Chapter 3: Deployment Path

Readiness Assessment & Data Requirements

Before you run autonomous GTM, you need to know if your data, workflows, and teams are ready. This assessment turns the blueprint into a concrete view of risk, gaps, and priorities so you know how fast—and how safely—you can move.

Ready to automate today

Needs guardrails or cleanup

Must be built before pilots

Common Failure Modes

Why Readiness Matters Before You Flip the Switch

Most **“AI GTM”** projects fail for the same core reasons: messy data, tribal workflows, and missing guardrails. This page defines the readiness checks that prevent agentic GTM from amplifying noise instead of revenue.

🔁 Random Data, Random Agents

Agents inherit CRM and MAP problems. Incomplete, duplicate, or ungoverned data turns automation into unpredictable behavior.

📄 Process on Paper, Not in Systems

If plays only live in slides or tribal knowledge, agents can’t execute them consistently or measure impact.

❌ No Trust, No Adoption

Executives won’t trust autonomous workflows without clear constraints, explainable reasoning, and measurable controls.

The Three Lenses

The Three Lenses of Readiness

We evaluate readiness across strategy, operations, and data—so you don’t over-rotate on just tools.

1️⃣ Strategic Readiness (Why & Where)

Clear revenue thesis for using agents: outbound productivity, expansion motions, renewal risk, etc. Defined ICP tiers, priority plays, and success metrics.

2️⃣ Operational Readiness (Who & How)

Named owners for data, segments, outreach workflows, and campaigns. Existing sequences or playbooks that can be templatized. Feedback loops for sales/CS to flag issues and suggest improvements.

3️⃣ Data Readiness (What & From Where)

Clean core entities: accounts, contacts, opportunities. Reliable signal feeds (intent, product usage, engagement). Basic governance: permissions, PII handling, opt-out logic.

A pilot only proceeds when all three lenses meet a minimum threshold. **Weakness in one lens increases risk for the others.**

The Readiness Scorecard

The Readiness Scorecard (1–3 Scale)

Category
1 (Low)
2 (Emerging)
3 (Strong)
ICP & Targeting Clarity
No unified ICP or TAL; every rep works their own list.
ICP exists but not consistently enforced or measured.
ICP tiers are defined, enforced, and used in planning.
Workflow Maturity
Ad-hoc outreach and campaigns; no consistency.
Some repeatable sequences, but not standardized.
Named, documented plays (Net-New Outbound, Renewal Save) with clear triggers and outcomes.
Data Quality & Coverage
Frequent duplicates, missing fields, untrusted reports.
Periodic cleanups; quality varies by region or team.
Defined hygiene rules, enrichment processes, and SLAs.
Governance & Controls
Limited visibility into who’s sending what.
Some guardrails exist (suppression lists, approvals) but inconsistent.
Centralized policies for compliance, volume, and approvals.

How to use it:

  • **1s** identify foundational blockers that must be resolved before any pilot proceeds.
  • **2s** identify emerging capabilities that require immediate guardrails or cleanup during the pilot.
  • **3s** identify areas where agents can be fully trusted for autonomous execution.
Data Foundations

Data Foundations: What Agents Need to See

🟢 1. Today — Required for Pilot

  • CRM account, contact, and opportunity schemas defined.
  • MAP or outbound platform connected to CRM.
  • Basic engagement events (opens, clicks, meetings) populated.
  • Opt-out / unsubscribe logic consistently enforced.

Outcome: Agents can sequence safely on ICP Tier 2–3 accounts.

🔵 2. Near-Term — Strong Pilot / Early Scale

  • Enrichment (titles, industries, firmographics).
  • Product usage or feature telemetry for key SKUs.
  • Intent / signal data mapped to accounts.
  • Historical wins/loss tied to opportunities.

Outcome: Agents can prioritize accurately and adapt messaging based on story arcs.

🟣 3. Future — Full Agentic Intelligence

  • Central “GTM Math” models + thresholds.
  • Unified identity across web/app/CRM/support.
  • Event streams suitable for near-real-time scoring.

Outcome: System becomes a closed-loop intelligence layer.

Every pilot explicitly documents which data sources are in scope so agents don’t depend on imaginary inputs.

SaaS Readiness Snapshot

📊 Sample Company Profile (Mid-Market SaaS)

**Company:** 200-person SaaS, strong outbound culture, but CRM hygiene is patchy.

Strategic (3)Operational (2)Data (2)Governance (2)

🎯 Recommended Tier: Tier 2 – Pilot with Guardrails

  • Start with Net-New Outbound and Renewal Risk workflows only.
  • Limit agents to Tier 1 accounts in two regions.
  • Require human review for high-risk or high-value actions.

The goal is not perfection—it’s clarity. Once the readiness profile is explicit, we can design a pilot that is ambitious and safe.

You Are Now Ready for Pilot Modeling

Your readiness clarity defines:

  • which workflows are safe
  • which agents to activate
  • what guardrails are required
  • how fast you can scale autonomy safely
Back to Agentic Workflow CatalogNext: The Agentic Pilot Model