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

Welcome back. For real

If you’re reading this chances are you’re back at your desk…
Slack’s waking up again
Calendars are refilling
and the “let’s make this year different” energy is quietly creeping in

I’m easing back in too

December was… a ride

A car accident that shook things up
Chiropractor visits three times a week
Losing our Optima right before Christmas Eve
Buying a new Sportage after the holidays
A calm New Year at home with the kids
and yesterday I took my son to see the Thunder play the Suns! One of those moments that sticks with you ya know?

It was a wild way to end the year
But honestly? It cleared a lot out

This morning I’m back in it kicking off a session with Oliv, getting back into client work and stepping into 2026 with way more clarity than urgency

Which brings me to this issue

Most January advice is loud
Big goals, big plans, big promises

I don’t think that’s what this week needs

What does matter right now more than anything is how you start

Because the first 10 days of January quietly decide how the next 90 feel

Let’s talk about that

Why the First 10 Days Matter More Than the Next 90

Here’s what I’ve seen over and over again across founders, sales leaders, AEs, and GTM teams

January doesn’t break teams
January exposes them

Not because people are lazy but because whatever was duct-taped together last year gets stress tested fast

The teams that struggle don’t usually fail in February or March
They fail in the restart

They rush back in
They pile meetings on reps
They chase activity before direction

Operators do the opposite

They use the first 10 days to reset three things and everything else flows from there

Reset #1: Direction Before Motion

Most teams come back from PTO and immediately start doing

Emails flying
Calls going out
Meetings getting booked

But nobody stops to ask

What actually matters right now?

Operators slow this part down

They get clear on

• what matters in Q1

• what no longer matters

• what they’re intentionally not chasing anymore

Clarity here prevents thrash later

If your team doesn’t know what “good” looks like in January they’ll create busy work to feel productive

Reset #2: Signal Over Noise

January inboxes fill up fast
Everyone’s “following up” again

Operators don’t try to out volume the market
They get more selective

Fewer accounts
Cleaner ICPs
Messages that actually acknowledge where buyers are mentally right now

The teams that win early in Q1 aren’t louder….they’re more relevant

Reset #3: System Health (not rep blame)

When January starts rough most teams look at people first

not enough effort
not enough activity
not enough urgency

but almost every time I dig in the issue lives underneath

• conversations disappearing in DMs

• follow-ups getting dropped

• leaders flying blind on real activity

That’s not a motivation problem
That’s a system problem

Which is a perfect segue…

Kondo | One Fix That Actually Helps in January

This is exactly why I’ve been spending time with Kondo lately

not as a “new tool to add” but as a way to remove friction where deals actually happen

LinkedIn DMs…..

Here’s the real talk

Voice notes work
I use them constantly

In the car
Between calls
At school pickup
Walking into Costco

They’re raw, they’re human, they get replies

But grabbing your phone every time breaks flow right? especially when you’re following up with multiple people

Being able to send LinkedIn voice notes from desktop changed that for me

Same human feel
Way faster execution
Zero context switching

That matters in January when momentum is fragile

If LinkedIn is part of your motion this year Kondo is worth testing especially if you already believe in voice and human follow-up

I dropped my referral here if you want to try it (first 2 months free)

👉 https://app.trykondo.com/referral/TSU9HA

Use it intentionally
Don’t spray
Don’t automate your personality

EXPLORE/ENGAGE/EVOLVE

A few things worth your attention this week

Something New (dropping this week)
I’m launching a new podcast this Thursday called Cheer Dads Unfiltered

It’s me and two buddies from the competitive cheer world. Talking life, fatherhood, pressure and showing up when it matters for our girls

If you want something not GTM to balance your week this might be it.
Spotify + YouTube go live Thursday

One Question Worth Sitting With
Before the month gets loud ask yourself (or your team):

What needs to feel lighter by the end of January?

Not bigger
Not faster
Lighter

That answer usually tells you what to fix first

One Short Watch
If you didn’t catch my recent Smartlead office hours it’s worth a pass this week. We talked real outbound shifts for 2026

TOM’S PLAY OF THE WEEK

The Day 10 Reset

Here’s the only “play” I care about this week

Don’t plan the whole quarter

Plan the first 10 days

Ask yourself or your team

• What should be clearer by day 10?

• What should already be producing signal?

• What should feel calmer?

Run focused experiments
Review once
Adjust

January doesn’t need pressure. It needs direction

Before the year really takes off I’ll leave you with this

You don’t need to come back louder
You don’t need a new identity
You don’t need to fix everything in week one

You just need to start clear

Clear on

• who you’re building for

• how you want to work

• what you’re done tolerating

• what actually moves the needle for you

The teams that win 2026 won’t sprint harder
They’ll reset smarter

I’ll be right here doing the same

Let’s build into the year not chase it

🤙

Thanks for reading. See you again next week at 8 am MST!

- Tom Slocum ✌️

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