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A lot of companies are still kind of operating under the impression that really templatized, boring, and unpersonalized outreach can still work in the go-to-market space just because it worked historically.
Go-to-market strategies are essentially stuck. Competition is fierce and many companies are clinging to past tactics that no longer make headway. Companies facing outdated strategies and broken tech stacks are looking for solutions - turning towards hyperspecialized agencies to help them catch up.
Patrick Spychalski, Co-founder of The Kiln, an agency of GTM experts, data scientists, and early Clay employees that help build inbound, outbound, and RevOps systems that scale, weighs in on the diminishing returns the industry currently faces and how companies can get unstuck.
Boring and templatized: "A lot of companies are still kind of operating under the impression that really templatized, boring, and unpersonalized outreach can still work in the go-to-market space just because it worked historically," Spychalski notes. He points to industry veterans who "haven't really thought to change their strategy as a result of the influx of new people coming into the space."
Lack of creative support: This resistance to adaptation extends beyond tactics to technology stacks. As Spychalski observes, "A lot of people are still using ZoomInfo, 6sense and other outreach tools of the world." While acknowledging these established platforms offer security as "the safe option," he cautions they "don't often support a lot of the more creative or new generation tactics that people are doing in outreach now."
Clay as a solution: Spychalski also highlights positive industry trends, particularly around tool consolidation. "It's been so messy the past few years," he says, but many companies "are getting a lot of the tooling and consolidating it into one." He cites Clay as an example that brings "every data provider... into one tool," reducing the need for multiple subscriptions.
It's been so messy the past few years, but many companies are getting a lot of the tooling and consolidating it into one.
Clay's Learning Curve: Spychalski's company, The Kiln, specializes in helping organizations implement Clay into their tech stack. Clay, while powerful, presents a steep learning curve for many users. "What I found, just through my own experience of demoing Clay to people and seeing their brains turn into scrambled eggs every time I try to show it to people," Spychalski explains, "is that just demonstrating a wide range of possibilities with the tools gets people's gears turning."
The platform's complexity stems not from usability issues but from its extensive capabilities that aren't immediately apparent to new users. "Clay is very unintuitive in its possibility or its range of possibilities that are available," notes Spychalski. To overcome this barrier, The Kiln employs a consultative approach. Spychalski recommends talking to somebody who knows the tool really well and asking what’s possible in a variety of scenarios, this way, any potential problem can be matched with a solution.
Strategy is the only moat: The industry is seeing innovation in two key areas, according to Spychalski. First, automation is dramatically improving efficiency. Spychalski reports seeing operations where "what 20 SDRs were doing volume wise" is now being accomplished by "one to two people... just due to automation tools."
Second, forward-thinking companies are fundamentally rethinking their strategies. Spychalski emphasizes that consolidated tools are "only useful if the strategy behind them is good." He cautions against viewing any single platform as "an end all be all" solution, asserting that "strategy is still the biggest moat in GTM."