This is the phase where a full analysis of the market potential of the vendor solution is performed, along with the investments required to successfully launch the product or service in the US market.

The deliverables of the Planning phase are the following:

• • 1. • Go to Market Plan 

         • Sizing of the opportunity, positioning,  pricing, verticals and target Account Lists

         • SWOT analysis and competitive landscape

         • Launch strategy

• • 1. • Vendor Readiness Checklist 

         • Sales and marketing materials

         • Online presence and multi-Language support

         • Product Localization Requirements

• • 1. • Business Plan 

         • 3 to 5 year revenue, cost and OI projections

         • Investment requirements

         • ROI 

At the end of the Planning phase, the expectation is to reach a joint decision about moving to phase 2 or Validation.

After the planning process is completed, it is execution time.

In the Validation phase, all the decisions taken in the Planning phase are tested. All the assumptions, dependencies, investments and activities defined in the earlier phase are executed according to plan.

The Validation phase is about walking before running. Having refined the value proposition or product positioning, defined target accounts, everything needs to work as planned or to be revised.

Very significant in this phase is the acquisition of reference accounts in the target vertical segments. 

Only by achieving significant market penetration as outlined in the GTM plan, one can move to Scaling the operation.

Scaling phase is about leveraging the lessons learned as well as the achievements and results obtained in the Validation phase to the highest levels. 

There are multiple dimensions in terms of go-to-market to be explored in this phase:

• Geographic expansion

• New vertical segments

• New routes to market beyond direct sales such as 1-tier or 2-tier distribution

• New routes to market beyond online such as third party marketplaces

In order for the operation to scale, internal teams and systems need to scale. For this reason, it important to bring the right people to enable and support growth.