Adapt or Die: Five New Go-To-Market Rules for SaaS Survival

The tech landscape has been transformed by economic pressures, evolving buyer expectations, the aftermath of the pandemic, and the AI Cambrian explosion—and that’s just for starters.

For Founders, CEOs, and CROs, it’s never been more important to devise a GTM strategy that will let them thrive, not merely survive, in this new world.

SaaS companies must navigate intense budget scrutiny, prove their value in every call and email, and stand out in markets that get more crowded every day. Meanwhile, generative AI offers unprecedented opportunities to automate and optimize sales processes, but its adoption must be carefully aligned with the human touch that builds trust and drives conversions.

Earlier this year, we released Beyond Benchmarks , a report full of key data and insights, so that enterprise founders and executives can see where they stand and make better informed decisions.

Today, we’re adding a new dimension to that research: We spoke with founders, CEOs, and sales leaders from six companies in the Emergence family to develop five new rules for success in SaaS. Here they are:

How To Win the ROI Debate

“People are looking to understand what business problem you’re solving and why you are unique,” said Tucker Callaway , CEO of Mezmo . “They’re not just buying a product—they’re buying a solution to a critical pain point.” This shift has forced SaaS companies to refine their GTM messaging, delivering sharp, ROI-driven narratives that directly address buyer concerns and show near-instant benefits.

“Customers are not just looking for value anymore,” Callaway added. “They are looking for value that can be quantified in a way that justifies the investment almost immediately. Purchases from 2020 to 2022 were often seen as long-term bets, but now, the expectation is a much quicker ROI. Buyers are under more pressure to make every dollar count.”

Rule #1: Sharp messaging, a strong value proposition, and rapid payback are the keys to closing new customers and reducing churn on existing ones. Every touchpoint, from the first email all the way to onboarding and renewal, is an opportunity to demonstrate value.

Why Efficiency is the New Growth–For You and Your Customers

Facing tighter budgets, SaaS companies are consolidating tech stacks and streamlining operations to drive efficiency—a shift that is redefining GTM strategy. Rick Turco , CRO of project44 , described his approach: “I inherited three revenue engines, and I’m trying to get it down to one. You don’t want to build transaction engines in two departments; you want one transaction engine that’s efficient and effective.”?

This focus on consolidation isn’t just about cutting costs—it’s about honing in on what drives revenue and cutting away what doesn’t move the needle. And on the other side of the coin, it’s something your customers are focused on, too.

"We’re seeing a noticeable velocity impact on larger enterprise deals," said Justin McDonald , co-founder and CEO of Saleo , “but we’re having a good run because we’re solving a problem no one else can solve. There’s definitely scrutiny on budgets, but when you’re positioned as a must-have rather than a nice-to-have, it makes all the difference."

Increased budget scrutiny also means working with your buyer to find the right way into the sale, and even arming them with the data they need to help close the deal: “We have a little bit of a unique perspective on the landscape, said Austin Hughes ?? , co-founder and CEO of Unify . “Just given our company was founded at the beginning of 2023—a pretty harsh time to start a business and start selling. We’ve had to be very creative with where we pull budget from, sometimes timing up our sale with a renewing contract or helping make the business case internally. It’s about being tactical and spotting the unique angle that will win the opportunity.”

Rule #2: Demand efficiency from your GTM tech stack the same way customers demand efficiency from your SaaS product. Be ruthless about cutting away what isn’t serving your teams. And find ways to be creative with your customers–they’re under the same pressure to justify every dollar spent that you are.

What AI Can Automate–And What it Can’t

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming GTM strategies, offering new ways to automate repetitive tasks, optimize sales processes, and scale engagement. But with efficiency comes risk: over-relying on AI can erode the human connection that’s often critical in complex B2B sales. “There are so many intangibles that you could never capture in data, especially when dealing with large deals, where outcomes are often binary,” Callaway noted.

The key to using AI is a clear-eyed evaluation of a given vendor’s capabilities and shortcomings, and thinking carefully about where they belong in your GTM stack. Big ACV deals are probably better served with AI assistants, not replacements. But what about handling routine paperwork?

“AI can already power transactional sales,” said Hughes. “I’ve bought products over email where they require an invoice and it should really be just a self-service flow, but it’s not. That could easily be an AI agent. But to build trust with buyers for complex sales, I think the world will probably move towards AI tools that empower human sellers rather than replace them entirely. As an example, AI will be used to reduce the time an AE spends to close a deal from 10 hours to 1 hour."

Rick Turco’s experience at Project 44 exemplifies this balance. His team uses the AI-powered tool?Clari ?to enhance revenue forecasting, but still keeps a firm grip via human oversight. “Clari is good, but it’s only as good as the data you put in. You still have to ensure that everything is up-to-date and accurate; you can’t rely solely on AI predictions,” Turco said. This blend of automation and human expertise is essential for SaaS companies aiming to leverage AI effectively without compromising the quality of their customer interactions.

Rule #3: Be realistic about the capabilities of AI-powered solutions, and don’t ask tools to perform tasks if you don’t have full confidence in the quality and accuracy of the results. Even if you do, build in human oversight to both augment and audit AI’s output – before it reaches a customer or is used in a business decision.

Where Product-Led and Sales-Led Growth Converge: The Hybrid Model

The most successful SaaS companies aren’t choosing between product-led growth (PLG) and traditional sales-led approaches—they’re combining the best of both worlds. Callaway explained how Mezmo’s hybrid approach accelerates trust and closes deals faster: “We found that weaving the product into the sales process at the right moments builds trust faster and more effectively than either approach on its own.” This blended strategy allows companies to engage buyers early through the product while maintaining the human touch that’s often crucial in high-value deals.

Anthony Kennada ’s strategy as founder and CEO of AudiencePlus also highlights the power of hybrid models. By focusing on content and community, Kennada’s team builds credibility and engagement, similar to PLG but without offering a freemium model. “Our content strategy allows us to influence and build credibility much like PLG does,” Kennada said. For SaaS companies without a clear PLG path, investing in thought leadership and community-building can serve as powerful alternatives to create trust early in the sales process.

“We believe that it’s really important to weave the product into a sales-like motion,” said Hughes. “For our buyer personas, they’re used to getting to try things before they buy them. That’s how they build trust that what you’re building is right for them. We started as all sales-led, but weaving in the product at the right places in the sales process builds trust faster and helps us close more deals.”

“We’re immersed in an evolving category that's surrounded by vendors developing product tours and demo automation,” said McDonald of Saleo. “We’re helping sales-led organizations reduce friction in the sales cycle but also execute more impactful demo experiences that more clearly resonate with their buyers. Our customers are traditionally sales-led but are forced to do more with less in today's environment - both in how they execute live sales demos and buyer enablement via product tours."

Rule #4: Orthodoxy about PLG vs SLG is out. In a demanding sales environment, be prepared to meet new customers with a best-in-class, best-of-both-worlds motion using both product and sales tactics. Incorporate content and community strategies to provide customers with proof points and deepen their trust in your offering.

Who To Hire: Build Mission-Driven Teams, and Pay Well

In a fiercely competitive talent market, attracting and retaining top sales talent is perhaps one of the biggest GTM challenges. Turco emphasized the importance of strategic hires, particularly in managing complex sales cycles. “We’re willing to pay for more strategic sellers because it’s critical to have the right skills to manage large enterprise accounts,” he explained. “Good talent knows what they’re worth. Our cost structure is going up because I’m looking to bring in more experienced sellers. I need fewer, but I need better. We’re raising the bar in terms of cost across the board, and it’s paying off for us.”

“I think good people are still expensive,” said Callaway. “We’ve rebuilt our SDR team recently, and it’s relatively straightforward now compared to the past when you had to beg for SDRs. But when it comes to high-end enterprise reps, they remain at a premium, especially if they have a proven track record.”

Anthony Barbone , CRO at Total Expert , emphasized that connecting a company’s mission to the values of its workforce is crucial for attracting and retaining talent. “We’ve evolved our story to focus on how our technology helps first-time homebuyers afford the homes they want. It’s about connecting the mission to what motivates today’s workforce,” he shared.

Rule #5: Tell your story well, not just for your customers, but for your employees. A clear, purpose-driven mission not only appeals to top talent but also aligns teams around a shared vision, enhancing GTM execution. And remember, you get what you pay for.

When The New GTM Rules Matter: Right Now

Despite the ongoing AI revolution, the sales leaders we spoke to agreed that achieving success in the B2B SaaS market today is really about a return to basics: aligning with customer needs, building trust in the marketplace, and delivering tangible results. But delivering on the basics is where the complexities lie.

Companies that successfully blend AI automation with human insight, streamline their operations, and continuously evolve their GTM playbooks will be the ones that earn the right to continued existence.

And of those survivors, the companies that move the quickest, focus relentlessly on providing value, and build resilient, mission-driven teams will not just survive—they will become the next generation of industry giants. In other words, the stakes couldn’t be higher: Getting GTM right isn’t just about gaining a competitive edge—it’s about building companies that will vie for the right to shape the future of SaaS.

Get Emergence’s Beyond Benchmarks report to learn how 600+ companies are approaching generative AI, navigating the VC fundraising environment, and tracking their business using performance metrics that matter. And, stay tuned for our forthcoming GTM report – to get updates about it and everything going on at Emergence, subscribe to our email newsletter .