- Cynthia Watson
- Executive Chair at Virtira
Fast-moving teams rarely think of asset development as a bottleneck – until it becomes one. Strategies are approved. Programs are launched. Events are scheduled. Stakeholders align.
And then everything slows down.
Not because the work isn’t important.
Not because people aren’t trying.
But because the assets teams needs simply aren’t ready.
Decks are outdated. One-pagers are half-finished. PDFs are waiting on input.
No one is quite sure who owns the process – or when it will be done.
Across sales, marketing, partner, and operations teams, we see the same pattern again and again: asset development quietly becomes the constraint that stalls execution.
Most teams plan carefully for strategy, messaging, and timelines. Far fewer plan for the ongoing work required to develop and maintain assets.
In fast-moving environments, assets aren’t one-and-done. They evolve constantly:
Yet asset ownership often lives in a gray area – spread across already-busy team members or treated as “extra” work squeezed in between meetings.
This mirrors what we often see in project execution and coordination, where strong plans exist, but no one is accountable for the details that keep work moving.
From our work supporting sales, partner, and GTM enablement, asset development stalls for a few consistent reasons:
What looks like a “small task” becomes a blocker for meetings, launches, partner conversations, and sales activity.
When assets lag behind execution, the impact shows up fast:
We see this most clearly during launches and events, where launch, event, and campaign management depends heavily on having the right materials ready at the right time.
Ironically, the faster a team moves, the more painful asset gaps become.
High-performing teams are constantly adjusting – refining programs, responding to feedback, and reacting to market changes. That agility depends on having current, accurate materials available when needed.
When asset development can’t keep pace, execution slows to the speed of the slowest deliverable – regardless of how strong the strategy is.
Teams that move fastest treat asset development as part of execution — not an afterthought.
That means:
This same mindset underpins strong operational alignment and team efficiency, reducing friction across the business.
Virtira combines project coordination with hands-on asset development.
We don’t just track timelines – we help prepare the decks, summaries, and documents teams need to communicate progress, support partners, and execute programs. Because we’re already coordinating the work, asset development happens in context – not as a disconnected task.
This approach shows up across our Sales, Partner & GTM Enablement work, our Launch, Event & Campaign Management engagements, and our ongoing Project Execution & Coordination support.
Clients tell us this is often the biggest unlock:
Most importantly, work keeps moving.
Asset development isn’t “just design work.”
It’s execution infrastructure.
When teams lack the time, ownership, or capacity to build and maintain the materials they need, progress slows – no matter how strong the strategy is.
Fast-moving teams don’t just need plans. They need the assets that make those plans executable.
Q1. What is asset/collateral development in a GTM context?
Asset development includes creating and maintaining decks, one-pagers, PDFs, and documents teams need to execute sales, partner, and marketing programs.
Q2. Why does asset development slow teams down?
Because ownership is often unclear and the people responsible are already overloaded, leading to delays and inconsistencies.
Q3. How is asset development different from creative work?
Asset development focuses on practical, execution-focused materials – not branding, campaigns, or creative concepts.
Q4. How can teams avoid collateral-related bottlenecks?
By assigning clear ownership, coordinating updates, and treating asset development as part of execution – not an afterthought.
