Key point
When a technically strong business fails to convert market opportunity into order intake, I do not begin with activity. I examine whether leadership has created a clear playing field: target customers, value proposition, decision rights, pipeline truth and disciplined follow-through.
Five signals that the market is not the main problem
- The pipeline looks substantial, but customer decisions, ownership and close logic remain vague.
- Sales, engineering and operations tell the customer different stories.
- Too many proposals compete without priority by strategic value and probability.
- Management reviews activity and forecast, but rarely obstacles, decisions and learning.
- Success depends on individuals; there is no repeatable commercial rhythm.
I start with the leadership system, not sales training
Technical B2B companies are often strongest in product knowledge, project delivery or engineering. That strength can obscure a simple fact: customers do not buy a catalogue of capabilities. They buy a dependable answer to a risk, constraint or result they care about.
I therefore clarify which customer problems the business wants to own, which accounts matter most and which promises the organisation can deliver reliably. Only then is it worth optimising prospecting, conversations or tools.
Pipeline truth is a leadership responsibility
A pipeline is not a wish list. Every material opportunity needs a specific customer outcome, access to a decision-maker, a dated next step, a credible close assumption and one accountable owner. If one element is missing, I reassess the opportunity.
The reset can feel uncomfortable because apparent volume disappears. It creates the basis for better resource choices: engineering, estimating and management focus on opportunities that can genuinely move.
- A small number of target accounts
- Qualified opportunities rather than cosmetic pipeline
- Decisions and obstacles rather than activity reports
- Binding next steps rather than general intent
The cadence must connect sales and delivery
I establish a short recurring cadence: What changed at the customer? Which internal decision is missing? What threatens value, margin or delivery? Who resolves it by when? The sales meeting becomes a decision forum rather than a reporting ritual.
I bring engineering and operations into material opportunities early enough. Not every technical question belongs with the executive team, but every promise that changes capacity, risk or margin must be visible before it reaches the customer.
What I change in an interim mandate
I do not take over to remain the best salesperson in the room. I build a system in which the organisation makes better commercial decisions: focused accounts, a clear story, realistic pipeline criteria, explicit accountability and a shared cadence across sales and operations.
I measure success not only by near-term order intake. I also look for faster leadership decisions, earlier escalation of bad news and customer promises that the business can deliver with quality and margin.
Questions for owners, boards and management
The three questions I would start with
- 01Which five customer problems should generate most of our new business over the next twelve months?
- 02For which ten opportunities do we genuinely know the decision-maker, decision process and next customer step?
- 03Which internal leadership decisions constrain order intake more than the market itself?