--- title: Insights on go-to-market, pricing and leadership | Ramp Up Consulting description: Practical notes by Joël Gaudeul on go-to-market, pricing, AI context, finance, management and hiring, plus podcasts, articles and a marketing book. --- [![Ramp Up Consulting](https://rampupconsulting.fr/hubfs/RampUpConsulting_logo_h.png)](https://rampupconsulting.fr/en?hsLang=en) - [Advisory](https://rampupconsulting.fr/en/advisory?hsLang=en) - [Missions](https://rampupconsulting.fr/en/missions?hsLang=en) - [Insights](https://rampupconsulting.fr/en/insights?hsLang=en) - [About](https://rampupconsulting.fr/en/about?hsLang=en) [FR](https://rampupconsulting.fr/fr)[Book a call](https://rampupconsulting.fr/meetings/joel-gaudeul?hsLang=en)☰ [Advisory](https://rampupconsulting.fr/en/advisory?hsLang=en)[Missions](https://rampupconsulting.fr/en/missions?hsLang=en)[Insights](https://rampupconsulting.fr/en/insights?hsLang=en)[About](https://rampupconsulting.fr/en/about?hsLang=en)[Français](https://rampupconsulting.fr/fr?hsLang=en)[Book a call](https://rampupconsulting.fr/meetings/joel-gaudeul?hsLang=en) Insights # Notes from 20 years of building marketing, revenue and teams What I share on LinkedIn, in podcasts and in print: go-to-market, pricing, AI, management and hiring. Short, practical, drawn from real situations. [Go-to-market and revenue](https://rampupconsulting.fr/en/insights#gtm)[Management and teams](https://rampupconsulting.fr/en/insights#management)[Peers and community](https://rampupconsulting.fr/en/insights#community)[Podcasts and articles](https://rampupconsulting.fr/en/insights#media) Go-to-market and revenue ## Building the engine AI and RevOpsFR ### AI is hungry for context. Yours is probably undocumented. Everyone sees the AI race. Few talk about its main trap: context. In startups, knowledge lives in the founders' heads; in larger companies, it is buried in pages nobody maintains. Without a source of truth, agents and prompts fail silently, with total confidence. **Takeaway:** in go-to-market, your context is product marketing: positioning, messaging, objections and differentiators, shared by the whole team instead of rebuilt by each person. [Read on LinkedIn →](https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelgaudeul/recent-activity/all/) PricingFR ### Raising prices without breaking the relationship Moving a customer to a new package cannot happen by surprise. Prepare the ground with an annual indexation clause, a discount that fades over renewals, phased increases over two or three years, and legacy plans you challenge every year. **Takeaway:** in pricing, the total amount is not always the heart of the debate. [Read on LinkedIn →](https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelgaudeul/recent-activity/all/) Finance and marketingFR ### A love letter to your CFO The marketing budget is one of the function's biggest responsibilities. Finance teams are often seen as a constraint, yet they are the best sparring partners to challenge spend, understand acquisition costs and adapt investments to margin. They just rarely see the marketing plan behind the invoices. **Takeaway:** share your plan and its context with finance before the purchase requests arrive. [Read on LinkedIn →](https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelgaudeul/recent-activity/all/) ABMFR ### Small dinners in a saturated digital world Ads, webinars and cloned blog posts all saturate. At Swan, we put relationships back at the heart of our account-based strategy with small, local dinners: proximity, attention to detail and honest conversations away from corporate speeches. **Takeaway:** those dinners became our best source of insights. Guests' questions now shape our content. [Read on LinkedIn →](https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelgaudeul/recent-activity/all/) Management and teams ## Leading the people who build it LeadershipFR ### The advice I wish I had received Do your due diligence before joining. Use the honeymoon phase to audit. Don't apply the same recipes everywhere. Set the rules early. Build relationships. Never lose touch with the founders. Don't be dogmatic. [Read on LinkedIn →](https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelgaudeul/recent-activity/all/) TeamsFR ### The presumption of competence Accept that the other person is an expert in their field, then challenge them by asking “why?” five times, without ever questioning their expertise. It avoids conflict and keeps you in your role as manager or peer. [Read on LinkedIn →](https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelgaudeul/recent-activity/all/) ManagementFR ### What boxing taught me about managing Read the person in front of you, adapt, change rhythm, train with a coach and sparring partners. Feedback, empathy and curiosity become reflexes through daily practice, like footwork. [Read on LinkedIn →](https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelgaudeul/recent-activity/all/) OnboardingFR ### Onboarding is a leadership moment New hires' first contact with your function is the moment to embody your role, set how your job is perceived and share your vision. Leaders who take this time talk to several departments at once, on their own terms. [Read on LinkedIn →](https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelgaudeul/recent-activity/all/) HiringFR ### Pre-onboarding: the last mile of hiring Between the offer and day one, often three months of doubt. Keep the momentum with a sequence of touchpoints: welcome kit, a video from the team, market reading, the quarter's roadmap, company news, event invitations. [Read on LinkedIn →](https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelgaudeul/recent-activity/all/) HiringFR ### Assessing candidates in the age of AI Take-home case studies no longer prove much. A live case evaluates reasoning and adaptability instead: define what you assess, share material in advance, explain the rules, and have two assessors in the room. [Read on LinkedIn →](https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelgaudeul/recent-activity/all/) Peers and community ## Why I share my marketing plan Peer reviewEN ### Sharing is caring: show me yours, I'll show you mine After 20 years as a CMO, I had rarely seen a peer's marketing plan. So I offered a swap with a fellow marketing leader: her past plan for mine. One hour of honest exchange validated some slides, inspired new ones, and reminded me how much we gain from comparing notes. [Read on LinkedIn →](https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelgaudeul/recent-activity/all/) CommunityFR ### A buddy programme for marketing leaders At the top of marketing, sparring partners are rare inside your own company. With TechMarketingLeaders, I launched a buddy programme: senior marketers paired to meet regularly and share plans, teams and methods transparently, over time. The same principle as advisory. [Read on LinkedIn →](https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelgaudeul/recent-activity/all/) Podcasts and articles ## Longer formats 🎙 PodcastFR ### Faut que ça close Aligning revenue teams (marketing, sales, customer success), product and service challenges, marketing beyond lead generation, and the sales strategies of a marketplace. [Listen on Spotify →](https://open.spotify.com/episode/4iDWyquKILVIMGt1Ac8uy9) 🎙 PodcastFR ### Le café du market Internal communication, the different stakeholders, tips to create alignment and buy-in, and how to showcase the value of marketing inside the company. [Listen to the episode →](https://lecafedumarket.fr/episode-102-valoriser-le-marketing-en-interne-avec-joel-gaudeul-vp-marketing-chez-alma/) 📰 ArticleFR ### Leading by example How to identify the right managers, define your management style, meet your teams' expectations, assess your impact and build your management expertise. [Read on Tribes →](https://www.followtribes.io/apprendre-manager/) 📰 ArticleEN ### Working and managing remotely Adapting to new ways of working, working with distributed teams, running hybrid meetings and staying connected with your teams. [Read on LinkedIn →](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/working-remote-distributed-team-joel-gaudeul/) Book ## Quand les start-up et licornes réinventent le marketing Co-authored book on how French startups and unicorns reinvent marketing (in French). [See the book](https://www.amazon.fr/dp/2100877968) Next step ## Want this thinking applied to your startup? The advisory retainer brings it to your context, twice a month, with follow-up in between. Book a call, or leave a message. [Book a 30-min call](https://rampupconsulting.fr/meetings/joel-gaudeul?hsLang=en)[How the retainer works](https://rampupconsulting.fr/en/advisory?hsLang=en) ### Or send me a message ![Ramp Up Consulting](https://rampupconsulting.fr/hubfs/RampUpConsulting_logo_h.png) Advisory for Seed to Series A startups after a raise: go-to-market, organization and RevOps. #### Explore [Advisory retainer](https://rampupconsulting.fr/en/advisory?hsLang=en)[Missions](https://rampupconsulting.fr/en/missions?hsLang=en)[Insights](https://rampupconsulting.fr/en/insights?hsLang=en)[About](https://rampupconsulting.fr/en/about?hsLang=en) #### Contact [Book a 30-min call](https://rampupconsulting.fr/meetings/joel-gaudeul?hsLang=en)[Joël on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelgaudeul/)[Ramp Up Consulting on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/ramp-up-consulting/)[Version française](https://rampupconsulting.fr/fr) © 2026 Ramp Up ConsultingFrench and English