What a go-to-market consultant does
A go-to-market consultant turns "we have a product and some customers" into a repeatable way of finding, winning and keeping the right buyers. The job covers four decisions that most early-stage teams make by accident: who the ideal customer is, why they should choose you over the alternative (including doing nothing), what to charge, and which channels reach that buyer at a cost the business can survive.
The output is not a 60-slide deck. It is a short plan with owners, a channel budget, and a target you can measure at day 90. If the plan does not change what your team does on Monday morning, it failed.
Who this is for, and who it is not for
A good fit: B2B SaaS, AI and fintech companies with paying customers, typically between $500K and $10M ARR, selling to businesses in the US or Europe, with average contract values high enough that one closed deal pays for real effort to win it.
Not a good fit: pre-product companies (do customer discovery first), consumer apps, and teams that want a document to file rather than a plan to run.
Experience behind the work
I am currently Growth Lead at Appear. Before that I owned end-to-end go-to-market at Xylo AI, a fintech platform selling to financial advisors across North America, where pipeline grew 3x over six months. I led growth marketing at Tappstr in Amsterdam (organic traffic up 50%+) and ZEPCAM in Delft, drove growth at MetaWorks in Berlin, and analysed customer experience data for enterprise SaaS clients at Chattermill in London.
That mix matters for go-to-market work: regulated fintech buyers, product-led and community-led growth, and both US and European markets. For worked examples of GTM decisions, see how Figma used product-led growth, how New York SaaS companies run enterprise deals, and how fintech licensing shapes a launch plan.
Go-to-market consulting FAQ
What does a go-to-market consultant do?
A go-to-market consultant decides who you sell to, what you say to them, how you price, and which channels reach them profitably, then turns that into a plan your team can execute. In practice that means ICP work based on closed-won data, positioning, a pricing and packaging review, a channel plan matched to deal size, and a 90-day roadmap with measurable targets.
How is GTM consulting different from hiring a marketing agency?
An agency executes a channel you have already chosen, such as paid search or content production. GTM consulting happens one step earlier: it decides which channels deserve your budget in the first place, and why. Many companies hire a GTM consultant first, then hand a clear brief to an agency or an in-house hire.
How long does a go-to-market strategy engagement take?
A focused GTM strategy sprint takes four to six weeks for a seed to Series B company. Larger repositioning work or multi-market launches can take longer. Execution of the plan, measuring and adjusting channels, runs over the following 90 days.
How much does go-to-market consulting cost?
Pricing depends on scope and seniority. Large strategy firms price enterprise GTM projects far above what early-stage companies can justify. Independent go-to-market consultants usually price a strategy sprint as a fixed project and ongoing help as a monthly retainer, with market rates typically ranging from about $5K to $50K per month depending on hours. Insist on a written scope and named deliverables.
When should a startup hire a go-to-market consultant?
Good moments are just before a funding round, before hiring your first head of sales or marketing, when founder-led sales stops scaling, when you add a new product line, or when you enter a new market such as the US or Germany. If you do not yet have any paying customers, spend the money on customer discovery first.
Do you only advise, or do you also execute?
Both. The sprint produces the strategy, and I can stay on as a fractional growth lead to build the outbound system, the SEO and AI search program, or the lifecycle email that the plan calls for. You can also take the plan and run it with your own team.
Which industries and markets do you work in?
B2B SaaS, AI and fintech, including platforms sold to financial advisors and other regulated buyers. I work with teams in the United States and across Europe, including the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, the Nordics, France, Spain, Ireland and Switzerland.
Talk through your go-to-market plan
Tell me your stage, your average deal size and what is not working. I will reply with an honest view on whether a GTM sprint makes sense for you.