Revenue Operating Partner and Fractional CRO, Austin, Texas

Build the revenue organization that can deliver the growth plan

Clear Direction helps founder-led and investor-backed B2B companies when the growth plan has outgrown the way revenue is led, managed and executed.

Discuss your growth plan See how we work

For established B2B companies with roughly $15M to $75M in revenue, founder-led or investor-backed, across North America. Selected founder-led businesses from about $5M also fit.

Who we work with

Two kinds of companies call, for two different reasons

Engineer working on a production line at an industrial company

Founder-led companies

The business has grown, but the founder still carries key relationships, rescues deals or acts as the sales leader

CEOs and owners of established B2B companies, often in manufacturing, industrial and commercial services. They call after missed growth expectations, a leadership change or a market expansion the current sales organization cannot carry.

We determine what is constraining performance, establish what needs to change and build the commercial capability the team can execute without the founder in every deal.

How embedded leadership works

$15M to $75M: Revenue of the companies we work with
28+ years: Of commercial leadership behind the work

Executive in a suit at an investment firm

Investor-backed companies

The growth plan, leadership transition or investment thesis requires commercial capabilities the company does not yet have

Private equity firms, family offices, portfolio-company boards and M&A advisors with a value-creation plan that depends on revenue: post-acquisition priorities, a first 100 days or preparation for an eventual exit.

We build the revenue organization and the executive-level reporting the board can trust, and develop the internal ownership that outlasts the engagement.

Start with the Trailhead diagnostic

30 days: Objective diagnostic of the revenue organization
100 days: Execution plan the next leader can inherit

The problems we address

When the growth plan has outgrown the way revenue is led, managed and executed

Typical reasons to engage include missed growth expectations, leadership changes, post-acquisition priorities, market expansion and preparation for an eventual exit.

Clear Direction works with the CEO and management team to determine what is constraining performance, establish what needs to change and build the commercial capability required to execute.

Discuss your growth plan

Typical signals

Revenue depends on too few people

The CEO, a few sellers, a handful of relationships or accounts carry the number.

Pipeline and forecasts are hard to trust

The board and the bank get a number; nobody is sure it will land.

Sales practices vary by person

Each seller works their own way. Results depend on who is on the deal.

Structure has not kept pace

Roles, compensation, CRM and management routines were built for a smaller company.

Leadership needs a clearer view

What must change, in what order, and someone capable of helping execute it.

How we work

Establish the facts. Determine the priorities. Build what is missing. Lead the implementation.

John works with the CEO and management team to determine what is constraining performance, establish what needs to change and build the commercial capability required to execute. Specialized resources are brought in where needed, with John leading the commercial engagement.

Establish the facts

What is actually constraining performance: market, pipeline, people, process or management routines.

Determine the priorities

What needs to change first, what can wait, and what the growth plan cannot do without.

Build what is missing

Organization design, hiring and development, sales process, CRM requirements, forecasting, compensation and cadence.

Lead implementation

Put the agreed plan into operation and develop the internal ownership that outlasts the engagement.

Three ways to engage

Depending on the need

The work can include market and channel strategy, organization design, hiring and development, sales process, CRM requirements, forecasting, compensation, management cadence and sales-to-operations handoffs.

Advise leadership

Executive-level guidance on revenue decisions, priorities and accountability.

Build alongside the team

Design and install the commercial capability with the people who will run it.

Serve as embedded Revenue Operating Partner and Fractional CRO

Lead the revenue organization through scale, transition or exit preparation.

Case studies

What changed inside two companies

All case studies

Food serviceTexas

Texas Food Service Company

A Texas-based food service company with over 50 years of success recognized it needed outside expertise to address growing gaps in sales infrastructure and revenue. Sales leadership had been managed directly by the President, a model that was no longer sustainable for future growth.

Back to pre-Covid revenue in 2022, double-digit growth in 2023, accounts added in all five major cities.

Sales infrastructureSales team rebuildFounder-led

Read the case study

ManufacturingNorth Carolina

North Carolina Manufacturer

A change in ownership and a realization that they needed an experienced sales and business leader. The company was operating from transaction to transaction without a strategy or plan.

Pipeline grew 5X in six months, gross margin rose 7 points, and the owners completed the exit they wanted.

Sales strategyExit preparationOwnership transition

Read the case study

Client results

Trusted by clients who have seen real results

We engaged John Spencer as our Outsourced VP of Sales a month prior to the pandemic. We maintained key accounts, retained our top sellers, and prepared for 2021. By Q1 of 2021 we were recruiting and growing again. The sales infrastructure like the weekly sales meetings, KPIs and CRM kept the Sales team focused and looking forward. John became part of our senior staff and contributed to all elements of the company given his broad experience. I recommend companies consider a Fractional or Outsourced Sales leader as the next logical step to advance the sales vertical, prior to hiring full-time.

Paul Brown

President, Mcliff, Family Office

Why John Spencer

A builder and an operator

Founder, Clear Direction

John Spencer’s background includes more than 10 years as a U.S. Air Force officer and more than 28 years in commercial leadership across major corporations, family-owned businesses and investor-backed companies.

That experience combines the discipline of larger organizations with direct experience working alongside owners and management teams in smaller businesses. He preserves what works, challenges what needs to change and helps put the agreed plan into operation.

John works inside the business: with the CEO and management team, leading the sales organization, installing process and aligning leadership around measurable performance. Companies engage him when forecasts lack credibility, sales performance is inconsistent, or growth is constrained by founder dependence.

The result is a revenue organization that can assess its situation honestly, work as one team and deliver the growth plan.

More about Clear Direction

ACG Austin San AntonioPresident
Powered by Sales XcelerationAdvisor
ProVisorsGroup Leader
redM AustinPresident

Engagement options · the Revenue Ascent framework

Companies enter at the level their situation requires

Advise, diagnose, design, build, lead. Each step builds on the one before it. Most companies start with advisory support or a diagnostic and go only as far as the business needs.

Leadership team in a boardroom conversation

Step 01 · Initial Ascent

Advise

Revenue Advisory

Executive-level guidance for leaders who need better revenue decisions, sharper priorities and consistent accountability, but do not need an embedded executive.

Revenue priorities and decision support
Pipeline and forecast review
Business-development accountability
Targeted coaching and capability development

Clearer priorities. Better revenue decisions.

Learn more

Step 02 · Trailhead

Diagnose

Revenue Diagnostic

Establish the facts. Determine what is actually constraining revenue performance before committing to a larger solution.

Revenue strategy and market focus
Pipeline quality and forecast credibility
Sales process and qualification
Leadership, roles and accountability
Founder or key-person dependence
Team capability and readiness

Leave with clarity, not guesswork.

Learn more

Step 03 · Base Camp

Design

Revenue Operating System

Define what needs to change: the market focus, organization, roles and operating rules the next stage requires.

Market and channel strategy
Ideal customer profile and segmentation
Organization design, roles and compensation
Sales process, pipeline stages and qualification criteria
CRM requirements and forecasting method

A revenue organization designed for the growth plan, not for the org chart.

Learn more

Working session installing the new routines

Step 04 · Base Camp

Build

Revenue Operating System

Install what is missing alongside the team: the structure, routines and tools that make growth repeatable.

CRM structure and operating discipline
KPI scorecards and forecasting
Hiring profiles, onboarding and development
Management cadence and sales-to-operations handoffs
A defined 90-day execution roadmap

A visible, repeatable system leadership can manage and sales can execute.

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Step 05 · Summit Push

Lead

Revenue Operating Partner and Fractional CRO

Embedded executive leadership when revenue performance is a strategic risk or a critical part of the value-creation plan.

Commercial leadership through scale, transition or exit preparation
Hiring, coaching and team development
Sales-team performance and accountability
First-100-day or transformation execution
Internal ownership that outlasts the engagement

Senior revenue leadership without the commitment of a full-time CRO.

Learn more

Certifications and partners

Certified in the methodologies behind the work

Ready to discuss your growth plan? Start with a 30-minute conversation.

Tell John where revenue stands today and what the plan requires. You will leave the call knowing whether advisory support, a diagnostic, a build or embedded leadership is the right next step.

Discuss your growth plan Send a message