When a product has been commercialized and is available to the public, a company has two key muscles it can flex to take it to market: marketing and sales. Most companies that get this far know this intuitively. But what this chart suggests is that marketing and sales are counterbalances. The less marketing is flexed to bring a product to market, the more sales must step in. If sales is not driving the go-to-market strategy, the more marketing must. In nearly every case, either marketing or sales takes the lead in getting the product to customers.

The challenge is in knowing which one to activate for your company and specific product. This answer is especially critical for startups, which all too often pour resources into both to eliminate the guesswork, even though this wastes a great deal of resources. The stakes are high. If they choose the wrong path, they can stumble out of the gates. For example, hiring a high-touch, expensive sales force to sell a low-priced product can be a game-ender. After this misstep, an otherwise high-potential company may fail to grow fast enough to compete or reach profitability.

So, at the heart of the framework — and a startup’s go-to-market strategy — is this question: Is your product marketing-intensive or sales-intensive?