by Peter A. Arthur-Smith, Leadership Solutions, Inc.®

“Did you want your venture be a rocket-ship or a WWII lumbering Flying Fortress?”

Anticipation was brewing rapidly within SalesSMART’s Strategist team as it got closer to their venture’s launch date. Alex shared a valuable Strategic/Operational Streaming model – see adjacent – with Susan, as a means of allowing her to picture their venture’s way forward. Clearly their operational mode would be front and center for much of the next twelve months, as their venture aimed to build momentum, morph into a critical mass, and reach a breakeven point before its first year in operation. To succeed it would necessitate finding the right balance between “today” and “tomorrow” perspectives.

So many start-ups find themselves trapped into focusing solely on “today” at the expense of greasing the wheels of “tomorrow’s” possibilities; where they should be pinpointing growth and resource needs, and identifying forthcoming challenges. It’s like setting-out on a long road trip without giving thought to the travel time, logistics involved, potential hazards, weather conditions, required finance, and envisioning the most viable route – many families travel without such thoughts. Could this lack of foresight be a major reason why so many start-ups fail or why many family trips fall flat?

Alex and Susan talked through some of the market positioning, innovation, resource, operational, sales and people issues anticipated over the next 3, 6 and 12 months; in advance of their forthcoming Strategist session. In particular, they speculated about the intense leadership laser-focus required to stimulate everything toward a critical operating mass and breakeven point. That breakeven point would include funding minimal remun-eration levels to draw Strategists into full-time SalesSMART activities, based upon revenues generated. Until that time, they would be rewarded with any sales commissions they generate, as well as commissions for their independent advisor teams. All eyes would be on Mark, Provisionist, to guide them through this situation and contain other expenditures wherever possible.

It was a short window between Susan and Alex’s preliminary Phase 5 discussions and meeting with their Strategist team on a Saturday morning once more. Susan walked the team through their proposed Strategic-Operational Streaming model, answered a number of questions, encouraged sensible debate, and made initial adjustments around member suggestions. At some point, Susan recommended that they break-off into two threesomes to talk through various implications…again as a way of building buy-in to any final decisions. Alex and Susan circulated between each threesome to make suggestions and answer further questions.

Once everyone re-gathered and compared notes, the following outline was agreed:

» Next 3 months – 80%TODAY and 20% TOMORROW- Operational-Execute Focus:

– Organize an early In-Team Discovery session for Strategists, orchestrated by Jeff, Promotionist, and Julia, Operationist, to learn all about SalesSMART Advisors’ operating-coaching modes. It will include

practical sessions until Strategist pairs feel proficient enough to work with customer “newbie” sales-people. (NOTE: Susan to add extra practical insights, based upon her several successful coaching assignments with customer “newbie” salespeople. In fact, they wanted Susan to also act as overall quality review leader through practical appraisal sessions with each Strategist pair.)

– Strategist pairs to initially focus on attracting and servicing likely customers in accord with Constituent Map devised within Phase 4.

– Once comfortable with their own customer advisory activities, they should initially recruit up to three pairs of independent advisors. Pairing aids focus, development and success. Any recruitment efforts to be orchestrated by Sheila, Humanist, and Mark, Provisionist; leaving each Strategist pair to interview their most likely candidates: Susan to meet any finalists for quality and leadership purposes. (NOTE: Hiring the right people, even independents, is still SalesSMART’s most crucial activity to aid success.)

– Once aboard, newly hired Advisors are to be exposed to In-Team Discovery sessions, in reasonable class sizes, to also encourage strong cultural bonds. Successes by Strategist and Advisor “pairs” are to be celebrated as often as possible within appropriate group settings to stimulate commitment.

– Commissions to be paid as punctually as possible to both Strategist and Advisor pairs; based upon customers being satisfied and meeting their invoices punctually – this happens when they’re satisfied.

» Next 3-6 month Point – TODAY-TOMORROW (60-40%) – Prepare-Position Mode:

  – Review all market-positioning and innovation activities and make adjustments to sustain market edge.

– Add additional Advisor pairings where appropriate until each Strategist pair has six advisor pairs.

– Continue with two-weekly In-Team Discovery sessions, where Advisors to gather according to their “newbie,” PROFICIENT, or EXPERT advisor levels. Selected expert advisors can then be earmarked as potential future advisor team leaders; to be given extra leader oriented assignments where appropriate.

– Careful monitoring of resource utilization by Mark as SalesSMART works toward its breakeven point.

– Aim to reach a critical people-mass that can support an eventual breakeven, self-sufficient venture.

» Next 6-12 mth Point – TODAY-TOMORROW (50-50%) – Thinking About-Strategic Mode:

– Sustain Advisor competence and momentum through regular two-weekly sessions.

– Strategist pairs to commence handing over customers to their most competent Advisor pairs, to incre- asingly release them to devote more time to their strategic roles and prepare for further expansion.

– Reach breakeven point through adding more customers; with advisors becoming even more competent.

– Strategists to have 1-3 year strategy in place to grow and expand to new geographic areas with suffi-cient revenue margins and profits to support that expansion.

– In-Team Discovery to remain as an Advisor competence and cultural builders

– Strategist team to commence own In-Team Discovery activities to enhance its leadership capabilities.

(NOTE: A. Continuous cycles act like a constant flowing rivers – note chart background image; not stop-start modes as per traditional organizations. It allows for leadership momentum building, rather than management braking. B. The above three modes are pursued simultaneously but discretely on a weekly-monthly basis; where EXECUTE= 75% of time, PREPARE-POSITION= 20% and THINKING ABOUT= 5%.) 

Once this was all articulated and in place SalesSMART Advisors Strategist team was now ready for launch the moment all legal requirements were fulfilled. A special celebration lunch occurred to meet the occasion.