In a recent in-depth conversation, Derek Leith, GTM strategist and CEO at Demand Accelerators, unpacked the realities of modern demand generation—from GTM readiness and sales plays to event ROI, follow-up sequencing, and sales–marketing alignment. This article breaks down the most valuable insights shared throughout the discussion. 

Before we dive into the valuable insights shared by Derek, if you prefer to hear this article, you can access it below:

1. The Evolving GTM Landscape: Why Readiness Is the Real ROI Driver

GTM Readiness as a Diagnostic System

Derek stresses that events themselves don’t generate ROI—readiness does. Before any event, campaign, or launch, an organization must ensure that its GTM system can handle the traffic it’s about to create.

“Events don’t create ROI. Readiness creates ROI.”

For many companies, the problem isn’t the event—it’s the lack of clarity around ICP, messaging, routing, and follow-up structure.

The Test Drive Assessment & Sales Play Concept

Demand Accelerators developed a Test Drive Assessment as the gateway into their ecosystem. Its primary output is the Sales Play—a repeatable, multi-channel operating motion aligned across people, processes, technology, data, and messaging.

“The sales play is a repeatable motion involving channels, people, process, technology, GTM, messaging, and data.”

This sales play is then battle-tested through a four-week controlled campaign to identify system strengths and gaps.

Introducing the GTM Accelerator

Derek revealed their upcoming launch of the GTM Accelerator, a lightweight gateway product designed to help companies quickly engage with readiness assessments and improve their foundation before scaling.

2. Events as GTM Diagnostics: From Pre-Event Planning to Post-Event Execution

Events as Learning Engines, Not Just Lead Gen Channels

Derek compares event ROI measurement to weather—unpredictable—but stresses that events serve as high-impact diagnostic tools.

“The real question isn’t ‘Did the event work?’ but ‘Was our GTM system ready for the traffic the event created?’”

Three Phases of Event Success

1. Pre-Event:

   • Warm up your ICP

   • Clarify personas and business problems

   • Set follow-up pathways before the event even begins

2. During the Event:

   • Focus on relationship building, not feature selling

   • Capture context, not just contacts

   • Understand the attendee’s “top three priorities”

3. Post-Event:

   • Avoid generic follow-up

   • Personalize based on what you heard

   • Ensure routing logic is established in advance

The Restaurant Analogy

Derek explains:

• Event engagement = the host greeting and seating you

• Follow-up = the waiter who listens, understands your needs, and guides the experience

“It’s about caring for the table and solving the visitor’s business problem not pushing features.”

3. The Metrics That Matter: Event KPIs, Attribution & Buyer Insights

Why Attribution Is Ground Zero

Marketers and sales teams need to know whether a prospect attended because of the company’s marketing efforts or independently. This informs ROI, nurture sequencing, and future campaign strategy.

“Everyone wants to know ROI, but first you need to know the actual source of that connection.”

Key GTM-Ready Event KPIs

• ICP match rate

• Prioritized business problems identified

• Persona-problem fit

• Source attribution: outbound-driven vs organic attendees

• Post-event engagement signals (opt-ins, content consumption)

• Follow-up SLA compliance

What Makes a Lead Valuable?

Not all leads are equal. Derek emphasizes the importance of identifying the fit, pain, timeline, and willingness to lean in—long before assuming a lead is "qualified."

4. Post-Event Follow-Up: Turning Warm Moments into Pipeline

Quantity AND Quality Matter

One of Derek’s strongest positions is that quality cannot exist without quantity—a misconception many modern marketers fall into.

“There is no quality unless you have quantity first.”

You need enough outreach volume to understand:

• What content resonates

• Which messages hit

• What signals matter

• When to automate vs when to personalize

Human First, Automation Second

Demand Accelerators’ sales plays start with human interactions, then introduce automation once authenticity has been validated.

Nurture Isn't Optional

Prospects often show interest—but not readiness.
This is where Lead Accelerator and Deal Accelerator come in, turning signals into structured motions.

“Pipelines don’t die because buyers aren’t interested—they die because follow-ups are late, inconsistent, or tone deaf.”

5. Sales & Marketing Alignment: The Ultimate GTM Multiplier

Alignment Is an Operating System, Not a Meeting

Many teams think "alignment" means friendly meetings or informal agreements. Derek clarifies alignment must be structural, defined, and repeatable:

• Shared scoring

• Shared definitions

• Shared follow-up motions

• Agreed timelines

• Clear ownership

• Feedback loops

“Alignment isn’t a handshake. It’s an operating system.”

Fixing the MQL/SQL Tug-of-War

Too often, marketing pushes leads sales doesn’t believe in. Derek recommends measuring what actually counts rather than what the model says should count.

Feedback Loops Create Growth Flywheels

The best organizations Derek worked with had strong feedback loops between:

• Marketing

• Sales

• CS

This created faster cycles, smarter campaigns, better routing, and more momentum.

6. Why GTM Breakdowns Happen & The Rarity of True Alignment

Derek states it bluntly: Most companies are misaligned.
Not intentionally—but structurally.

“We’ve never walked into a company that already had alignment down.”

Because:

• Roles change

• Campaigns evolve

• Leaders rotate

• Processes get patched, not reinvented

When GTM alignment breaks:

• Events fail

• Campaigns stall

• Qual leads sit untouched

• Feedback disappears

This is why readiness, not creativity, drives demand success.

7. The Role of AI: A Tool, Not the Strategy

Derek cautions against over-automating demand workflows with untrained AI systems:

“If you hand your process to AI before giving the machine something to learn from, you’ll miss the mark—and that mistake will repeat at scale.”

AI should amplify an already-working engine—not replace foundational thinking.

8. Hard-Won Lessons From Hosting Events

When asked about his own event experience, Derek highlighted that every insight he shared came from years of trial, error, and evolution.

“Everything we talked about today was learned the hard way.”

His biggest lesson:

Demand success doesn’t come from campaigns—it comes from diagnosing, testing, learning, and adjusting.

Conclusion: Why GTM Readiness Is the Foundation of Demand Success

The interview makes one thing clear:

Demand generation is no longer about campaigns—it's about systems.

Systems that:

• Identify the right buyers

• Understand their priorities

• Create repeatable sales plays

• Align sales + marketing around shared truths

• Follow up with consistency

• Capture the right insights

• And evolve continuously

Derek’s frameworks—Test Drive, Sales Play, Lead Accelerator, Deal Accelerator, and the new GTM Accelerator are all built to solve the same core problem.