Summer’s Over. Will Your GTM Model Deliver Before Year-End?

By Kristin Oelke, Managing Director, Growth Services at Brightrose Ventures

The week after Labor Day always feels like a reset button. The flip-flops are back in the closet, the OOO messages have (mostly) disappeared, and suddenly everyone’s staring down the calendar asking: Are we actually going to make the year?

Here’s the thing: Q4 isn’t some magical fairyland where revenue goals suddenly appear because everyone “gets serious.” If your go-to-market (GTM) model wasn’t delivering in the first eight months, why would it suddenly start working now? Forrester reports that 65% of B2B sales leaders say misaligned marketing and sales execution is their #1 barrier to hitting revenue goals. That’s not a problem more coffee and end-of-year discounts can fix.

The myth? You can coast through fall, ride out the deals in flight, and then reinvent things in January to start fresh. Reality check: January isn’t a starting line - it’s just the next lap. If you’re waiting until 2026 to “really” rethink GTM, you’re already behind.

Buyers have moved on from the old playbook. Outdated messaging? Ignored. Generic campaigns? Deleted. A CRM that no one updates? Useless. Meanwhile, your competitors are tightening up their GTM engines now - because they know growth momentum doesn’t happen overnight.

So, what’s the move? Take a hard look at your GTM model while there’s still time left on the clock. If your team is capable but unaligned, if your marketing budget buys you one hire when you need a full-funnel engine, or if your tech stack is gathering digital dust, it’s time to shake things up.

That’s where Brightrose comes in. Our Integrated, Fractional Marketing Team is built for exactly this moment: demand gen that actually generates, sales content buyers don’t snooze through, and HubSpot ops that accelerate pipeline instead of slowing it down. One monthly fee. High-output execution. Three-month minimum.

Summer’s over. The question isn’t whether you’ll make the year - it’s whether you’ll set yourself up to hit the ground running in 2026.

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About Kristin Oelke

Kristin Oelke brings 20 years of experience modernizing and scaling marketing functions across Big Tech, high-growth startups, and global partner ecosystems. She partners with investors, founders, and C-Suite leaders to design and execute strategies that drive measurable revenue impact.

She is also a frequent speaker and the author of TRUST: Unlocking B2B Growth Strategies in Today’s AI World, where she explores how companies build credibility, reduce buyer friction, and scale predictably through transparent execution, public proof points, and trust-driven content.

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FAQs

What are the top reasons SMB and mid-market tech companies work with advisory firms?

Companies partner with advisory firms to tap into battle-tested expertise, access fractional support without long-term overhead, and gain faster connections to trusted resources proven to work with early-stage and scaling businesses. Advisory partners also bring fresh perspective, speed to execution, and the ability to build trust with investors through transparent reporting and measurable outcomes.

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Brightrose Growth Services combine proven operator experience with fast, execution-first support built for today’s AI-driven B2B environment. We help companies break through digital noise with content that educates and resonates, build scalable tech foundations, and deliver the proof points and reporting that earn trust with both buyers and investors.

What makes the Brightrose Growth Services fractional model more effective than hiring in-house?

Rather than relying on a single marketing leader, Brightrose Growth Services provide a senior-led team across demand gen, CRM, lifecycle, content, and analytics. We accelerate growth with integrated execution, a more efficient demand engine, transparent reporting, and trust-building content—all at a predictable monthly cost.

How can startups begin leveraging Brightrose Growth Services on a small budget?

Most begin with a Brightrose Assessment to get a clear, prioritized plan and identify immediate quick wins. From there, startups activate a fractional team that scales with the business—gaining early proof points, trusted content, a scalable tech stack, and investor-ready reporting without overinvesting.