From top BDM to the Sales Leader
the team needed. In 90 days.
A strong performer. A brand new role.
An Australian SaaS business. $6M revenue. 30 staff. A 5-person sales team.
The founder had sold the business to a larger organisation. A new CEO was installed. The leadership team changed. The structure changed. The expectations changed.
In the middle of that transition, one of the company’s strongest BDMs was promoted to Sales Head. They’d earned it. They knew the product, knew the customers, and had a track record of closing.
But the role they’d been promoted into was a different job to the one they’d just left.
Not a talent problem. A leadership gap.
They weren’t struggling because they lacked talent. They were struggling because no one had ever taught them how to lead.
They were now expected to drive strategic conversations with a new CEO who wanted answers, not activity. Present to a board that spoke in numbers, not stories. Design monthly and quarterly sales performance reports. Coach a team. Manage performance. Hold people accountable.
All while still carrying their own sales target.
They were working harder than ever, and leading less effectively than they wanted to. The team felt it. The executives noticed. They knew it themselves. And in a business going through restructure, there was no time to figure it out on the job. They had 90 days to grow into the role.
We didn’t coach them on sales. We coached them on how to lead.
Over 90 days, we worked with them one-on-one to rebuild the way they operated:
- Strategic thinking. Shifted from doing the work to designing the plan, building a clear sales strategy they could own, articulate, and defend.
- Board and executive communication. Rebuilt the way they presented upwards, numbers first, insight not activity, confidence not apology. They learnt to speak the language of the new CEO and board.
- Reporting and rhythm. Designed monthly and quarterly sales reports they could run, not just produce. Performance conversations became evidence-based, not opinion-based.
- Team leadership. Worked on how to coach the team, set expectations, hold accountability, and have the hard conversations they’d been avoiding.
- Managing their own load. Restructured the week so they could lead the team and still hit their individual target, without burning out.
- The mindset shift. Moving from being the best performer in the room to being the leader the room needed.
In 90 days, they stopped reacting and started leading.
The best sales performers don’t always become the best sales leaders. Not because they lack the ability, but because no one ever taught them how. Strong performers stall at the next level when they’re expected to lead without the structure, language, or coaching to do it.
That gap doesn’t close on its own. But with the right coaching and mentorship, it doesn’t take years to close either. It takes 90 days.
If you’ve recently stepped into a sales leadership role, or you’ve promoted someone into one and want them to succeed, let’s have a 30-minute conversation. No pitch. Just a clear read on where the gap is, and what it would take to close it.
Book a 30-minute Leadership Diagnostic ,Testimonials
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