01Strategy
Where to play and how to win
- The ideal site, drawn from the customers that worked
- The return story as a template for every customer
- Which deals to pilot and which to sell outright
Industrial software, 40 to 60 people, founder-led sales
One great case study, five quiet ones
One customer proved the return. The next five need the same proof, faster.
An example drawn from companies at this stage, not a client story.
The situation
Founder-run pilots make great stories and a hard ceiling. Only a few run well at once.
You might recognize it
- One published case study carries the whole pitch.
- Every deal starts with a pilot the founders run.
- Customer success is becoming its own team for the first time.
The number to watch
Repeat rate
It shows whether the first result repeats. The next round depends on it.
How we would run it, end to end
02Design
The operating system behind the number
- A pilot playbook: success criteria, a timeline and a decision date
- Customer success from kickoff to renewal
- A return calculator buyers can run themselves
03Execution
Run it, measure it, keep what works
- Weekly pilot status, prepared before the founders ask
- A case study for every customer that reaches the bar
- Outreach to sites that look like the best customers
- The Monday brief: pilots by stage, return by customer and next closes
The first 90 days
Weeks 1 to 2
Every live customer interviewed. The return measured the same way everywhere.
Weeks 3 to 6
The pilot playbook and calculator live. Two case studies drafted.
Weeks 7 to 12
Pilots tracked weekly. Outreach to look-alike sites running.
What Monday looks like
SampleMonday briefWeek 8
The number: Repeat rate
What moved
- Four pilots running, two ahead of plan. Both have a named owner on the customer side.
- Customer 3 reached the return bar. Their case study is with them for review.
This week
Hold the decision meeting for pilot 5 on Thursday.
What you keep
A pilot playbook, a return calculator and case studies that keep coming.
Functions it touches
More like this
- More new reps than the team can rampA wave of account executives lands this year. Nobody yet owns ramp, coaching and forecast.
- New sellers, no marketing behind themThe round funded new sellers. Nobody is building the pipeline they will need.
- Every acquired business on one playbookEach acquisition arrives with its own systems and habits. There is no time to change them.
Sound familiar? Tell us what's stuck and we'll bring what we found.