In a recent Growth Unlocked Podcast episode, Midgame Consulting founder Rich Bishop and Kieran Krohn explored a critical truth for companies seeking business growth: alignment is key. They discussed how aligning go-to-market (GTM) teams, strengthening retention, and strategically embedding AI are foundational for sustainable business growth, especially in private equity.
Top 5 Takeaways Affecting Business Growth and AI in GTM:
1. Misalignment Kills Business Growth
Disconnected KPIs, siloed teams, and broken handoffs between sales, marketing, and customer success don’t just slow you down—they actively erode your business’s growth. Rich makes the case for unified planning and shared metrics to drive real impact.
2. Compensation & GTM Alignment
Rich challenges conventional comp models, advocating for incentives tied not just to lead volume but to conversion, customer value, and retention outcomes. “If marketing throws low-quality leads over the fence, sales will just go build their own pipeline,” he warns.
3. Leveraging AI In Your GTM Strategy
From auto-summarizing calls to flagging churn risks, AI can boost effectiveness across onboarding, retention, and expansion. But Rich reminds us: “AI helps you prepare—it doesn’t replace your strategy.”
4. Building a Scalable Foundation For Business Growth
Fast growth without systems, processes, and the right tech stack creates bloat and burnout. Rich calls it “building a skyscraper on sand.” Start with the customer journey and let that shape your ops.
5. The Bow Tie Model: A Modern GTM Approach
Growth isn’t just about landing new logos. The SCORE framework (Seduce, Convert, Onboard, Retain, Expand) helps teams optimize every phase of the customer journey. “It costs a lot less to save $10M in churn than to win $10M in new sales,” Rich explains.
Most Memorable Quote:
“You can build fast, but if you don’t build right, you’ll burn out your people and break your systems. Scale needs a solid foundation.” – Rich Bishop
Want more actionable insights on building sustainable revenue systems, aligning your teams, and modernizing your tech stack?
Connect with Rich on LinkedIn or explore how we support PE-backed growth at midgameconsulting.com.
