Only about 1-2% of companies transact in any given year naturally. Armed with the right strategy, Razorhorse helps our clients activate and accelerate deals.
TAM, SAM, and SOM are essential marketing strategy terms, and their application is critical for successful M&A strategy. At Razorhorse, we utilize these terms as a foundational framework, providing a clear, shared language that enables companies to formulate superior M&A strategies. This common understanding ensures that all stakeholders from the board to the executive team to operational leads can effectively communicate and align on complex market and acquisition concepts.
TAM: The Conceptual Universe
TAM, or Total Addressable Market, is not a list—it’s a concept. For Razorhorse, TAM represents every company in the world that fits the product or service definition we’re exploring, without regard to geography, size, ownership, or current financial status.
In data platforms like Grata, the TAM might appear as every company surfaced by a product or keyword search before applying filters. That raw universe is intentionally broad. It includes false positives, edge cases, and irrelevant results.
The point of TAM is conceptual clarity. It helps us understand the full theoretical boundary of a market before we start refining it. Every narrowing step we take from there, by geography, size, or ownership, must be understood relative to this starting universe.
TAM reminds us of the scale of the opportunity we’re working within, even if most of that universe is never actionable.
SAM: The Market That Matters
The Serviceable Addressable Market (SAM) is where we move from theory to practice. It is the foundation for outreach, pipeline modeling, and competitive analysis.
The SAM represents the set of companies that most closely align with a client’s investment parameters: geography, product capabilities, vertical focus, ideal customer profile, financial characteristics, and business model to name a handful.
Importantly, the SAM includes visibility into companies that are no longer actionable. By highlighting companies that have already been acquired or have raised substantial capital, we strengthen our understanding of competitive dynamics, valuation trends, and acquirer behavior over time.
SOM: The Actionable Reality
Razorhorse helps our clients unlock deals, expanding the SOM. Conceptually, we think of it as increasing the Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM) from the typical 1-2% of the Serviceable Available Market (SAM) to a target of 2-5% of the SAM.
Client Actionable SAM × (2–5% annual transaction rate) × (% of targets that meet the client’s KPIs)
This framework helps calibrate expectations. A market might contain hundreds of relevant companies, but only a small subset will transact each year. An even smaller fraction will align with the buyer’s specific investment thesis, financial thresholds, or integration logic.
Quantifying the SOM is the foundation for building the ‘right to win,’ transforming theoretical opportunity into actionable focus. It allows our teams and clients to develop winning strategies by focusing time on the right targets, bidding appropriately, and highlighting what makes them the best home for a seller. By allocating resources to the best opportunities, we activate more deals and win more than our fair share.
Why It Matters
Using TAM, SAM, and SOM consistently allows Razorhorse to speak a common analytical language across the firm.
- TAM defines the outer boundary of what’s possible.
- SAM defines the relevant set of opportunities.
- SOM defines what’s actually obtainable.
Together, they form the backbone of our market mapping and sourcing process. They help us structure thinking, align teams, and communicate clearly with clients and sponsors.
This framework moves M&A strategy from aspiration to execution.