From what the board pack shows to what to fix.
Revenue numbers tell you a sales problem exists a quarter or two after it started. This page helps you see it earlier, find the likely cause, and agree a first step with the company.
Four steps. Three free tools. The company decides at each one.
Pick the place closest to where you are.
I have a growth thesis to test
See what must be true for it to happen, and what to ask management.
I want to know where the problem sits
Ask the company to take an eight minute assessment.
We know the problem and need it fixed
Start with a free hour on the company’s live deals.
Every growth thesis depends on the company selling in a way it may never have sold before.
Pick the thesis closest to yours. Each one names what must be true in sales for it to happen.
The base case happens after we invest
The pipeline is real, and the forecast rests on what buyers have agreed to.
Selling moves from the founder or a few people to a team
Deals close without the founder or the top seller in the room, and the way of winning is written down.
Conversion improves
Win rate stays steady or rises, and deals stop slipping from one quarter to the next.
The company moves upmarket
The team can sell a decision made by several people, and the forecast stays reliable as deals get bigger.
The company enters a new market
Early pipeline comes from the right buyers, and new sellers reach a first qualified deal in an agreed time.
The company grows by buying other companies
Acquired teams sell to one standard, cross-sell pipeline is visible, and one forecast covers the group.
The company is ready for the next round or exit
The revenue story stands up to a buyer’s or a new investor’s questions, and revenue doesn’t depend on one person.
Five stages of an investment, thirteen theses, and the leading indicators that show each one is happening.
Most sales problems show up at one of four stages.
The signs are visible in a board pack and one conversation. Any one sign can have several causes. Two or more together suggest the problem is how the company sells.
Interest. Not enough of the right buyers are interested
Coverage below plan. Few first conversations with the buyers the company wants.
“Where do our first conversations come from, and how many are with the buyers we want?”
Intent. Interest doesn’t turn into a real opportunity
First meetings go nowhere. Deals stall part way. Each deal rests on one contact.
“Who else at the buyer has to agree, and have we met them?”
Commitment. Evaluations don’t turn into signed deals
Deals slip from one quarter to the next. More losses to “no decision” than to competitors. Late discounting.
“For our three biggest deals, what has the buyer agreed to do next, and by when?”
Value. Customers don’t stay or grow
Net revenue retention under 100%. Renewals that surprise.
“Which customers are at risk this year, and how early do we find out?”
Ask the company to take the Growth Score.
The founder, chief executive or sales leader answers 38 questions in about eight minutes. The result shows the stage where the problem appears, the likely cause underneath it, and three first actions. It is free and needs no sign-in.
Creating interest, turning it into intent, winning commitment, and keeping and growing value.
Product, people, process and repeatability.
You see what moved, including what got worse.
The score is the company’s own account. It opens the conversation. It doesn’t replace evidence from live deals, and it shouldn’t be the only basis for an investment decision.
Two ways for the company to act on it.
The company does it itself
Enable Yourself takes the team from the symptom to possible causes, tests each one on their own deals, and gives an action to try. Free tools and guides.
We do it with them
A free 60 minute Revenue Workshop on live deals with a senior operator. The company gets the likely limitation, the evidence behind it and the right next step.
If more is needed, the company chooses it: 5 Days to Scale, Strategic Sales Enablement, MEDDPICC Competence Training, Live Deal Coaching or Playbooks.
Six ideas that explain most of what you see in a sales forecast.
- A B2B purchase is a group decision.Several people have to agree, and one of them signs. A deal that rests on a single contact is fragile.
- Buyers change when the problem costs more than the fix.If the buyer can’t say what the problem costs them, “do nothing” usually wins.
- A stage should mean the buyer did something.A deal moves forward when the buyer takes a step, not when the seller sends a proposal.
- A forecast is a set of judgements.It is only as good as the evidence behind each deal. Slippage is the first sign that the evidence is thin.
- What wins is often in one person’s head.Often the founder’s or the top seller’s. Until it is written down and taught, new sellers can’t repeat it.
- Behaviour changes before results do.Revenue shows what happened. How the team qualifies, runs calls and inspects deals shows what will happen.
Questions
Do you work with venture capital and private equity?
Both. The steps are the same. The language differs: a milestone plan or a value creation plan, the next round or the exit.
Who pays?
The portfolio company, for any paid work. The lifecycle matrix, the Growth Score, Enable Yourself and the Revenue Workshop are free.
Does the company have to share its data with us?
No. The company decides what is shared with its investor.
Is the Growth Score used to select investments?
Not on its own. It is a self-reported starting point. Before a deal, pair it with evidence from live deals.
What if the company already has a sales leader?
We work with them. A new leader is often the best sponsor, because they need a baseline they can trust.
The company decides, and sees the findings first.
- You spot the signs and make the introduction.
- The company chooses whether to go ahead, and owns what we find.
- You see a summary the company has agreed to share, with the indicators to watch at the next board.