From CEO Operator to PE Advisor: PV Boccasam on Why Enterprise Buyers Buy Certainty, Not Software

So, uh, I start the conversation, uh, around this central question with each and every guest on my podcast, and the question to you, which I'm gonna pose to you, is how do you view and define go-to-market?

Um, look, it has a lot of con- It has a lot of connotations, uh, Vijay, and the easiest one I can think about, right, is that generally people think about it in terms of go-forward sales motions.

Mm-hmm.

I think about it in terms of reducing the risk to buyer anxiety.

Nice.

Okay.

Right? So my definition of go-to-market is what are you doing to reduce the risk and the anxiety to the buyer? So if I show up, right, let's say, um, you know, to a, to a problem, and someone else has already solved the problem successfully, um, you know, it's very easy for you to choose who you would go with, right? Um, so a big part of the go-to-market is framing it, right, as what is the least riskiest and with the lowest friction possible, right, for the customer to buy as opposed to us to sell.

Yeah.

Right? And it's a mental shift that go-to-market strategists have to do, which is it's great that you've got this wonderful widget with the perfect marketing, whatever, but what is exactly the customer buying, and how are you reducing the risk of buying from you, and how are you reducing the anxiety post-sale?

Yeah.

Amazing.

I, I think, yeah, I've never heard this angle of go-to-market before, and true to your word, you...

I mean, I know in the prep call you were asking what is the unique insight that I can bring, and you definitely sta- started with that and landed that insight, PV.

In terms of reducing the risk for the buyer-

Mm-hmm

... right? The conversations I've had, and majority of the thought process around go-to-market involves mostly internally, which is, yeah, marketing, sales, and to your point, it's sales and the forward sales motion and so on.

And then there's also the layer which is more important, which is the having a view on the market, view of the market.

Why is a buyer even interested in looking for an alternative solution versus what they're doing today, uh, and why should they switch? But you raised and you're highlighting a significant factor in that, which is how to reduce the risk for that buyer, because they can be happy with the status quo-

Exactly

... what they're doing.

Right? How are you reducing that risk for the buyer?

Right.

Look, status quo is also a risk, right, that you can highlight for them, right? Um, let me give you another angle, right? The other angle here is, look, you and I come with a set of beliefs, right? Everyone has.

But I, I was reading a really interesting sort of book around this, but beliefs are not truths.

Mm-hmm.