In honor of the new year, we wanted to compile everything you need to know about the hottest go-to-market strategy out there, nearbound. 

What is nearbound GTM?

Nearbound, the category (read more here)

Nearbound is a Go-To-Market strategy that taps into the power of your ecosystem. When you partner with those your buyers already trust, you close more deals faster.

What is go-to-market (read more here)

To understand nearbound GTM, you first have to understand GTM. Sangram Vajre shared on a Nearbound Podcast,

Go-to-market isn’t a product launch or product marketing. It’s marketing, sales, product, and success. It’s the way the whole company goes to market.

It’s the end of the golden age (read more here)

We’ve seen the market shift undeniably causing industry vets like Sam Jacobs to say it’s the end of the golden age of SaaS—a time marked by persistently low-interest rates, the first big cloud company (Salesforce), and the book Predictable Revenue. We’re moving into the era of the ecosystem where efficient growth is a top priority.

The channel isn’t what it used to be (read more here)

Jay McBain’s trifurcation of the channel captures the shift from the old to the new channel. This transformation occurred as partners started impacting different parts of the value chain. So instead of only being a transaction channel, partners became a source of influence, transactions, AND retention.

And on top of that, the infocalypse is real (read more here)

The first two decades of SaaS (Sales Digitization, 2000s & Marketing Automation, 2010s) were defined by direct channels and direct access to new markets of customers. When one growth channel stopped producing ROI, new channels emerged to fill the void. Now, direct methods have flooded the market, and people are tuning out. To sell to your customer today, you have to leverage nearbound surround.

“To sell a product today, you have to understand both your customer’s psychology and the customer journey. That means partnering with those 28 owners of those moments.”

How to do nearbound GTM.

Adopt the nearbound mindset (watch more here)

The Nearbound mindset is the belief that every person, team, and company unites under one mission: the only thing that matters is the customer and the people they work with.

Use the bowtie model to build your nearbound strategy (read more here)

The traditional funnel isn’t realistic—the buyer’s journey doesn’t begin in a funnel or end when a buyer purchases. The bow tie funnel is a reimagination of the traditional funnel. This new funnel includes pre-purchase stages and post-sale stages of the customer journey. Use this model to layer nearbound tactics into the real customer journey.

Identify your shadow partners (read more here)

Let your customers tell you who your best partners are. Franz-Josef Schrepf shared a few questions he asks to identify his shadow partners: Who are the partners you already work with, the partners that your CSM teams might already be familiar with? Is your product team already talking to anyone about a product integration?

Pitch nearbound (read more here)

Every good pitch starts with the story. Numbers matter, sure, but the way you tell your story matters too. Your audience needs to be able to see themselves (and in this case, your company) in the story you’re telling. Make sure that your story has one problem and one solution. Sell the importance of the problem, then sell your strategy to solve it.

Do the hard work (read more here)

There’s a sentiment in the market that partnership leaders don’t have what it takes to drive the era of the ecosystem forward. Prove that sentiment wrong. We know you have what it takes.

In the coming days, we’ll outline everything you need to know about nearbound product, marketing, sales, and customer success to drive your company into its most successful year, ever. Stay tuned and share this with someone who’d enjoy it!

More nearbound GTM resources

• Nearbound Summit 2023 recordings

• The Nearbound Sales Blueprint

• The Ultimate Partner Program Guide

• Strategic Alliances: Partner Up and Play to Win

• 3 Nearbound Use Cases You Never Thought Of

• Nearbound ABM Strategy: Winning the Attention of High-Value Accounts

• How Nearbound Revolutionizes Tech Partnerships

• How to Leverage Public and Private Ecosystems by Vaughn Mordecai

• How to Pick a Partner Strategy

• Using Nearbound Data to Expand Into New Markets by R.J. Filipski

• The Art of Ecosystem Orchestration

• Allan Adler’s GoToEco column

• Your Path to Chief Partner Officer?

• The Nearbound Benefits of Working With a Newcomer by Isaac Morehouse

• How to Get Your Partners’ Teams Using Nearbound

• Key Takeaways: The 2023 State of Partner-Led Growth Report

• Nelson Wang’s "The Value of Partner" Slides

And find even more resources on nearbound.com.

Stuff you don’t want to miss!

• Nearbound Summit 2023 Recordings—The future of GTM is Nearbound. Watch the recordings to hear how B2B leaders across departments unite with Nearbound strategies and tactics. Listen here.

• Jan 3rd, 2 PM EST—How Technology Partnerships are Key for SaaS Company Growth—Join Scindia Balasingh (Head of Global Marketing Partnerships at Multiplier) and Scott Pollack (CEO at Firneo) as they unlock the potential of strategic technology partnerships in the SaaS industry! Register here.

• January 25th— CEO Summit—Join Pavilion and many more companies to be part of expert-led educational sessions, covering top-of-mind issues for CEOs and Founders. Learn about the latest sales insights, building a pricing strategy, and co-selling. Register here. 

• Feb 5th-7th in Miami—Impartnercon 2024—Partnerships are the future of growth. Join partner leaders to learn what it means to build the future of business, together. Register here.

• March 19-20th—Affiverse’s Amplify Summit—Join them for a 2-day virtual event to help affiliate businesses amplify their performance. Learn about digital, partnership, and affiliate marketing. Register here. 

Start the new year off right!

Share this with a partner pro who needs to implement a nearbound strategy this year.