Welcome to the GTM Launchpad newsletter! Each week I will share a sales play to help you grow your business, level up your sales game and succeed in the trenches

Final 6. Lets talk

Its the last full week of the month and for some of you the end of Q1.
6 business days left

This is not the time for pep talks
This is the time for precision

You don’t miss quota because your team didn’t “want it bad enough”
You miss because

• There’s no daily plan

• Pipeline is bloated with junk

• Reps are “working hard” without working smart

Heres what I’m leaning into with the sales leaders I coach this week and what I’d do if I was running your floor

• Lock in 2 power hours per rep, per day

• Audit pipeline and cut the fluff

• Review talk tracks live. No solo work

• Block 30 mins daily to coach objections and follow ups

• Cut distractions. Meetings, Slack noise, reports. All of it

You’ve got 6 days
Make every one of them count

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6 Days. 6 Moves. One unified game plan
Whether you’re leading a team or you're in the trenches as a rep this week is where careers are made or lost

Heres how leaders and reps should be locking in together to squeeze the most out of Q1 and build real momentum for Q2

Move 1: Daily call blocks (execution time)

For Leaders

• Don’t "suggest" call blocks. Schedule them

• Join the war room. Listen in. Drop in live feedback

• Block Slack, email, and BS distractions. This is sacred time

For Reps

• Go into each call block with a list of priority accounts. Not randoms

• Focus on

  • Warm opps

  • Stalled deals

  • High intent inbound leads

• Come out with meetings or intel. Not “activity”

Move 2: Pipeline surgery (Cut the B.S.)

For Leaders

• Sit down with each rep. One-on-one

• Ask: “Which of these deals are real? Which are fantasy?”

• Kill junk opps. Focus the team on winnable deals this week

For Reps

• Be honest. Stop clinging to ghosted prospects

• Prioritize

  • Buyers you’ve talked to in the last 2 weeks

  • Prospects who said “follow up in March”

  • Past customers with new pain

Move 3: Mid funnel revival (wake the maybes)

For Leaders

• Help reps write fresh outreach angles for “stuck” opps

• Review message drafts. Give tight edits. Dont let them “wing it”

For Reps

• Try this line
  “We talked a while back about [pain]. Still worth solving this quarter?”

• Bonus: Drop a quick video recap and ask for a simple yes/no

Move 4: Objection mastery (train in real time)

For Leaders

• Pick 2 common objections this week

• Run daily objection drills in the morning. Live

• Review call recordings that day not a week later

For Reps

• Stop avoiding objections. They’re buying signals

• Dont fold when you hear

  • “We’re swamped right now”

  • “Lets talk in April”

• Instead say
  “Totally get it. That’s why I’d suggest we lock 15 mins now for the first week of April so it’s off your plate”

Move 5: Forecast realism (numbers > feelings)

For Leaders

• Ask

  • “Whats the actual gap to goal?”

  • “How many meetings will fill it?”

  • “How many convos are needed to get those meetings?”

• Stop letting reps operate off vibes. Run the numbers

For Reps

• Dont wait for your manager to do the math. Know your own stats

• Run backwards

  • Goal: $XX

  • Need X opps

  • Need Y meetings

  • Need Z convos

• Then block your calendar accordingly

Move 6: Q2 setup sprint (start now)

For Leaders

• Book pipeline reviews for April this week

• Identify 3 ICP accounts per rep to go after hard in Week 1 of Q2

• Start outbound now for a faster start

For Reps

• Dont let next month sneak up on you

• Start sourcing next quarter’s opps this week

• Send 3 new outreach messages a day targeting the Q2 pipeline

No more “we’ll fix it next quarter”
You’ve got 6 days
Close hard. Set up Q2 smart
That’s the edge

Explore. Engage. Evolve.

🎥 The Biggest End-of-Quarter Sales Mistakes
(Salesloft CRO Mark Niemiec)

Lets be real most reps lose deals in the final stretch because they didn’t build a real business case

In this video Mark Niemiec breaks down

• Why “sheer terror” moments happen at the end of quarter

• The importance of setting expectations early

• How to avoid last minute stalls by aligning to real outcomes

• The danger of not knowing how your customer plans to win

Key quote

This is mandatory viewing for any rep or manager trying to close strong this week

Watch it here

📚 Book of the week - The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier

Because too many managers still confuse “telling” with coaching
If you’re a leader looking to actually uplevel your team in Q2 not just bark orders this book gives you 7 simple questions that change the way you lead forever

Easy read. Deep impact

Bonus Sales Tactics 🤑

• The ‘Reverse Close’ video
  → Send a video to stuck opps
  “If this isn’t a fit anymore all good just let me know otherwise here is one last idea for [pain]”
  → P.S. Include a Calendly in the video thumbnail
  

• The ‘1st week of April’ lock
  → When you hear “Let’s reconnect in April” respond with
  “Totally. Let’s lock a time now so it’s off your plate by then”
  → Get something on the calendar before they ghost
  

• The ‘Mid-Tier 1:1’
  → Most managers only coach their top or bottom reps
  → This week pull your B players into 15 min sessions and give them 1 lever to pull. It could be your difference maker

This week is not about hustle
It’s about high leverage execution
It’s about managing the energy, the focus and the follow through

Dont wait until Monday the 31st to realize you left deals on the table

The challenge to you this week
Send me ONE win from this playbook
Just hit reply
Tell me what moved the needle

Lets close Q1 like leaders
Lets roll into Q2 with confidence

You've got this 💪

Thanks for reading, see you again next week at 8 am MST!

- Tom Slocum ✌️

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