Notes from inside the deals
Short, direct notes on founder-led sales, power mapping, forecasting and enterprise buying. Posted when there’s something worth saying.
A Valley founder's first enterprise deal
What the first enterprise deal looks like for a Greater Phoenix founder, and what changes when your startup sales leader in Phoenix can sit in the deal review.
11 October 2026 · 10 min
Your VP of Sales didn't work out. Now what?
Your VP of Sales didn't work out. Here is why it usually wasn't the person, what to do in the first two weeks, and the two moves that make it worse.
8 October 2026 · 9 min
Your first sales hire: a leader or a rep?
Should your first sales hire be a leader or a rep? Usually neither, yet. The answer depends on whether a motion exists, and most founders hire before it does.
5 October 2026 · 10 min
Getting out of founder-led sales without losing the deals
Transitioning away from founder-led sales fails when the founder hands deals to a VP before a motion exists. Here is the sequence that keeps the deals.
2 October 2026 · 10 min
What drives the cost of a fractional VP of Sales
How much does a fractional VP of Sales cost? Days per week, whether the leader is in your deals, and how it ends set the number. Here is what moves it.
29 September 2026 · 9 min
Does a fractional VP of Sales actually work?
Is a fractional VP of Sales worth it? Jason Lemkin says almost never. Here is when he is right, when he is wrong, and five questions to tell which one you are.
26 September 2026 · 11 min
When do you need a VP of Sales?
When do you need a VP of Sales? Not full-time yet, but sooner than you think. The deal signals, your three options, and when to hire a fractional VP of Sales.
24 September 2026 · 9 min
What a fractional VP of Sales actually does
What does a fractional VP of Sales do? He runs your sales function part-time, inside live deals, and builds the motion so you can stop being the one who sells.
23 September 2026 · 11 min
I have launched Fractional Sales Experts
I work as a fractional VP of Sales or advisor, and take on special projects, helping founders and CEOs sell into the enterprise without being the sales department.
16 September 2026 · 3 min
When the founder should show up — and what the fractional VP is doing
Founder and fractional VP of Sales as partners in a complex enterprise deal: three stages that need the founder, three that only feel like they do.
8 September 2026 · 7 min
You need a senior sales partner
Advisor, fractional VP of Sales or a special project — the question founders ask first, and why the answer is the work, not the title.
27 August 2026 · 5 min
Why enterprise deals stall after the demo
If a deal dies after the demo, it is rarely because the demo was bad. It is because you never mapped who can actually say yes.
18 August 2026 · 4 min
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