---
id: "prereq-sales-lifecycle"
type: "prerequisite"
source_timestamps: ["§ Designing Digital for Different Go-to-Market Models", "§ Strategy shifts"]
tags: ["b2b-sales", "customer-success"]
related: ["concept-relationship-led-gtm"]
reason: "Required to grasp the complexity of relationship-led models and how strategy shifts alter human responsibilities."
sources: ["attention"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-attention"
originDay: 4
articleStem: "hbr-new-31-tailor-digital-strategy-customer"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/06/tailor-your-digital-strategy-to-reach-every-customer"
sourceTitle: "Tailor Your Digital Strategy to Reach Every Customer"
---
# Familiarity with B2B Sales Roles and Lifecycle

The source references specific roles — **Account Executives (AEs)**, **Technology Strategists**, **Customer Success Managers (CSMs)**, **Inside Sales** — and lifecycle stages (initial deal closing vs. ongoing usage/expansion in subscription models) **without defining them**.

**Why it's required:** Needed to grasp the complexity of [[concept-relationship-led-gtm]] (many humans on one account) and how **strategy shifts** ([[framework-adaptation-triggers]]) alter who is responsible for customer value across the lifecycle.