Mark is a change agent. If (and when) Mark is available next, I would run that playbook every single time.

Problem:  

The Investment thesis and Enterprise valuation from the last funding round isn't tying out to the Forecast from the CRO and CFO. The Board is pressuring the CEO for answers to the growth equation, and the Investment Committee (IC) won't continue to invest without an updated Plan. 

Solution:  

Cadence conducted a Growth Audit to root cause where the demand and/or productivity leaks are coming from. From Market TAM all the way down to Sales Coverage and Compensation, and all the levers in between. The Board brought the deliverable to the IC to show evidence of a clear plan ("a path with the math") to get growth back on track. It also helped identify actions that will be required for "sell-side" diligence before going to market for the next round of investors, helping to bump up the valuation multiple instead of hoping the sell-side bankers can work a late clean up job for the data room and CIM.

Problem:  

The CRO recently left and there's a leadership vacuum to guide the troops. Your CEO is buried and can't pick up the span of control. More than just someone to run the Forecast call, you need a leader that will stabilize the ship, while you recruit the right leader to keep the Plan on track.

Solution:  

Brought on Cadence for an Interim CRO leader over 4 months. This decision gave the CEO over a full quarter to keep the trains running on time, while getting an "in flight" growth assessment to root cause a punch list of things for the future CRO to address. By tackling the problem with the math behind rep capacity and productivity, we had clarity on what sales investment was required, and could complement it with the marketing (demand gen) investment to support the top-of-the-funnel. It was like gift-wrapping a  present to the future CRO, AND giving us a way to reduce execution risk for our IC

Problem:  

The CEO and her team hit the year 1 targets, but it's clear the systems and reporting are draining the team's productivity adding risk to the 5-year plan. It's too soon to invest in full-time RevOps over more sales reps, and risk building processes that aren't stage appropriate for our investment.

Solution:  

Cadence complemented the existing CRO and CMO with a RevOps strategy and interim RevOps team that could lead change and also "turn wrenches" inside of their CRM tech stack. Starting with the TAM, ICP and Persona, the team built out a account segmentation that fed both the sales coverage and the ABM program. The segmentation work was also used to operationalize target lists and quota, and provide best-in-class comp plans and commission statements so reps could see their progress during the year to trust they would get paid.