Lessons on how we grew revenue from $2M to $25M in 2 years
Many CEOs, Founders & Leaders are yet to make the connection between leadership development, alignment of vision, culture & values, and revenue growth.
Below are learnings and proven strategies for success. These same principles apply to large enterprises, SMBs, and startups.
The case study below was was a startup, within a startup of a medium-sized business, with no clear strategy, team alignment, vision, or direction.
*Note, once you downplay any of the below, your business starts to fail!
- Revenue Growth:
- Intentional alignment between Sales, Business development, CSM, finance, legal, recruitment, product, and marketing
- Robust GTM strategy with clarity of What, When, Why, How, and the dependencies
- Intense coaching on the HOW of sales execution
- Sales leadership from the front and back
- Intentional plan to reduce ramp time, increase average deal size, increase close rate, increase lead velocity, increase pipeline generation
- Data-driven execution to drive activities against leading and lagging measures
2. Leadership Development:
- Intentional hiring of diverse, best-in-class sales talent and leaders who had strengths that were different from mine.
- Intentional actions and behaviors to drive inclusion and belonging, leveraging our uniqueness for outstanding outcomes.
- We planted a revenue flag together (co-created) at the leadership & team level, executed it together, and celebrated milestones.
- Clear communication & reinforcement of the group’s joint and individual goals and responsibilities
- Prioritised leadership competency coaching & career development.
- Strategic and tactical execution & skills development
- Focused coaching on mastering the sales process & inputs v.s outputs
- An environment of fun, recognition, psychological safety, feedback, and a flat hierarchy where everyone’s opinion mattered to the joint goal.
3. Vision, Culture & Values
- Collectively clarified business and leadership vision & values
- Hiring in line with the values and culture we wanted to establish
- Engaged the team and showed up daily demonstrating the values and culture we represent
- Clarity on what our culture and value is and isn’t
- Facilitated connection to a purpose bigger than self and constant reinforcement of why everyone and their daily work matters to the overall success
- Prioritisation of people’s emotional, mental, spiritual, and physical well-being over all else
Results:
- 660% growth and consistent overachievement quarter in quarter out
- The highest number of president club winners and goal attaintment globally
- Tripled upsell, adoption, and NPS scores
- Engaged team with the highest engagement rates in the region
- Low attrition, a committed vs. compliant team
- The exemplary team constantly shipping best practices globally
Once the ball is dropped on any of the above, the business and people start to struggle.
The graph that once went to the right starts to go left, and people (employees & customers) start to exit the business, revenue & customers decline.
The secret sauce is a fine balance of strategic, tactical, people-centric leadership, coach leaders, and strong execution with culture & values at the core.
Contact Lead Not Lag to help accelerate your Revenue Growth, Leadership Development and hone in on Vision, Culture & Values.
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*I can also help you as a startup coach, startup advisor, gtm consultant, monetisation, company culture, revenue growth, leadership coach, leadership workshop and more. Contact abi@leadnotlag.com
