From Bottoms-Up to Tops-Down: Building an Annual Operating Plan That Actually Aligns GTM and Finance
Every Q4, GTM and finance teams gather around the same challenge: build a plan that connects ambition to reality. But somewhere between the spreadsheets and the strategy decks, the real story gets lost.
The best annual operating plans aren’t built from templates. They’re built from conversations—specifically, the gap analysis between what’s possible and what’s promised.
The Two Halves of the Plan
A bottoms-up plan starts with what the GTM engine can deliver based on current capacity:
Rep productivity
Conversion rates
Average deal size
Sales cycle
It’s a reality check grounded in math and operational truth.
The tops-down plan starts from the opposite side. It’s the growth number the board or CEO expects to see—a target that ties to investor confidence and long-term margin goals.
Both sides matter, but neither can stand alone. The alignment happens when you bring them together and quantify the space between them.
The Power of the Gap
The “gap” isn’t a problem to hide—it’s the conversation starter that matters most.
When RevOps quantifies the delta between tops-down targets and bottoms-up capacity, the discussion shifts from blame to trade-offs. It becomes:
What efficiency gains are realistic?
What would headcount expansion actually yield?
Where can automation replace spend?
That’s how GTM earns a real seat with finance—not as a cost center, but as a partner in shaping outcomes.
Where PLG Changes the Equation
In product-led growth models, the traditional math breaks down.
Your growth drivers aren’t quota-carrying reps anymore—they’re activation, usage, and conversion. The “capacity” is your product and user base, not your headcount.
Finance and GTM need to agree on a shared definition of growth units:
A new activated user
An expansion event
A self-serve upgrade
The same principles apply—the numbers still ladder up—but the inputs look different. That’s where RevOps turns from forecasting into systems design.
A New Kind of Conversation
When GTM shows up to planning armed with both views—the realistic bottoms-up and the aspirational tops-down—the tone changes. Finance doesn’t see defensiveness. They see leadership.
The goal isn’t to close the gap overnight. It’s to understand it deeply enough to make trade-offs with clarity.
That’s the foundation of a healthy planning process and the difference between a budget and a roadmap.
Closing thought:
Your AOP isn’t just a finance document—it’s a reflection of how your company makes decisions. Start with the gap, align around it, and you’ll end the year exactly where you planned to be: on the same side of the table.
