GTM Strategy
The reality is that it's earlier than you think. Here are the signs it's time.
By Shannon Kearns, published 2026-10-15, 9 min read.
Hire a product marketing consultant earlier than you think: as soon as something in your go-to-market feels off, even if you can't say exactly what. Figuring out what the problem actually is, and testing the fix in the market, is a big part of the job.
Most founders wait until they have a clear problem to hand over. By then they've usually guessed at the cause, wasted a ton of time, or even hired for the wrong fix: a demand gen marketer for what's really a positioning problem, or more reps for a story that only the founder can successfully tell.
First up, let's talk about what a product marketing consultant even does.
A product marketing consultant owns the decisions about how your product is understood and bought. That means:
Running ads and demand gen programs usually sits with a demand gen marketer or an agency, and week-to-week ownership of the story sits with a full-time Marketing hire. I wrote more about where product marketing ends and go-to-market begins in GTM and PMM are not the same job, it's worth understanding the difference.
The first item on that list is the one founders skip. They assume they need to know what's broken before they bring someone in, so they spend months on their own theory of the problem first.
The trouble is that founders are the closest people to the product, which makes it hard to see how buyers actually see your product. Everyone on the team usually has their own explanation for why things are slow.
But when you find a great consultant, they'll spend the first few weeks digging into your business to find out what's really going on. What's actually broken, and why. That's gold for smaller companies.
That also means it's not too early if you're still pre-launch or have very few customers. The work then is testing: which segment responds, which message gets a reply, what people will pay for. (If that's you, see how to build a go-to-market strategy if you have zero customers.)
You don't need the answer to hire. All you need is to know that something feels off.
These are the signs I'd use to signal whether I need a product marketing consultant. If one or two sound familiar, I'd start the conversation now, even if you're not sure which one is the root cause.
A consultant gets the decisions made and tested. As the company grows, some of the signs above, like more and more features shipping, turn into weekly work. Someone needs to own it inside the company. In my view, a full-time product marketer should be one of the first 20 people you hire at a tech company. You might want to consider a full-time hire if you're in one of these situations:
Put side by side, the three options do different jobs:
| Option | Best when | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Product marketing consultant | Something's off and you need it found and fixed, or you have a scoped push: a launch, a repositioning, a new segment | Diagnosis, decisions tested in the market, and the assets built on them, in a finite engagement |
| Full-time PMM | The story needs looking after every week: new releases, sales cycles, ongoing enablement | Continuous ownership inside the company |
| Agency | Strategy is already clear and you need volume | Throughput: campaigns, content and programs in market |
These aren't either-or. One order I like: a consultant first to find the problem and make the decisions, then a full-time hire who runs with them, with an agency added once there's a clear brief to execute. That also makes the full-time hire easier, because you're recruiting for a defined job.
For the longer comparisons, see boutique product marketing consultant vs GTM agency and who can help bring a new product to market, which also covers fractional CMOs and freelancers.
Since you don't need a defined problem, the bar here is low. Have these four things in place before you sign anything:
Once you have those, use these questions to ask a go-to-market consultant to compare the people you talk to.
A few weeks in, you should have a named problem and decisions you can argue with: a named ICP, positioning that leaves some buyers out on purpose, and a core claim sales can repeat. If you're looking at a polished deck that still keeps every option open, ask why.
By the end of the engagement, your team should be able to run the work without the consultant in the room:
If you're heading into a launch, how to prevent a failed product launch covers what to lock before launch day, and what to do if your product launch failed covers the other side.
Earlier than most founders think: as soon as something in your go-to-market feels off, even if you can't name the problem yet. Finding the problem and testing the fix is part of the job.
No. A list of symptoms is enough, like deals stalling after the demo or prospects comparing you to the wrong competitors. Working out the cause from customer and sales evidence is the first part of the engagement.
Look at what's breaking. If prospects don't understand why you're different, deals stall without a clear reason, sales can't sell without the founder, or a launch is coming without an agreed ICP, that's product marketing work.
Not usually. Even before you have customers, a consultant can help you test segments and messages in the market so your first go-to-market choices are based on how buyers respond. The one thing you need is a founder ready to make the decisions the work turns up.
Once the work is weekly and ongoing: frequent releases, a sales team that needs regular enablement, and tested positioning that needs looking after. In my view, that hire should be within your first 20 people.
They overlap. Fractional usually means ongoing part-time hours on a retainer. A consultant engagement is usually scoped to one problem with an end date. Plenty of people offer both.
A clear read on what's actually wrong, decisions your team can act on (ICP, positioning, core messaging), and the material that puts them to use, like sales talk tracks and launch assets. Your team should be able to keep using it after the engagement ends.
Start with consultants who specialize in early-stage go-to-market work. I'm one of them: I run [More Than Said](https://morethansaid.com), a product marketing and GTM strategy company for startups. For a wider list of solo consultants, fractional staffing firms and agencies, see [who can help bring a new product to market](/articles/who-can-help-bring-a-new-product-to-market).
Read more articles, explore services and pricing, or take the free Go-to-Market Readiness Assessment.