tip: Don’t buy for tomorrow’s imaginary scale. Focus on what’s broken right now.
2. Data Quality: Garbage In, Garbage Out
Every GTM platform claims “real-time data enrichment” and “360-degree customer views.” Most fall short. If the data’s junk, you’ll make bad decisions faster.
What to Check
- Source transparency. Where is the platform pulling data from? Is it first-party, third-party, or user-generated?
- Update frequency. How often is data refreshed? Daily is good. Weekly is dicey.
- Deduplication and cleansing. Can it spot and merge duplicates, or will you have to do that by hand?
- Ownership. Can you export all your data, or are you locked in?
Ignore: Vendors who won’t show you sample data, or dodge questions about accuracy.
3. Integrations: Will It Actually Work with Your Stack?
It’s shocking how many “integrations” are just CSV exports or brittle Zapier hacks.
What Matters
- Native integrations. Does it plug directly into your CRM, marketing automation, and email tools?
- Depth, not just logos. Can you sync custom fields and workflows, or just basic contact info?
- Two-way sync. Does data flow both ways, or is it a one-way dump?
- Setup and support. Will you need a developer to get it working?
Watch out: Some platforms love to brag about “hundreds of integrations,” but half are half-baked.
4. Usability: Will Your Team Actually Use It?
If a platform’s confusing, it’ll sit unused—no matter how great the PowerPoint looked.
How to Tell
- Onboarding. Can a new user get value in their first week, or will you need to schedule a training marathon?
- Customizability. Can you tweak views, fields, and workflows without a consultant?
- Mobile and remote. Does it work outside the office, or does it feel stuck in 2014?
- Speed. Is it snappy, or does every click spin a loading wheel?
Tip: Ask to try the real product, not a sandbox demo with cherry-picked data.
5. Orchestration, Not Just Automation
Most GTM tools talk about automation, but what you actually want is orchestration—controlling multiple steps, channels, and teams together.
Look For
- Multi-channel sequences. Can you coordinate email, calls, LinkedIn, and ads—or is it just email blasts?
- Role-based workflows. Can marketing, sales, and SDRs each use the parts they need, or is everyone stuck in the same view?
- Conditional logic. Can you set up “if/then” steps based on real-world scenarios?
- Human-in-the-loop. Is it easy to pause, edit, or override automations, or is it a black box?
Ignore: “AI-powered” automations that can’t be audited or tweaked.
6. Reporting and Attribution: Insights, Not Just Pretty Charts
You need reporting that tells you what’s actually working—not just a dashboard that looks impressive in a quarterly update.
Dig Deeper
- Customizable reports. Can you slice data by account, channel, rep, or campaign?
- Attribution clarity. Can you see which touchpoints drive pipeline, or is it all a black box?
- Export options. Can you get raw data out, or are you stuck screenshotting graphs?
- Real-time vs. lag. Is reporting up to date, or delayed by hours or days?
Reality check: Most platforms overpromise here. Ask to see “ugly” reports—those are usually the most useful.
7. Privacy and Compliance: Avoid Surprises
If your GTM tool handles personal data, you’re on the hook for privacy laws. Don’t let this be an afterthought.
Must-Haves
- GDPR/CCPA readiness. Is it easy to delete or export data on request?
- Audit logs. Can you track who accessed or changed what?
- Role-based permissions. Can you control who sees sensitive data?
- Vendor transparency. Does the company publish its security practices, or is it “trust us, we’re secure”?
Ignore: Legalese-heavy privacy pages with no actionable info.
8. Pricing: Transparent, Fair, and Predictable
Nobody likes getting nickel-and-dimed. Some platforms look cheap, then hit you with “premium” add-ons for basic features.
What to Ask
- All-in pricing. Are integrations, support, and reporting included—or are they extra?
- User vs. usage-based. Does pricing scale with seats, data volume, or both?
- Contract terms. Can you start with a pilot, or is it annual upfront only?
- Hidden fees. Any charges for onboarding, API access, or data exports?
Pro tip: If you can’t get a straight answer on cost, walk away.
9. Support and Community: Will They Actually Help?
Even the best platforms break or confuse users. What happens then?
Test This
- Real support. Is there live chat, or just a ticket system with 3-day waits?
- Knowledge base. Is documentation clear, or is it just screenshots from old versions?
- User community. Are there active forums or Slack groups, or does it feel like a ghost town?
- Customer success. Will you get a dedicated contact, or be routed to whoever’s available?
Watch out: Over-the-top “white glove” promises that disappear after you sign.
10. Vendor Track Record: Will They Be Here Next Year?
Finally, don’t ignore the basics. Is this a real company, or a venture-funded experiment that might be gone in six months?
How to Check
- Customer references. Can you talk to real users—preferably ones not picked by the vendor?
- Product roadmap. Is it public, or do features arrive at random?
- Financial stability. Any layoffs, funding drama, or signs of churn?
- Response to feedback. Do they listen, or just nod politely on calls?
Tip: Google “[Platform] downtime” or “[Platform] outages” to see what’s really going on.
A Few Things You Can Ignore
- AI hype. If “AI” is on every slide but there’s no way to control or explain it, skip.
- Over-designed dashboards. Pretty graphs don’t close deals.
- “All-in-one” claims. Most teams end up using only 2–3 core features anyway.
Keep It Simple—and Iterate
Don’t try to find the “perfect” platform. Pick something that solves your biggest pains, doesn’t box you in, and can grow with you. Get your team using it, see what breaks, and adjust.
Chasing every feature is a recipe for frustration. The best GTM platform is the one your team actually uses—not the one with the slickest demo.