Why GTM Sense is Important for PMs
The PMs who keep growing are the ones who develop GTM sense, connecting product decisions to revenue, distribution, and adoption, even when they don't own those functions.
Dear PM,
Most advice you read assumes an idealized version of the role. In reality, you have to do whatever it takes to succeed in your situation. Without waiting for the role or function to be “set up correctly.”
Still, there are some fundamental constants no matter the environment.
- Understanding customers and problems deeply
- Making thoughtful tradeoffs
- Creating clarity where it doesn’t exist
- Building cross-functional credibility
If they are missing, the role collapses into task management, and you lament that your company or leaders don’t “get it”.
One fundamental that increasingly shapes career trajectory is what I am calling GTM Sense.
This is where career growth stalls because GTM exposure is uneven, implicit, or treated as someone else’s job.
The PMs who continue to grow are usually the ones who develop mastery in GTM, who can connect product decisions to revenue, distribution, and adoption, even when they don’t own those functions.
Next week, do one small thing to understand how your product fares in the market. Take one key takeaway from it. Just one step forward. For example:
- Listen to a customer call. What objections were raised?
- Review the sales deck. How does it frame the problem and solution?
- See how a competitor positions their product. What are they emphasizing?
The job isn’t to aspire to a pristine definition of the role or an operating environment.
The job is to uphold the fundamentals, expand the surface area of your understanding, and adapt to the realities of how your product succeeds.
Build the GTM muscle as a career-long capability.
❤️ Dear PM: What you do matters. Make it matter more by mastering GTM.
What do you think? Share your thoughts on this post on LinkedIn.