You've built something that works in the harshest environment on earth. Now you need to sell it to buyers who evaluate on paperwork as much as performance. We build go-to-market strategies that navigate the reality of ocean tech procurement: long cycles, multiple stakeholders, and budgets that move on government timelines.
The Problem
No repeatable sales motion for complex procurement
Your first few contracts came through relationships, conferences, or SBIR grants. That works up to a point. But scaling beyond founder-led sales in ocean tech requires a structured go-to-market motion that accounts for multi-year procurement cycles, multiple decision-makers, and evaluation criteria that weigh past performance and compliance as heavily as technical merit. Without that structure, growth is unpredictable and entirely dependent on who your CEO happens to know.
Trying to serve too many markets at once
Your underwater drone could serve the Navy, marine biologists, aquaculture operators, and offshore energy inspectors. Each of those markets has different buying processes, budget cycles, regulatory requirements, and value drivers. Trying to pursue all of them simultaneously with a small team means you're doing none of them well. The companies that win in ocean tech pick a beachhead market, dominate it, then expand. Without clear prioritization, you're spreading thin and losing everywhere.
Product-market fit in one segment but no plan for the next
You've proven the technology works for one use case. Maybe it's underwater inspection for oil and gas, or environmental monitoring for a research institution. Now the board wants you to expand into defense or commercial aquaculture. But those markets have completely different GTM requirements: different channels, different sales cycles, different competitive sets, and different buyer expectations. Copying what worked in your first market into a new one is how ocean tech companies waste two years and significant capital.
Sales and marketing operating in parallel instead of together
Your sales team chases opportunities they find. Your marketing team produces content and attends trade shows. Neither is coordinated around a shared go-to-market plan. Sales doesn't use marketing materials because they don't reflect how real conversations go. Marketing doesn't know which deals are in the pipeline so they can support them. This disconnect means you're paying for two functions that aren't multiplying each other's impact.
How We Help
We build go-to-market strategies by starting with the market, not the product. That means deep research into your target buyers: who they are, how they evaluate vendors, what their budget and procurement cycles look like, and what information they need at each stage. In ocean tech, this often involves understanding government acquisition processes (FAR/DFARS, SBIR Phase III transition, OTA authorities), commercial maritime purchasing patterns, and academic grant-funded procurement. Each of these requires a fundamentally different GTM approach.
We then help you make the hard prioritization decisions. Which market segment do you enter first? Which buyer persona do you target? What's the minimum viable GTM motion that generates revenue while you build toward larger opportunities? For ocean tech companies, the beachhead market choice is critical because each segment requires different certifications, different relationships, and different proof points. We use a scoring framework that weighs market size, sales cycle length, competitive intensity, and your existing advantages.
Once the target is clear, we design the sales and marketing playbook for that specific market. This includes your positioning and messaging for that buyer, the channel strategy (direct sales, channel partners, government contracting vehicles, system integrators), the content and sales enablement materials needed at each stage of the buyer journey, and the metrics that tell you whether the motion is working. For government markets, this also includes capture planning methodology and competitive intelligence processes.
We build the operational infrastructure to execute the playbook. CRM configuration, pipeline stage definitions, lead scoring, marketing automation, and reporting dashboards. For ocean tech companies, this also includes proposal management systems and past performance tracking. The goal is a repeatable system that doesn't depend on any single person's relationships to generate opportunities.
We also design the expansion playbook. Once you've established product-market fit and a repeatable sales motion in your beachhead segment, we plan the sequenced entry into adjacent markets. Each expansion comes with its own positioning, channel strategy, and required capabilities. This prevents the common mistake of trying to boil the ocean by going after every possible market simultaneously.
The difference between our GTM work and what a traditional strategy consulting firm delivers is that we stay through execution. We don't hand you a PowerPoint and wish you luck. We're embedded with your team as the playbook gets tested against real deals, and we iterate the strategy based on what actually happens in the market.
What we deliver
- Market prioritization framework — segment scoring, beachhead selection, and expansion sequencing
- GTM playbook — positioning, channel strategy, sales process, and marketing plan by target segment
- Sales enablement package — pitch decks, objection handling guides, competitive battle cards, and proposal templates
- GTM operations setup — CRM configuration, pipeline definitions, reporting dashboards, and marketing automation
In ocean tech, go-to-market strategy isn't about finding customers. It's about choosing which customers to pursue in what order, because the cost of entering the wrong market segment first can set a company back by years and millions in misallocated resources.
Our Methodology
Our 90-day GTM sprint is structured to get you from strategy to live pipeline. The first 30 days are research and strategy: buyer interviews, competitive analysis, market segment scoring, and the strategic decisions about where to focus. We present the strategy with a clear rationale, and we pressure-test it with your sales team and any advisors who know the target market.
Days 30 through 60 are playbook development and infrastructure build. We create all the sales and marketing assets, configure your CRM and reporting, and train your team on the new GTM motion. For government-focused GTM plans, this phase includes setting up capture management processes and identifying specific opportunities to pursue.
Days 60 through 90 are live execution and iteration. Your team is running the playbook against real opportunities, and we're in the room (or on the call) helping them adjust. This phase is where the strategy meets reality, and the adjustments made during this period are often the most valuable part of the engagement.
How We Work
GTM engagements run 90 days for the core strategy and playbook, with optional ongoing support for execution. The first two weeks require significant time from your leadership team for buyer research, competitive workshops, and strategic alignment sessions. Plan for 4-6 hours per week from your CEO and sales lead during this phase.
Our team includes a GTM strategist, a sales enablement specialist, and a marketing strategist. For ocean tech engagements with government market components, we also bring in advisors with defense acquisition and government contracting experience. You work with the same team throughout the engagement.
The cadence is twice-weekly strategy sessions during the first 30 days, weekly playbook reviews during the build phase, and weekly pipeline reviews during the execution phase. We use shared project workspaces with full visibility into all deliverables and progress. Monthly, there's a formal leadership review where we assess GTM metrics against the plan.
Clients should expect to see the GTM playbook generating qualified opportunities within the first quarter after launch. Pipeline conversion to revenue depends on your sales cycle length, which in ocean tech typically ranges from 3 months for commercial deals to 12-24 months for government contracts.
- Clear market prioritization with data-backed segment selection
- Repeatable sales motion that doesn't depend on founder relationships
- Aligned sales and marketing operations with shared pipeline visibility
If your ocean tech company needs go-to-market leadership, we should talk.
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Frequently asked questions
How much does go-to-market strategy cost for ocean tech companies?
The 90-day GTM sprint typically ranges from $80,000 to $150,000 depending on the number of target market segments and complexity of the procurement environment. Government-focused GTM strategies require more research and specialized expertise, which pushes toward the higher end. Ongoing execution support is priced separately as a monthly retainer. Compare the cost to the revenue impact of entering the wrong market or running an unfocused sales effort for a year.
How long before we see results from go-to-market strategy?
The strategy and playbook are delivered within 90 days. Qualified pipeline from the new GTM motion typically appears within one quarter of launch. Revenue impact depends on your sales cycle. For commercial ocean tech deals, that's typically 3-6 months. For government contracts, 12-24 months from initial capture to award. The GTM framework accelerates these timelines by ensuring you're pursuing the right opportunities with the right approach from the start.
How does the go-to-market team integrate with our existing staff?
We work directly with your CEO, sales lead, and any existing marketing staff. During the strategy phase, we facilitate workshops and interviews. During the playbook build, we collaborate on creating materials and configuring systems. During the execution phase, we participate in pipeline reviews and help close specific opportunities. The goal is to transfer the GTM capability to your team so they can run it independently.
What makes Winston Francois different from a traditional go-to-market agency?
We understand the unique GTM dynamics of ocean tech: government procurement processes, long sales cycles, technical evaluation criteria, and the small, relationship-driven nature of the market. We also stay through execution rather than handing off a strategy document. Most GTM strategies fail in implementation, not in conception. Being embedded during the execution phase is what makes the strategy actually work.
How do you measure ROI from a go-to-market engagement?
We establish baseline metrics at the start: qualified pipeline value, win rate, average deal size, sales cycle length, and customer acquisition cost. Post-launch, we track the same metrics on the new GTM motion. We also track leading indicators like qualified meetings booked, proposal submissions, and capture management progress for government opportunities. The ROI calculation compares the cost of the engagement to the incremental pipeline and revenue it generates.
What type of ocean tech company is the right fit for this service?
Companies that have a working product and at least one paying customer, but haven't built a repeatable sales process. This could be a startup transitioning from SBIR grants to commercial contracts, or an established company entering a new market segment like defense or aquaculture. If you're still in R&D without a product ready for market, it's too early. If you already have a large, productive sales team, you likely need optimization rather than a new GTM strategy.
