Field practice · Illustrative model · Short read

Sell first. Build from what closes.

Each phase has a gate, and nothing scales until that gate is passed. I keep carrying a number throughout, so the playbook stays honest because I'm still using it.

For a founder, that means the first seller is also building the motion. For a sales leader, it means the playbook comes from real deals rather than a slide.

Use this when: an early team needs its first repeatable sales motion and has to decide when to add headcount.

Three phases, three gates.

  1. Months 0–3

    Prove the deal

    • Run the full cycle myself: outbound, discovery, POC and close.
    • Pressure-test the ICP against real conversations, not the pitch deck.

    Gate: First closed deals, plus a repeatable first-meeting-to-opportunity rate.

  2. Months 3–9

    Make it repeatable

    • Turn what is working into a written playbook: discovery questions, objection handling and POC criteria.
    • Tighten the loop with product and marketing on what buyers actually ask for.

    Gate: A second person (rep, SE or founder) can run the playbook and get similar results.

  3. Months 9–12

    Scale what is proven

    • Hire or onboard against the playbook, with a ramp plan built from my own first 90 days.
    • Set pipeline coverage and forecast rhythm before adding headcount.

    Gate: Predictable pipeline and a ramp time the team can plan around.

Talk through your stage

The timeline flexes with the team, the market and how much pipeline already exists. I'm happy to walk through how the gates would apply to a specific company.

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