4 Lean GTM Hacks to Break Into the US Market in 2024

# 4 Lean GTM Hacks to Break Into the US Market in 2024 (Without Burning $2M)

Every Australian or APAC tech founder I talk to has the same fever dream: cracking the US market. And why wouldn't you? It's the biggest prize in B2B software - 10x the TAM, 5x the deal sizes, and buyers who actually have budget allocated.

But here's the uncomfortable truth: most international expansion attempts into the US fail spectacularly. I've watched companies burn through $2-3M in less than 18 months, with nothing to show but a failed experiment and a demoralized team. They follow the "conventional wisdom" playbook - raise a big round, hire a US sales team, open an office in San Francisco or Austin, and hope momentum carries them through.

It doesn't.

The companies that actually succeed? They take a completely different approach. They go lean, they test relentlessly, and they only scale what's proven to work. After placing GTM leaders for 15+ companies expanding into the US over the past five years, I've seen the patterns that separate winners from cautionary tales.

Here are the four GTM hacks that let you break into the US market without betting the company on a single roll of the dice.

## Hack #1: Build Your Beachhead Through Strategic Partnerships, Not Direct Sales

Every founder wants to hire that legendary US enterprise sales rep who'll open doors from day one. Reality check: that person doesn't exist, and even if they did, they wouldn't join your unknown APAC company.

The fastest path to US revenue isn't through hiring - it's through strategic partnerships that give you instant credibility and distribution.

**Why this works:**

US buyers are incredibly risk-averse when it comes to vendors they haven't heard of. You're not just competing on product - you're competing on trust, brand recognition, and perceived stability. A partnership with a known player instantly transfers credibility to you.

I watched an Australian fintech take this approach in 2022. Instead of hiring three US AEs at $180K OTE each, they struck a referral partnership with a major payments processor that already served their ICP. The partnership took four months to negotiate but delivered 12 qualified intros in the first quarter - more pipeline than their entire APAC sales team generated in six months.

**The framework:**

Identify 5-7 companies that:

- Already sell to your exact ICP

- Offer complementary (not competitive) solutions

- Have a product/service gap your solution fills

- Are incentivized by upsell/retention, not just new logos

Your pitch isn't "resell our product." It's "help your customers solve [specific pain] and reduce churn in [specific segment]."

**Tactical execution:**

Start with technology partnerships, not reseller agreements. Integration partnerships are easier to negotiate and give you three immediate advantages: marketplace listings (AWS, Salesforce AppExchange), case study opportunities with shared customers, and warm intros to prospects using the partner's platform.

**The numbers that matter:**

A good partnership should deliver 5-10 qualified intros in the first 90 days. If you're not seeing that velocity, the partner either doesn't understand your value prop or their customers don't have the pain you solve. Kill it and move on.

One of our Series B clients signed three technology partnerships before hiring their first US sales rep. Those partnerships generated 40% of their US pipeline in year one and cost less than $50K in integration development. Compare that to the $540K+ cost of three US AEs (salary, commission, benefits, travel) who would've spent their first six months just figuring out the market.

**The mistake everyone makes:**

They try to partner with the biggest names first. Don't. Target growing companies in the $50-200M revenue range. They're big enough to have distribution but small enough to actually care about partnership success. The enterprise giants will want 80% of the revenue and deliver 20% of the effort.

## Hack #2: Use Fractional US Leadership Before You Hire Full-Time

Here's a pattern I see constantly: companies hire a US VP Sales or CRO for $250K+ before they've proven product-market fit in the US. Six months later, they've burned a quarter million and still haven't figured out if their APAC playbook even works in the US market.

The smarter play? Bring on fractional GTM leadership for 3-6 months to validate your approach before making the full-time hire.

**What fractional actually means:**

I'm not talking about random advisors who show up for one call per month. I mean experienced US GTM operators who commit 2-3 days per week to:

- Testing and iterating your messaging for US buyers

- Running initial discovery calls with prospects

- Building out your first US sales playbook

- Establishing metrics and what "good" looks like

- Setting up your tech stack for US operations

**Why this approach works:**

You're essentially paying $8-12K per month for someone who's built US GTM motions before, instead of $35K+ for a full-time hire who's learning on your dime. More importantly, you're buying validation - if the fractional leader can't get traction, you haven't just made an expensive bad hire.

A Sydney-based SaaS company I worked with in 2023 brought on a fractional CRO for $10K/month for six months. That executive ran 40+ discovery calls, tested three different value props, and identified that their core message needed to be completely repositioned for US buyers. They also built the hiring profile for the eventual full-time VP Sales.

Total cost: $60K. Value: they avoided hiring the wrong person and burning $300K+ on a failed experiment.

**Finding the right fractional leader:**

Don't use matching platforms. They're filled with consultants who couldn't make it in full-time roles. Instead, source through:

- Your investors' portfolio networks

- LinkedIn targeted outreach to recently exited GTM executives

- US operators in your space who've successfully exited

**The deliverables that matter:**

Within 90 days, your fractional leader should deliver:

- A validated ICP definition for US market (different from APAC)

- Tested messaging framework and pitch deck

- 20+ discovery calls with prospects, recorded and analyzed

- Clear recommendation: scale this or pivot that

- If scaling: hiring scorecard for your first full-time US hire

**Red flag to watch for:**

If your fractional leader isn't doing actual sales calls and customer conversations, you've hired a theorist, not a practitioner. The value isn't in strategy decks - it's in real-world validation.

## Hack #3: Launch With a Vertical Wedge, Not Horizontal Positioning

APAC companies love horizontal positioning - "We're the [category] platform for [broad market]." It works in Australia or Singapore because the markets are small enough to dominate with that approach.

In the US? You get lost in the noise.

The companies that gain traction fastest go vertical-specific in their initial positioning. They own a niche first, then expand horizontally once they have momentum.

**The psychology here:**

US buyers are drowning in vendor options. They default to choosing solutions built specifically for their industry because it signals you understand their unique workflows, compliance requirements, and pain points. Generic platforms make them work harder to see the fit.

A logistics tech company I placed a Head of Sales for made this mistake initially. They positioned as "workforce management for blue-collar industries" - huge TAM, zero traction. We repositioned them as "workforce management for final-mile delivery companies" and focused entirely on that vertical for their US launch.

**The results:**

Pipeline velocity increased 3x. Win rates jumped from 12% to 31%. Why? Because final-mile delivery companies saw themselves in every demo, case study, and piece of content. The sales cycle compressed from 5 months to 2.5 months because buyers immediately understood the value.

**Choosing your wedge vertical:**

Look for industries where:

- You already have 2-3 customers in APAC (proof the solution works)

- The US market is 5-10x bigger than APAC

- There's a clear conference/event circuit to penetrate

- Compliance or workflow requirements are similar between regions

- Buying committees are small (less than 5 people)

**The expansion path:**

Plan for 12-18 months focused exclusively on your wedge vertical. You need to hit at least 25-30 customers in that vertical before expanding horizontally. This gives you the density to create real network effects, customer references, and word-of-mouth momentum.

**Tactical execution:**

- Rewrite your website homepage specifically for the vertical

- Create vertical-specific case studies and ROI calculators

- Sponsor and speak at the top 2-3 vertical conferences

- Build LinkedIn content targeting that vertical's keywords

- Run targeted ads only to companies in that vertical

I know what you're thinking: "But we're limiting our TAM!" Yes, in the short term. But you're increasing your probability of success 10x. You can always expand to adjacent verticals once you own one. Try to own three verticals simultaneously and you'll own none.

**The mistake:**

Companies hedge. They say "we're targeting financial services" but actually chase any deal that comes inbound. Don't. If a prospect outside your wedge vertical reaches out, politely defer them: "We're focused exclusively on [vertical] right now, but let's reconnect in Q3 2025." This discipline is what separates successful US entries from failed ones.

## Hack #4: Remote-First Revenue Team, US-Based Leadership

This is the most controversial hack, but it's also where I see the biggest efficiency gains.

The traditional playbook says: open a US office, hire a full US-based sales team, and build local presence. Cost: $1.5-2M minimum in year one between salaries, office space, travel, and infrastructure.

The lean playbook: hire one senior US-based GTM leader, build a remote revenue team that works US hours from lower-cost locations, and stay remote-first until you hit $5M ARR from the US market.

**Why this works in 2024:**

US buyers don't care where your sales team sits anymore. The pandemic permanently changed expectations around remote sales. What they care about is responsiveness, domain expertise, and whether you understand their market.

Your US GTM leader provides the market understanding and customer-facing credibility. Your remote team provides the scale and efficiency.

**The structure that works:**

- US-based VP Sales or Head of Sales (market knowledge, closes enterprise deals)

- SDR team in Philippines or Latin America working US hours (3-4 people, $2-3K/month each)

- Sales Engineers in APAC or Eastern Europe (technical depth, lower cost than US)

- AEs in lower-cost US markets or nearshore (Austin, Denver, Miami, or Mexico/Costa Rica)

A B2B SaaS company I worked with built exactly this model in 2023. Their US GTM leader was in Boston at $220K OTE. Supporting team: two SDRs in Manila ($6K/month combined), one SE in Poland ($85K), and two AEs in Mexico City ($120K OTE each).

**Total first-year cost: $785K**

A traditional US-based team with the same headcount would've cost $1.4M+. They saved $615K while generating $3.2M in US ARR.

**The metrics that validate this approach:**

Track these KPIs weekly:

- Response time to US prospect inquiries (should be under 2 hours during US business hours)

- Meeting conversion rates (should match or exceed US-based teams)

- Time-to-close (if it's 20%+ longer than benchmarks, your remote structure might be the issue)

If your remote team's performance metrics match traditional US-based teams, there's no reason to pay 2x for the same output.

**Where to spend for local presence:**

- Your US GTM leader should attend customer meetings in person 40%+ of the time

- Send your remote team to close enterprise deals (budget $2-3K per trip)

- Attend your vertical's top 2 conferences with full team presence

- Host quarterly customer dinners in your key US cities

These targeted in-person touches cost $80-120K annually - far less than maintaining a permanent US office.

**The critical success factor:**

Your US-based leader must be exceptional. You're asking one person to provide all the market knowledge, relationship building, and strategic direction for your US expansion. This isn't a role for a middling performer. Pay top dollar for someone who's scaled US GTM before, ideally in your vertical.

Budget $200-250K OTE for this role. It's 3-4x what you'd pay in APAC, but it's also the lynchpin of your entire US strategy. One placement I made in this role generated $8M in US ARR in 18 months. That's a 36x return on compensation.

**The failure mode:**

Companies try to remote-manage US expansion from APAC without any US-based leadership. It doesn't work. You need someone on the ground who understands US buying behavior, can read between the lines in sales calls, and represents your company credibly to US enterprise buyers.

## The 90-Day Implementation Roadmap

You can't execute all four hacks simultaneously. Here's the sequencing that actually works:

**Months 1-2: Partnership + Fractional**

- Identify and begin conversations with 5-7 potential partners

- Hire fractional US GTM leader

- Run 15-20 discovery calls with US prospects

- Validate/refine your vertical wedge

**Month 3: Positioning + Remote Team Setup**

- Finalize vertical positioning and update all materials

- Sign first 1-2 partnerships

- Begin hiring remote revenue team

- Your fractional leader starts building US playbook

**Months 4-6: Scale What Works**

- Close first 2-3 US customers through partnerships or fractional-led sales

- Hire US-based GTM leader

- Transition from fractional to full-time leadership

- Scale remote team to full initial headcount

**The resource requirement:**

Realistically, you need $150-200K in capital for the first 90 days (fractional leader, partnership integration costs, marketing repositioning, travel). That's 85-90% less than the traditional approach.

## Key Takeaways

Breaking into the US market doesn't require burning millions on speculative bets. The lean GTM approach works because it forces you to validate assumptions before making permanent commitments.

**Remember:**

- **Partnerships give you credibility faster than any amount of marketing spend.** One good technology partnership beats six months of cold outbound.

- **Fractional leadership lets you buy validation, not just labor.** Spend $60K to de-risk a $300K permanent hire.

- **Vertical positioning beats horizontal every time in crowded markets.** Own one niche completely before expanding.

- **Remote-first revenue teams work if you have strong US-based leadership.** Save 40-50% on GTM costs without sacrificing performance.

The companies that win the US market in 2024 won't be the ones with the biggest war chests. They'll be the ones that test, learn, and scale systematically while keeping burn under control.

Need help building your lean US GTM strategy? I've helped 15+ APAC companies make this exact transition. Let's talk through your specific situation and figure out the right approach for your market, product, and growth stage.