Your Go-To-Market Is a Math Problem
- Jan 2
- 1 min read
Most go-to-market debates miss the real constraint.
People argue about PLG vs. sales, direct vs. channel, inside vs. field.But those are downstream choices.
The upstream variable is ASP.
Here’s the simple chain:
ASP → LTV → allowable CAC → viable market motion
Once you see it, a lot of “execution problems” turn out to be structural.
Low ASP → low LTV → tiny CAC budget → self-serve or PLG (humans are too expensive)
Mid ASP → moderate CAC → sales-assisted, inside sales, hybrid PLG
High ASP → high CAC tolerance → direct sales, field reps, ABM
Very high ASP → extreme CAC → enterprise sales, partners, long cycles
This is why:
Low-price products struggle when they “add sales”
Channel strategies break at low ASPs
Many PLG → enterprise transitions fail unless pricing power comes first
Market motion isn’t a stylistic choice. It’s constrained by pricing power.
If the motion doesn’t fit the ASP, no amount of hustle fixes the math.