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Winning Every Stage: A Sales Framework for Sustainable Revenue Success
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To connect with Paul Wilson go to: [email protected]
https://www.massivegrowthpartners.com/
Winning Every Stage: A Sales Framework for Sustainable Revenue Success
“You can't scale a business if the CEO is involved in every new business pitch. Transitioning from founder led sales to a team driven approach is essential for sustainable growth. It's not just about delegating.
It's about empowering your team, showcasing their expertise and building trust with prospects. When a client sees a collaborative team approach, they feel confident they're hiring a company, not just a single leader.
This shift not only frees up the CEO to focus on strategy and thought leadership, but creates a scalable sales process that drives long-term revenue success. That's a quote from Paul Wilson and a sneak peek at today's episode.
Hi there. I'm Kerry Curran, business growth consultant, industry analyst, and host of Revenue Boost, a marketing podcast where we discuss smart strategies that drive revenue growth for all businesses.
Founder-led growth is all the buzz today, but what do you do when it's time to scale? In this episode, Winning Every Stage: A Sales Framework for Sustainable Revenue Success. I'm joined by sales expert, Paul Wilson, founder of Massive Growth Partners, who shares his proven framework for scaling revenue with a team-driven sales approach. We discuss how CEOs can transition from founder-led sales to a scalable process that empowers their teams to drive growth.
Paul's actionable insights provide a roadmap for winning at every stage of the sales process. So whether you're a CEO, sales leader or marketer, this episode is packed with strategies to drive sustainable revenue success. Let's go!
Kerry Curran, RBMA (00:01.166)
So, welcome, Paul. Please introduce yourself and tell us all about your background and expertise.
Paul (00:07.675)
Thanks, Kerry. Great to be here today. I’m Paul Wilson. I have over 20 years of experience as part of an executive team running sales and marketing.
I joined a company when it had 40 people, and we grew to 750 people, from $4 million to $75 million, through a successful acquisition. I then moved to RKG, a small search marketing agency in Charlottesville, Virginia, where we grew from $5 million to $30 million over three years and sold the company to Merkle.
Five years ago, I started a consulting firm helping CEOs of early-stage digital agencies and software companies grow revenue and scale their businesses. I focus on teaching a process called Winning Every Stage of the Sales Process, which emphasizes qualifying leads and defining your ideal customer profile (ICP). Who is your ideal customer? How do you qualify them? How do you conduct a discovery process? How do you leverage your learnings into the presentation? And how do you close more revenue?
Kerry Curran, RBMA (01:22.38)
Excellent, thank you! I’m excited to speak with you today. Fun fact for our listeners—Paul was my longtime boss and mentor. He taught me a lot of what I know and is responsible for much of my success. So, thank you, Paul! We’re excited to have you on.
As you mentioned, you speak with a lot of CEOs today. What are you hearing from them? What business challenges are they facing? What do they need—whether they realize it or not? What are they asking for?
Paul (01:58.053)
Right. When I speak to CEOs, one of the most common things I hear is, "I've been leading sales. How do I step out of it and still have the company grow and prosper?"
When they’re used to running every aspect of the business, it’s manageable at 5, 10, or even 15 people. But if they want to scale to 50 or 100 people and grow revenue from a few million to $15, $20, or $50 million, they need to put a process in place to scale.
They’ll ask me, "How do I do that? How do I develop a go-to-market plan? How do I step back while staying involved in thought leadership and key client relationships, while letting sales be handled by someone else?"
When I ask them about their sales performance, like "What are the top three reasons you win a new client?" or "What are the top three reasons you lose?", many CEOs don’t have clear data. So, I often start engagements by analyzing their sales data—why they win, why they lose—and reviewing recorded sales pitches. One of the great things about Zoom and Teams is that presentations are recorded, so you can analyze them.
What I often find is that sales calls aren’t conversations—they’re one-sided pitches. Sellers aren’t uncovering information or asking open-ended questions to understand the client’s real needs.
So, to answer your question, CEOs want to step back from sales but still have confidence in the process. The key is putting together a structured go-to-market plan, hiring the right people, creating the right compensation plan, and developing a team that can execute.
Kerry Curran, RBMA (03:47.052)
That makes sense. I love that you're helping CEOs recognize the need to evolve and get out of the weeds.
I’ve also noticed that many startups rely on founder-led growth—where the founder is the face and voice of the company. You’re coming in at a critical stage, helping them transition from founder-led growth to building a go-to-market team and strategy, leveraging data along the way. It’s fascinating how you pull all of that together.
Paul (05:15.471)
Yes! And one of the first things I often recommend is that CEOs stop pitching alone.
If I'm a client and I see a CEO pitching solo, I might wonder, "Will they have time to work on my account?" I want to meet the people who will actually be managing my business.
So, I help CEOs expand their sales teams while staying involved. Maybe an account manager presents a case study, or a key strategist customizes a strategy for the client.
Clients don’t want to hear about your agency or software—they want to know what you’re going to do for them. They want a presentation tailored to what you learned in the discovery process.
That’s why I advocate for a team-based sales approach—bringing two or three people into pitches to showcase the depth of the company. Over time, the CEO can step back and let others lead. This gives clients more confidence in your company because they see a team, not just a founder.
Kerry Curran, RBMA (07:09.776)
Absolutely. That’s such an important strategy.
You mentioned your Winning Every Stage framework. Can you walk us through the stages and how you coach teams through them?
Paul (07:14.457)
Sure! It starts with defining your ICP—your ideal customer profile. What size company? What verticals? What challenges do they face?
Once you define your ICP, you outline discovery questions. I teach teams to have a 30-minute discovery call where they don’t pitch at all—they just ask questions. They take notes, then use that information to tailor their presentation.
The presentation should be about the prospect, not you. Companies don’t care how many employees you have or where your offices are. They care about how you’ll solve their challenges.
I also teach when to ask open-ended questions (to uncover insights) and when to ask closed-ended questions (to confirm decisions). Too often, I watch sales calls where 27 minutes go by and the agency hasn’t asked the client a single question.
At the end of the presentation, I encourage a clear, direct close: "You told us your top priorities are A, B, and C. Now that we’ve covered those, are you ready to move forward?"
Too many pitches end with "We’ll send you the deck!" That doesn’t move the deal forward. I teach teams how to ask the right questions, handle objections, and confidently move through the sales process.
Kerry Curran, RBMA (11:54.088)
That’s such a great framework! Salespeople often struggle with listening instead of talking. They also hesitate to ask tough questions—like timing, decision criteria, or what they’re not getting from their current agency.
Your approach really ensures they dig deeper to uncover the real needs of the client.
Paul (14:09.573)
Exactly! And just as important as closing deals is retaining clients.
I always set up a system to check in with clients regularly. I’ve launched multiple Net Promoter Score (NPS) programs where we ask clients four questions every quarter:
- Are we helping you meet your revenue goals?
- What else can we do to help?
- Would you recommend us?
- How would you rate us on a scale of 1-10, both in terms of results and experience?
Tracking these scores quarter over quarter helps agencies retain clients and grow long-term. Many companies celebrate closing deals but don’t invest in keeping them. A structured feedback loop prevents surprises when contracts come up for renewal.
Kerry Curran, RBMA (20:11.018)
Such a smart strategy!
For CEOs who want to step out of sales, what’s the first thing they should do?
Paul (20:29.847)
First, analyze your win-loss data. Why are you winning? Why are you losing?
Then, transition gradually—don’t just stop selling overnight. Start by bringing others into pitches, then slowly step back. You’d be surprised how many team members enjoy presenting and want to take on more sales responsibility.
Kerry Curran, RBMA (21:54.082)
Great advice. How can people connect with you?
Paul (22:05.014)
Find me Paul Wilson on LinkedIn I’ve also launched Massive Growth Partners. I’d love to talk about sales!
Kerry Curran, RBMA (22:48.11)
Thank you, Paul! I appreciate your time and insights.
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Read Revenue Boost: A Marketing Podcast transcripts.
To learn more about Kerry Curran and the RBMA: Revenue Based Marketing Advisors, go to www.revenuebasedmarketing.com and be sure to follow us on Kerry's LinkedIn Profile and The RBMA: Revenue Based Marketing Advisors Profile.
RBMA specializes in business transformation to drive revenue growth. We lead companies move from an ABM strategy to a company wide Go-to-Market program that sets you up for sustainable, year-over-year revenue growth.
If you're in the market for a Fractional Chief Marketing Officer or Fractional Chief Revenue Officer be sure to reach out to Kerry. Kerry is also available for speaking, panel moderation, and other professional presentation services. For services and contact information check out the RBMA: Revenue Based Marketing Advisors website here.
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