Align Marketing and Sales Briefs using Get Who To By
Marketing thinks they’re painting a masterpiece; Sales thinks Marketing is just throwing expensive glitter at a wall. Meanwhile, your briefs are so disconnected it’s a miracle anyone finds the 'buy' button. The Get Who To By framework is the cold shower your strategy needs. It forces both teams to agree on exactly who we're hunting, why they aren't biting yet, and how we’re going to actually drag them across the finish line without the usual finger-pointing.
The TL;DR
Stop the departmental civil war. Use Get Who To By to align Marketing and Sales on a single, laser-focused target (GET), a brutal reality check on their behavior (WHO), a message that doesn't suck (TO), and a mechanism that actually converts (BY).
Why This Stops the Marketing vs. Sales Bloodbath
Most briefs are 40 pages of fluff that no one reads. This framework is four lines that no one can ignore.
The Four Steps
GET
Who is the specific human with the credit card?
If you say 'B2B decision makers,' I’m ending the meeting. Pick the smallest, most profitable group that is actually ready to move. Marketing needs to find them, and Sales needs to know their names.
WHO
What is the annoying habit or belief stopping them?
Be honest. Are they lazy? Are they scared of their boss? Do they think your product is 'too expensive' because they don't see the value? Find the friction point that Sales hears on every call.
TO
What is the one thing they need to hear to flip?
This isn't a list of 12 features. It’s the one 'aha' moment that makes the behavior in the 'WHO' step look stupid. Make the value proposition so obvious it hurts.
BY
How do we actually get them to do the thing?
This is the tactical bridge. Is it a demo? A whitepaper that isn't boring? A direct sales outreach? Define the mechanism so Marketing knows what to build and Sales knows what to follow up on.
How to Trash Your Alignment
(Avoid these if you actually want to hit your numbers)
- ×Defining the 'GET' as 'Everyone in North America'
- ×Marketing ignoring the objections Sales hears every single day
- ×Writing a 'TO' message that sounds like a legal disclaimer
- ×A 'BY' mechanism that requires 15 clicks to complete
- ×Sales ignoring the leads because they weren't involved in the 'WHO' insight
- ×Treating the brief as a suggestion rather than a contract
- ×Using 'brand awareness' as an excuse for a lack of a 'BY' step
- ×Forgetting that the 'WHO' is a human, not a data point
If Marketing and Sales can't agree on these four boxes, your campaign is dead before it even launches.
Real Examples
B2B Software
Aligning teams for a new cybersecurity tool launch.
GET
IT Managers at mid-sized firms who just survived a minor data scare.
WHO
They know they're vulnerable but they're overwhelmed by complex setups and think 'it won't happen again.'
TO
Get enterprise-grade security that you can actually set up before your lunch break ends.
BY
A 10-minute 'Vulnerability Audit' landing page that feeds directly into the Sales team's priority dialer.
High-End Consulting
Coordinating marketing content with executive sales outreach.
GET
CEOs of companies stuck at $10M revenue who can't figure out how to scale.
WHO
They're currently trying to do everything themselves and are terrified of losing control.
TO
Fire yourself from the day-to-day so you can actually lead your company.
BY
An exclusive executive roundtable (Marketing) followed by a 1-on-1 scaling roadmap session (Sales).
E-commerce / D2C
Aligning digital ads with the customer support/sales team.
GET
Professional hobbyists using entry-level gear.
WHO
They feel limited by their current tools but are intimidated by the 'pro' price tag.
TO
The gear that pays for itself in the first three jobs.
BY
A 'Pro-Upgrade' calculator on the site that triggers a personalized discount code sent via Sales chat.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if Marketing and Sales can't agree on the 'WHO'?
Lock them in a room. Sales usually has the frontline truth; Marketing has the data. If they can't agree, you don't have a strategy, you have a guess.
Does the 'BY' always have to be a sales call?
No. It just has to be the mechanism that works. If it's a self-serve checkout, the 'BY' is the frictionless UX. Just make sure both teams know where the hand-off is.
Is the 'GET' the same as a persona?
Personas are often fictional characters with fake hobbies. The 'GET' is a group of people with a specific intent. It's more about their situation than their favorite color.
Can we have more than one 'TO' message?
If you have more than one, you're diluting the impact. Pick the strongest one. If you have two distinct audiences, write two distinct GWTB frameworks.
How often should we update this?
The moment Sales says 'these leads are garbage' or Marketing says 'Sales isn't closing anything.' That's the signal your 'WHO' or 'BY' is broken.
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