Define Sales-Support Objectives in Enterprise Briefs using Get Who To By
Enterprise briefs are usually where good ideas go to die in a pile of corporate buzzwords and 'synergy.' You’ve seen them: 40 pages of fluff that leave the sales team more confused than a toddler at a tax audit. The Get Who To By framework is your shovel to dig out of that grave. It forces you to stop pretending 'increasing brand awareness' is a sales-support objective and actually define what you’re doing to help a human being close a deal.
The TL;DR
Stop writing briefs that sound like a boardroom fever dream. Use Get Who To By to identify the specific buyer (GET), their actual roadblock (WHO), the message that clears the path (TO), and the sales tool that delivers the knockout blow (BY). It’s strategy for people who actually want to sell something.
Why Get Who To By Saves Your Enterprise Brief From the Shredder
Most enterprise strategy is just a series of expensive guesses. This framework kills the guesswork by focusing on the only things that matter: the person and the action.
The Four Steps
GET
Who exactly is the person standing between you and a signed contract?
Don't say 'The Enterprise.' Enterprises don't have feelings; people do. Pinpoint the specific stakeholder - the skeptical CTO, the overworked Procurement Lead, or the mid-level manager who's terrified of making a mistake.
WHO
What is the specific hang-up or behavior stopping them right now?
What are they doing instead of buying? Are they stuck in 'status quo' bias? Are they worried your software will break their legacy system? Find the actual human friction, not the corporate 'pain point.'
TO
What is the one thing they need to hear to move forward?
This is your message. It needs to be so obvious it hurts. If they’re scared of implementation, your message isn't 'innovative solutions,' it's 'we do the heavy lifting for you.'
BY
What tool or mechanism are you giving Sales to make this happen?
This is the 'how.' Is it a custom ROI calculator? A 1-on-1 technical workshop? A case study from their direct competitor? This is the actual deliverable that proves you aren't just talking in circles.
Enterprise Briefing Sins
(Try not to do these, for everyone's sake)
- ×Targeting 'Global 2000' instead of a specific job title
- ×Confusing a product feature with a behavior insight
- ×Writing a 'TO' message that sounds like a legal disclaimer
- ×Providing 'Sales Enablement' that is just a 50-slide deck no one will open
- ×Ignoring the fact that enterprise buyers are afraid of losing their jobs
- ×Setting objectives that can't be measured without a crystal ball
- ×Forgetting that your competitors are also sending 'innovative' whitepapers
- ×Assuming the buyer cares as much about your 'mission' as you do
If your brief looks like a template from 1998, it’s going to perform like one. Fix it.
Real Examples
The Skeptical Technical Buyer
Helping sales overcome the 'technical feasibility' hurdle in the late stage of the funnel.
GET
The Head of Infrastructure who thinks your SaaS will bloat their tech stack.
WHO
They are currently blocking the deal because they’ve been burned by 'easy integrations' that took six months to fix.
TO
See exactly how this plugs into your existing stack without a single line of custom code.
BY
A live, 15-minute 'sandbox' demo pre-configured with their specific legacy architecture.
The Procurement Bottleneck
Speeding up the final approval process in high-value contracts.
GET
The Procurement Officer who views your software as a 'nice to have' budget drain.
WHO
They are looking for any reason to delay the purchase to meet their quarterly cost-saving KPIs.
TO
This isn't an expense; it’s a guaranteed 15% reduction in operational overhead starting Day 1.
BY
A one-page 'Financial Impact Executive Summary' designed specifically for procurement review.
The Champion Who Can't Sell Up
Equipping an internal advocate to get C-suite buy-in.
GET
The Marketing Manager who loves the tool but is afraid to ask the CMO for budget.
WHO
They want the tool to make their life easier but don't know how to build a business case that sounds 'strategic' enough.
TO
Here is the exact deck your CMO needs to see to approve this by Friday.
BY
A 'Board-Ready' 3-slide template that maps the tool's output directly to the CMO's annual goals.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I have more than one 'GET' in a single brief?
No. If you have two targets, you have two briefs. Stop trying to make one document do everything; that's how you end up with mediocre results.
What if the 'WHO' insight is just that they don't have budget?
Then your 'BY' better be a financing plan or a massive ROI proof. But usually, 'no budget' is just code for 'I don't see the value yet.'
How specific does the 'BY' need to be?
Specific enough that a sales rep can send it in an email. 'A marketing campaign' is not a BY. 'A custom industry report' is.
Is the 'TO' just a slogan?
Not necessarily. It's the core message. It might become a headline, or it might just be the one sentence that changes the buyer's mind.
What if Sales doesn't use the 'BY' mechanism?
Then you built the wrong thing. Talk to your sales reps before you write the brief, not after the campaign flops.
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