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Go-to-market Intelligence: The Future of B2B Sales

Written by Joe Barron | Jun 16, 2025 9:59:48 AM

In B2B, timing is everything.

Buyers move fast. Budgets shift overnight. If you’re relying on outdated data and guesswork, you’re already behind.

GTM intelligence is how you get ahead. It tells you:

  • Who’s in-market right now.
  • What they care about.
  • And how to reach them, with the perfect message.

It’s not just about data. It’s about actionable insights delivered in real-time, powered by AI, and activated across your sales, marketing, and revenue operations teams.

Want to fill pipeline faster? Want to personalise at scale? Want to outperform competitors?

GTM intelligence makes it all possible.

And in this blog, we’re sharing all the key points about this state-of-the-art business model.

Starting with...

What is GTM intelligence?

Go-to-market (GTM) intelligence is a strategic approach combining high-quality B2B data, real-time insights, and AI-powered automation to help revenue teams drive faster, more efficient growth.

Specifically, GTM intelligence integrates:

Rather than relying on disconnected systems or outdated data, GTM intelligence aligns business processes, creating a unified, insight-driven go-to-market strategy.

The impact of this on marketing and sales teams?

Faster execution, better personalisation, and stronger, more efficient revenue growth.

ZoomInfo is one company that positions itself as a leader in GTM intelligence.

But competitors, such as Cognism, could be better fits for your strategy. Click here to find out more.

Why are traditional GTM strategies failing?

Traditional GTM strategies are failing because they’re built on a crumbling foundation: bad data.

Here’s why:

  • CRM data is broken: Up to 90% of CRM records are incomplete or outdated. That means reps are calling the wrong contacts, targeting the wrong accounts, or missing critical buying signals.
  • Systems are disconnected: Key insights, like buying intent or competitor activity, are buried across email threads, sales notes, and siloed tools. You have a collection of tools and none of them are talking to each other.
  • AI can’t fix what it can’t see: Even the smartest automation is useless if it’s fed messy, outdated, or irrelevant data. Garbage in, garbage out.

The result?

Misaligned teams, missed opportunities, and millions in wasted spend.

Key takeaway

Slow and inaccurate just doesn’t cut it anymore.

Without trusted, real-time data as the foundation, traditional GTM motions are simply going to fail.

Why do sales and marketing teams need GTM intelligence?

GTM intelligence isn’t a nice-to-have - it’s a strategic imperative.

Here’s why:

1. The pace of B2B has changed

Nowadays, buyers move fast. They expect relevant, comprehensive customer experiences.

Against that backdrop, traditional GTM strategies can’t keep up.

GTM intelligence delivers the real-time signals and AI-powered insights that help teams act with speed and precision.

2. AI only works with clean, connected data

Everyone’s investing in AI, but without accurate, enriched data and unified systems, it can’t deliver.

GTM intelligence feeds AI with the right inputs. This means that reps get better customer targeting, smarter workflows, and next-best action recommendations that actually convert.

3. Disconnected teams cost pipeline

Marketing, sales, and RevOps often operate in silos.

GTM intelligence unites them around a single source of truth:

Shared signals, shared metrics, and shared execution plans. That alignment drives efficiency and revenue.

4. The competitive edge lies in timing

Every sales manager knows that deals are won or lost due to timing.

GTM intelligence solves this problem. It helps you spot buyer intent before your competitors do, when decision-makers are researching, hiring, or expanding.

Early signals = faster sales cycles.

How does GTM intelligence benefit B2B teams?

Simply put, it turns guesswork into precision.

GTM intelligence brings together clean data, real-time signals, and AI to help revenue teams know exactly who to target, when to engage, and what to say.

The result?

Better alignment, smarter, more informed decision-making, and faster pipeline across sales, marketing, and ops.

Here’s how GTM intelligence makes revenue growth faster, smarter, and way more scalable:

1. It creates high-quality pipelines

Forget spray-and-pray.

GTM intelligence reveals which high-value accounts are in-market right now - thanks to intent signals like funding rounds, job changes, or competitor research.

It lets you:

  • Prioritise the key buyer personas who are most likely to buy.
  • Craft laser-focused outreach that actually lands.
  • Fill your sales pipeline with leads that convert.

2. It maximises rep productivity

Reps waste hours chasing bad leads and fixing broken data. This creates a huge sales productivity problem.

How does GTM intelligence solve it?

It automates the grunt work, like data cleaning, segmentation, and prioritisation. It helps reps focus on what they do best - selling.

Bonus tip: AI sales tools (like Cognism!) can tell them exactly who to call, when, and with what message.

This means more time selling. Less time prospecting. And bigger, better results.

3. It aligns with emerging B2B market trends

It’s not just keeping up - it’s leading the charge.

GTM intelligence is built for an economy where speed, relevance, and precision at scale win deals. It connects the dots between data, signals, and execution, keeping your GTM motion always ahead of the curve.

4. It powers AI and automation

The old-school manual approach is dead. AI now powers everything from lead scoring to outreach sequencing.

But AI is only as good as the data it’s given.

GTM intelligence platforms supply AI with the clean, real-time inputs it needs to:

  • Spot buying intent.
  • Trigger marketing campaigns.
  • Recommend next-best actions for reps to follow.

What does this mean?

Your team will execute faster and generate higher ROI, without getting burnt out.

5. It makes sales and marketing data-driven

If you’re still relying on gut feel, you’ve already lost.

The most successful B2B teams use data to guide every strategic decision, from targeting and messaging to channel mix and timing.

GTM intelligence tools help you make more informed business decisions. They do this by:

  • Arming your team with verified contact and company data.
  • Highlighting real-time buying signals that prompt your team to strike when the iron’s hot.
  • Suggesting AI-powered recommendations to help you zero in on high-fit accounts.

With GTM intelligence, data stops being noise and starts driving revenue.

6. It drives personalisation at scale

Here’s a stat for you:

73% of B2B buyers want companies to understand their needs, not blast generic emails.

GTM intelligence gives you the data-driven insights that drive meaningful personalisation. It can help you:

  • Tailor messaging to each buyer’s pain points.
  • Personalise at scale using intent, technographics, and more.
  • Stand out in crowded inboxes with content that resonates.

7. It supports customer growth and retention

Your work isn’t done when the deal’s closed.

For many B2B orgs, especially in the enterprise space, keeping hold of existing customers is just as important as gaining new ones.

How can GTM intelligence help you here?

It gives you full visibility into your customers’ org changes. It provides expansion signals and points out potential churn risks.

That means you can:

  • Spot upsell and cross-sell opportunities early.
  • Stay ahead of leadership changes or strategy shifts.
  • Deliver value that keeps your customers happy and grows your revenue potential.

What is an example of GTM intelligence?

Here’s a clear, real-world example of GTM intelligence in action:

Catching a buyer before your competitor does

Let’s say your ideal customer profile is mid-market FinTech companies expanding into Europe.

With a GTM intelligence tool, you can:

  • Spot a funding round announcement for a Series B FinTech startup.
  • See a hiring spike in their sales and RevOps teams via job posting data.
  • Get intent signals showing the startup is researching “sales engagement platforms” and comparing providers.
  • Identify key decision-makers like the VP of Sales/Head of RevOps and their contact details, including direct dials and business emails.
  • Trigger a workflow that adds them to a personalised outbound campaign, tailored to their buying stage and pain points.

The result?

You reach them before they fill out a form.

Before your competitor cold-calls them.

And before they even know exactly what they need.

That’s GTM intelligence:

Predictive insights and real-time, AI-activated go-to-market execution.

Why is Cognism a leader in GTM intelligence?

Because we don’t just serve data; we deliver ready-to-close insights.

Here’s what sets Cognism apart:

Our data goes deeper (and stays fresher)

We give you globally compliant, phone-verified, and constantly updated contact data, plus firmographics, technographics, intent, and sales triggers.

It’s everything your reps need to prospect smarter and close faster.

We connect the dots across your GTM tech stack

Cognism integrates with your CRM, sales engagement, and RevOps tools - so your entire revenue team works from the same source of truth.

Click here to find out about Cognism’s integrations.

We give you AI-powered customer insights

Forget the guesswork:

Cognism’s AI capabilities instantly reveal a company’s business model, strategy, revenue drivers, and competitors.

It means your salespeople can start every call with context, using tailored ice-breakers and building rapport from the first touch.

With Cognism Sales Companion, prospecting just got a whole lot sharper.

We help you reach decision-makers

Tired of missing your revenue targets because your calls won’t connect?

Introducing Cognism’s Diamond Data®, our exclusive dataset. It contains phone-verified mobile numbers that are 3x times more likely to reach the prospects who matter.

We’re built for global GTM

Where other data providers struggle with compliance and coverage, we shine.

Cognism is GDPR and CCPA-compliant, meaning it can scale your GTM across EMEA, North America, and beyond.

Choose Cognism as your GTM intelligence provider

Not ready to make a decision yet? Let us help you with these useful resources: