$8.77M ARR. 92% retention. 30,018 active licences across 535 paying customers.
Now we build the engine: $12M commit, $14M stretch.
The product is working. The motion is what needs work. Restructure, don't regrow.
- $8.77M ARR today (535 paying customers). Commit $12M (+37% YoY), stretch $14M (+60% YoY) by Jun 2027. Based on actual FY26 sales trajectory.
- Near-cost-neutral: +$95k Y1. 3 exits free $560k; hires + variable comp + Karl token salary add $655k. GM contribution covers it from Q1.
- Restructure not regrow. Same headcount. Sharper assignments. Clear comp design.
- 92% logo retention validates the product. The motion is what needs work.
- 12-18 month window before AI lets competitors catch up. Lock customers now via multi-year contracts and data-driven retention.
Win the 12-18 month window. Fix the motion, don't rebuild the team.
The product works. The motion is what needs work. Five moves below; every section in this deck executes against one of them.
Lock customers into multi-year contracts before AI commoditises hardware-attached SaaS (12-18 month window). Run one operating loop, Sales → Success → repeat: AEs hunt new logos, CSMs farm the 2-3× Y2 expansion the cohort data already shows, data flywheel builds the third moat underneath. CEO retakes interim Head of Sales for four months to install the operating system that produced the existing book and hand it to the new Sales Manager. Head of Growth role eliminated; functions distributed. US + Asia held until AU/NZ/UK is running cleanly.
A profitable, sticky platform with a broken sales engine.
The data tells two stories. The product story is excellent. The motion story is the constraint.
The product story Healthy
The motion story Broken
Today's financial position March 2026 snapshot
From the monthly Financial Snapshot directors see each month. The plan below executes against this starting point.
Per-device unit economics AU, weighted
SIM ($120/yr to M2MOne) is on Falcon + Eagle only (cellular). Monitoring ($36/yr to ESS) is on App + Falcon + Eagle. Phoenix (LoRaWAN), Beacon, Tablet, Track carry no per-device COGS. Source: Wiise historical, 20 May 2026.
| Product | SW Price (AUD) | SIM | Monitoring | GM / device | GM % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| APP (16,190 lic) | $204 | $0 | $36 | $168 | 82.3% |
| FALCON (9,327 lic) | $384 | $120 | $36 | $228 | 59.4% |
| EAGLE (2,265 lic) | $455 | $120 | $36 | $299 | 65.7% |
| BEACON / TABLET / LoRaWAN Phoenix (1,259 lic) | varies | $0 | $0 | full | ~100% |
| Software-only book (after SIM + Monitoring COGS) | $8.97M | $1.81M | $0.58M | $6.58M | 73.3% |
Implication: multi-year locks are most valuable on Falcon/Eagle — those products carry $156/device/yr in COGS, so 5-year locks (1.50× multiplier) compound the margin from a recurring, cost-stable base. APP-heavy expansion lifts blended GM toward 78-80% target.
The gap: $8.77M ARR today → $12M commit / $14M stretch by Jun 2027.
Currently signing ~$2.6M of new ARR per year (FY26 YTD run-rate). Commit at $12M = +37% YoY (within the $5-15M ARR median band of 38-50%). Achievable from current trajectory without Karl. Stretch at $14M = +60% YoY (top-quartile), requires outbound engine firing + UK enterprise landing. $17M blue sky = +94% (top-decile), requires Karl fully delivering AusPost + BHP.
Pipeline concentrated; Head of Growth role didn't deliver
Chanel produces ~$2.32M of annual new TCV (~42% of the quota-carrier pool). Adam holds £7.0M of UK pipeline alone (A$13.4M, 52% of total open book) including UK Home Office (£3.4M / A$6.5M). The Head of Growth role hadn't produced a defined commercial strategy or outbound playbook; the 2 reps hired under it moved into vertical AE roles instead of outbound. Premium compensation on those hires distorted parity, forcing other rep bases up. Role being eliminated; functions distributed. Lachlan on PIP. Hardware refresh orders pay 5% commission for zero work.
6 producers running a defined motion
Chanel + Adam strategic, Miles + Jess vertical-led, NFP AE replacement, plus Inside Sales + Sales Manager. Each motion has stages, KPIs, and structured handoffs. Customer Success owns expansion + renewal. AEs hunt. CSMs farm. The 42% concentration drops to 25% by Q4 FY27.
AI is closing the competitor-parity gap. Speed is now the moat.
AI-accelerated development is collapsing both sides of the moat at once. Hardware competitors who couldn't build credible safety software in under 3-5 years can now ship it in 12-18 months. Software competitors who couldn't industrialise hardware can now copy our platform architecture in similar time. Five years ago neither move was realistic. Today both are.
AI is commoditising hardware-attached SaaS
AI code-gen, ML training pipelines, mechanical-CAD assistants, and integration tooling are compressing software-build cycles 3-5× vs two years ago. Hardware competitors (device makers, security integrators with capex but no platform) can now ship competing safety software in 12-18 months. Software competitors (workforce, EHS, IoT SaaS without hardware) can copy our platform architecture in similar time and bolt on off-the-shelf wearables. The product alone is no longer the moat.
Lock customers now. Build the data moat behind them.
Every multi-year contract signed in the next 18 months is revenue a competitor can't take. Every alarm, check-in, and incident generates data we can aggregate, learn from, and feed back to customers as insights. The data flywheel is the durable moat.
Three real moats. Software isn't one of them anymore.
AI can copy our software. The product is replicable. Our defensible moats are the things AI can't generate on a laptop: the staffed monitoring centre, the physical hardware, and the data we're sitting on. Data is the play that builds the third moat over the next 18 months.
1. Monitoring centre (existing, hard to replicate)
24/7 staffed ARC operation, human-in-the-loop incident response, regulated, integrated to the device fleet. A funded competitor can ship a Falcon clone in 12-18 months. Replicating a monitoring centre is harder — people, accreditation, SLAs, operational learning — though accredited third-party ARCs exist and a well-funded competitor could contract one. The real moat is the integration depth between our ARC and our device fleet, not the ARC in isolation.
2. Hardware (existing, capex barrier)
Falcon, Eagle, Phoenix, Tablet, Beacon. Industrial-grade physical devices designed, certified, supply-chained. Software competitors don't have hardware; hardware competitors don't have the SaaS and monitoring depth. The combined offer is the moat.
3. Data (the build — third moat)
30,018 active licences generating safety data daily across 535 paying customer organisations. Aggregated, anonymised, fed back as benchmarks and insights (incident patterns, response times, near-miss trends). This is the moat we don't have yet. The FY27 product roadmap builds it: a competitor without our installed base can't catch this no matter how fast their AI ships software.
Reinforcing factors (not moats on their own)
Contract lock-in
Multi-year multipliers (1.10×, 1.50×) push reps to sign 3-5 year contracts. Every 5-year deal closed in FY27 is 5 years of revenue defended. Goal: average contract length 2.1 years today → 3.4 years by FY28.
CS outcomes + reputation
Sub-2% strategic-customer churn. Documented incident response, training, deployment expertise. Reputational moat that takes years to build but is bounded by what AI can replicate once a competitor scales.
Regulatory expertise
AU state-by-state lone-worker safety legislation, UK HSE frameworks, NZ Health & Safety at Work Act. Regulatory navigation costs are real barriers for offshore competitors but not unbridgeable.
Who actually competes with us, region by region.
Lone worker safety + body-worn camera + 24/7 monitoring is a defined but fragmented space. No single competitor matches our full stack in our regions. Direct competitors are listed below; platform threats (Samsara, SafetyCulture) compete from adjacent categories.
Direct competitors — lone worker safety + monitoring
| Competitor | Region strength | Wearable hardware | Software platform | 24/7 monitoring | Vertical focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duress (us) | AU/NZ/UK | ✓ Falcon, Eagle, Phoenix, Tablet, Beacon | ✓ Full platform + AI Safesense | ✓ Staffed ARC | Healthcare, Gov, NFP, Retail, Mining (in-flight) |
| Blackline Safety (CA, public) | Global · NA / Europe / AU | ✓ G7 / G7x / G8 (launched Jan 2026) | ✓ Blackline Live | ✓ Iridium satellite | Oil & Gas, Mining, Utilities |
| SafeTCard (AU) | AU primary | ✓ Card-style wearable | ✓ | ✓ 24/7 ARC | Field service, security, healthcare |
| SoloProtect (US/UK) | US, UK | ✓ Curve (Samsung partnership) | ✓ App + device | ✓ BS8484-accredited | Field service, healthcare, OSHA-driven |
| Peoplesafe (UK) | UK primary | ✓ ID-card + app | ✓ | ✓ ARC | UK lone worker (broad) |
| StaySafe (EcoOnline) (UK/Global) | UK / Europe | ✗ App-only | ✓ | ✓ | App-led, broad SMB |
| Tunstall Healthcare (AU/UK) | AU/UK | ✓ Pendant-style | ✓ | ✓ Healthcare ARC | Healthcare, aged care |
| AirAgri (PLD) (AU) | AU regional | ✓ Satellite beacon | ✓ | — (response routing) | Agriculture, remote |
Body-worn camera (Eagle competitors)
| Competitor | Region | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Axis Communications | Global | Enterprise BWC, strong brand, fixed + body |
| Motorola Solutions / Reveal | Global | Dominant in public safety BWC. Enterprise expansion. |
| Verkada | Global · AU expanding | Fixed cameras first, expanding adjacent. Strong AI story. |
| Clearway InSite | UK | UK wearable safety + camera |
Platform threats from adjacent categories
Samsara · Wearable launched 2025
Pager-style clip device + fall detection, launched at Beyond 2025. Home Depot piloting. Threat: fleet customers bolt on worker safety as line item, not a separate buy. Defense: deeper hardware portfolio (Falcon/Eagle vs single pager), staffed ARC vs notifications-only, regulated-vertical credentials.
SafetyCulture (iAuditor) · AU-based
Workflow + audits platform, not lone worker wearables — but the cross-sell is real: AU customers with iAuditor are sold "complete safety stack". Threat: platform brand strength in AU. Defense: hardware + monitoring is a category they can't ship in 12-18 months; partnership opportunity over time.
Where we sit
The only AU-headquartered player with the full stack (hardware + platform + 24/7 ARC) at $8.77M ARR scale. Blackline matches the integrated stack globally but their GTM is oil & gas / mining — minimal AU enterprise overlap. SafeTCard is our closest AU competitor by product overlap but no UK footprint. SoloProtect / Peoplesafe are the UK competition Adam wins against (we beat them on platform depth + AI Safesense + Eagle BWC integration; they beat us on local credibility we're building via OCS, Suffolk, etc.). StaySafe/Peoplesafe app-only solutions sit below us in the stack. Samsara and SafetyCulture are the real long-term concerns — platform brands selling adjacent — but neither has hardware + monitoring at scale in our regions today.
→ AI thesis revisited: when Blackline ships G8+software-as-a-service to AU enterprise, or Samsara bundles workforce safety into fleet platforms, that's the parity gap closing. Multi-year locks signed now are revenue defended against exactly these moves.
Every successful hardware-attached SaaS uses this architecture.
The model isn't experimental. It's the operating system of every SaaS that scaled from $5M to $30M+ ARR. We're adopting proven mechanics, not inventing.
Five pillars. All data-driven. Each backed by industry precedent.
Click any pillar to expand the detail.
Restructure the sales engine: Head of Growth role being eliminated
The Head of Growth role didn't produce a defined commercial strategy or outbound program. The 2 reps hired under it for outbound work moved into vertical AE roles. Their premium pay distorted comp parity across the team. Role eliminated; functions distributed (sales discipline → Sales Manager; CS strategy → Emma; support → Pete). 3 exits total (Head of Growth, Mikayla, Fed conditional). Lachlan on PIP.
| Action | Owner | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Peter (Head of Growth) exit during probation | CEO | Within 30 days |
| Lachlan on PIP (not exit) | CEO | PIP starts June 2026, decision July 2026 |
| Fed conditional exit (50% pipeline or out 1 July) | CEO | 1 July if not met |
| NFP AE replacement (only if Lachlan PIP fails) | CEO / recruiter | Q1 FY28 contingent |
| Inside Sales Specialist (junior, $75k base) | CEO | Within 30 days |
| Sales Manager search (target Aug 2026) | CEO + recruiter | Now |
| Customer Success variable comp restructure | CEO + Emma | Within 30 days |
Tier-based customer motion: match cost to value
Four tiers, four motions. 28% of customers (sub-5 licence) move to ecomm self-serve. Vertical AEs own T2 by industry. Strategic AEs own T3 + named accounts.
Source for all counts in this section: Wiise historical extract, 31 May 2026, Customers sheet. Active = Status="Active" AND Active Count > 0. Non-trial paying: 535 customers, 30,018 licences. All active incl. trials: 627 customers, 31,115 licences. Source: Wiise 31 May 2026.
What's actually in the book today (data-sourced)
| Dimension | Count | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Active customer organisations | 535 | Wiise 31 May 2026 — Status=Active, Active Count >0, Contract Type ≠ Trial Only |
| Active service contracts | 1,272 | Same filter, distinct Contract No. |
| Active licences (end users today) | 31,115 | Sum of Active Count across active contracts |
| Licences originally sold (Initial Count) | 32,709 | Sum of Initial Count across active contracts — 1,594 degraded |
| Total customers ever billed (4-yr window) | 1,142 | Union of customer IDs across historical, FY26, invoice-register exports |
Active customers + licences by region
| Region | Customers | Contracts | Active licences |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 504 | — | 28,446 |
| New Zealand | 39 | — | 356 |
| UK | 8 | — | 1,174 |
| US | 3 | — | 42 |
| Total (non-trial paying) | 535 | — | 30,018 |
Active licences by product
| Licence type | Customers | Active licences | % of fleet |
|---|---|---|---|
| APP (mobile app on customer's device) | 232 | 17,112 | 57.3% |
| FALCON (hardware wearable) | 354 | 8,745 | 29.3% |
| EAGLE (hardware wearable, premium) | 55 | 2,049 | 6.9% |
| BEACON (fixed location device) | 11 | 606 | 2.0% |
| TABLET (security tablet) | 26 | 485 | 1.6% |
| Other (TRACK, MONITORING ONLY, LoRa Phoenix, etc.) | ~25 | 821 | 2.7% |
| Total | 627 | 31,115 | 100% |
Per-licence software pricing (weighted avg, local currency)
| Region | APP | FALCON | EAGLE | Anchor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (AUD) | $204 | $384 | $455 | Broad book, 250 APP custs |
| New Zealand (NZD) | $274 | $339 | $90* | *Wilson Parking outlier distorts EAGLE |
| UK (GBP) | £29 | £164 | £125 | OCS UK 1,038 EAGLE at £133 SW; realistic UK EAGLE band £125-£180 |
| US (USD) | $219 | $244 | $140 | Small footprint, 3 custs |
Adam's UK pipeline (UK Home Office £3.4M, ASDA £1.14M, OCS Morrisons £2.0M, Flintshire £347k) is quoted in GBP-local pricing, consistent with the UK book anchor (OCS at £133/EAGLE SW). No AUD-conversion overstatement.
<$2.5k ACV
3% of ARR
Ecomm self-serve
$2.5-10k
8% of ARR
Inside Sales
$10-100k
36% of ARR
MM AE (by vertical)
$100k+
53% of ARR
Strategic AE
Sales hunts. CS expands and renews.
AE owns the customer for the first 24 months ("Land Window"), closes all expansion regardless of size. After month 24, CSM owns by default; AE re-enters only on uplift >$50k. Cleanest hunter-farmer split in industry.
| Period | Owner | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| Month 0 (close) | AE | Y1 commission + multi-year multiplier |
| Months 1-24 (Land Window) | AE closes expansions | No $ threshold |
| Renewals during Land Window | CSM closes; AE re-enters only on uplift >$50k | $50k |
| Months 25+ | CSM closes; AE re-enters >$50k uplift | $50k |
Compensation aligned to subscription growth
Reps earn commission only on subscription ARR (HW = flat 5% on NEW subscription attachment only, refresh purchases pay zero). Multi-year multipliers up to 1.50×. Outbound paid at 1.5× inbound. 100% paid on customer Y1 payment. Strict clawback.
| Element | Rule |
|---|---|
| Y1 commission | 10% MM AE / 8% Strategic AE / 8% Inside Sales |
| Y2+ override | 0%, no lazy bank |
| Multi-year multipliers | 2yr 1.10× / 3yr 1.25× / 4yr 1.40× / 5yr 1.50× — commercial deals. Gov/tender where multi-year was RFP-specified: 1.10× regardless of term |
| Source-weighted | Outbound paid 1.5× inbound |
| Hardware | 5% only on NEW subscription attached; refresh = 0% |
| Multi-year payment | 100% on customer Y1 payment; no deferred bank |
| Clawback | 100% <90 days / 50% <180 / pro-rata 12 months |
| Tiered payout | 0-50% no comm / 80-100% full / >150% 1.5×, uncapped |
| CSM expansion | 4% renewal / 8% uplift / 12% M2M→annual / 5% finder's fee |
Operational discipline: pipeline you can forecast from
HubSpot as system of record. Stage definitions enforced. Mandatory fields per stage. Pipeline assignment automated. Renewal motion auto-triggers 90 days out. Source tagging mandatory. Stale deals auto-close at 90 days unresponsive.
What this means day-to-day (for Tom)
Pillar 05 is not a concept — it is a list of 8 specific HubSpot builds that RevOps ships in the first 30 days. Each one removes a manual failure point:
- Deal auto-routing on creation: reads customer record, assigns to correct owner automatically (Land Window / CSM / Karl / vertical AE). Ends the misattribution problem.
- Mandatory stage fields: reps cannot move a deal to the next stage without completing required fields (decision-maker name, next step, close date). Ends half-built pipeline.
- 90-day auto-close: deals with no activity in 90 days auto-close with a reason code. Clears $11.2M of stale pipeline automatically.
- Pipeline ownership report: weekly CEO dashboard showing each rep's pipeline by stage, coverage ratio, and stale deal count. Forecast meetings run from this, not from memory.
- Renewal auto-trigger: 90 days before contract end date, HubSpot auto-creates a renewal deal and alerts the CSM. Ends the current "30-day reaction" problem.
- Source tagging enforcement: every deal must have a source tag before it can be created. Ends the attribution gap.
- Commission data feed: RevOps reconciles closed-won deals against comp plan monthly, feeds the commission calculation. Removes the manual spreadsheet comp process.
- Fed + Peter pipeline reassignment: Day-1 bulk reassignment of $4.94M pipeline to active reps by customer type.
| When | Meeting | Output |
|---|---|---|
| Tue 9am | Pipeline review | Forecast updated; deals progressed; stuck deals flagged |
| Tue 2pm | Outbound activity review | Activity floor adherence; new opps |
| Wed 10am | Customer Success stand-up | Account health; renewals at risk; expansion surfaced |
| Wed 2pm | Cross-function sync | Handoff quality; renewal coordination |
| Thu 10am | Marketing + sales alignment | Lead quality; channel ROI |
| Monthly | Forecast review with CFO | Forecast lock; pipeline coverage |
| Quarterly | Win/loss review | Why we won/lost; motion iteration |
The six structural calls that drive everything else.
Each backed by industry best-practice research and our actual data.
CS structure: equal split across three, Emma as nominal lead
Three equal Commercial CSMs (Emma, Carley, Daniel) with accounts split equally. Emma is nominal Head of Success while the situation resolves itself. Emma has the relationships and book context. She is not commercial — but she doesn't need to be commercial to hold the structure together while we watch the H1 gate. The real question resolves itself one of four ways: Emma steps up commercially; Emma exits (flight risk, accounts already distributed so no crisis); we hire a CS Manager above all three; or we promote Carley or Daniel based on H1 performance. None of those outcomes requires us to force anything now.
The four resolution paths (no action needed on path — let it develop)
| Path | Trigger | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Emma steps up | Hits H1 commercial KPIs — NRR ≥115%, expansion plays ≥4/CSM/month | Formalise Head of Success title + comp. Status quo wins. |
| Emma exits | Flight risk materialises — accounts already split, no single-point-of-failure | Carley or Daniel takes lead. Hire replacement CSM. No crisis. |
| Hire above all three | Team at $17M+ run-rate, CRO conversation opens up | Commercial CS Manager joins. Emma, Carley, Daniel stay as equals under them. |
| Promote one of the three | Carley or Daniel demonstrably outperforms on commercial metrics by H2 | Promote to CS Lead. Emma and the other stay as CSMs. Natural org development. |
H1 KPI gate — applies to all three equally
| KPI | H1 threshold | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Gross retention (T1 + T2 + T3 customers) | ≥92% | Baseline health — failure triggers CS Manager hire |
| Top-11 NRR (expansion) | ≥115% | Commercial signal — who is driving revenue growth |
| Secondary CSM on top 11 + first QBR | By month 3 | Distribution working — no single point of failure |
| Expansion plays per CSM per month | ≥4 | Motion discipline — who is proactively hunting |
When to revisit the org: when Sales Manager has 12+ months in seat AND team is shipping at $17M+ run-rate, consider a CS Manager hire ($200-280k base) or CRO ($350-450k OTE) who consolidates Sales + Success. Pete keeps Support reporting to CEO.
Customer Success operating model: book sizing, redundancy, expansion cadence
Three connected calls. (a) Book sizing per CSM: Emma, Carley, and Daniel split the AU book equally (~50-60 accounts each across T2+T3). All three equal level, all report to Emma as nominal lead. Dec hire takes overflow. (b) Redundancy: every T3 account has a primary + named secondary CSM — no account held by one person. (c) Expansion: structured triggers + cadence replace today's reactive motion.
Book sizing (Gainsight CS reference architecture)
| CSM | Tier | Book size |
|---|---|---|
| Emma, Carley, Daniel (equal split) | T2 + T3 mixed · all three equal level | ~50-60 each |
| Dec 2026 hire | T2 overflow + new customers | 50-70 |
| Emilia (UK, under Adam) | All UK — Junior Sales AE, not CSM book | UK customer success alongside sales |
Top-11 redundancy
- Every T3 account has a named primary + named secondary CSM from the three-way split
- Secondary joins one QBR per quarter, has read access to account history and expansion plans
- Can step in within 48 hours if primary unavailable — accounts never held by one person
- Cost: ~$10k of CSM time/year across the top 30; builds expansion playbook IP at the same time
- Key benefit: if any one CSM exits, accounts are already co-owned — no relationship cliff
Expansion cadence
| Cadence | What CSM does |
|---|---|
| Daily | Check health scores, red flag triggers same-day outreach |
| Weekly | 1-2 expansion plays per CSM (Falcon upgrade, more licences, multi-site rollout) |
| Monthly | Top-of-book review: which accounts are 80%+ licence utilisation? |
| Quarterly (T2) | QBR with operational champion, explicit expansion ask |
| Quarterly (T3) | QBR with exec sponsor, bigger-vision conversations |
| T-9 months from renewal | Expansion sized and proposed (rolls into renewal as combined deal) |
Automated expansion triggers
| 80% licence utilisation | "Time to add capacity" outreach |
| New team / location mentioned in support | CSM notified within 24 hours |
| 6 months in | Next-best-product recommendation (Eagle add-on, Falcon upgrade from APP) |
| Support ticket volume spikes | Health check + retention-risk outreach |
| Any renewal point | Multi-year multipliers surfaced (1.10× / 1.25× / 1.40× / 1.50×) |
What do Miles and Jess need to deliver to graduate — and when do we exit early?
With a 6-18 month sales cycle, you cannot measure new AEs on closed ARR alone in the first 6 months. The research is clear (SaaStr/Lemkin, OpenView, Bridge Group): "You'll know halfway through one sales cycle if you pay attention." At Duress's average 9-month cycle, halfway = ~month 4-5 — which maps directly to the AU 6-month probation decision window. The framework separates cycle-independent signals (visible immediately) from cycle-dependent signals (ARR closures, which take time).
Infrastructure caveat: the outbound engine (named account lists, sequences, tooling) is being built in parallel. Milestones that depend on pipeline volume are measured from when the infrastructure is live, not from hire date. Activity and coaching responsiveness are measured from day 1 regardless.
Milestone gates — what to measure and when
| Gate | What | Threshold | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 6 | Meetings booked from outbound | First discovery call completed | Cycle-independent — exit if missed |
| Month 3 | ICP-qualified pipeline coverage | 3× quota in qualified pipeline; majority ICP-fit | Pipeline-based |
| Month 6 (AU probation gate) | Leading indicators: call quality trending up, ICP fit, coaching uptake, CRM hygiene | Improvement week-on-week on at least 3 of 4 | Behavioural — replacement decision made here if failing |
| Month 9 | Pipeline progression | ≥1 deal in proposal/negotiation stage; pipeline ≥3× quota | Cycle-dependent |
| Month 12 (graduation) | ARR attainment + self-sourcing + activity floor | ≥80% quota run-rate for 2 consecutive months + ≥50% self-sourced + activity floor maintained | Full graduation gate |
Early exit criteria — before month 6 (cycle-independent)
These are grounds for exit before the 6-month probation window closes. None require closed ARR — all are visible regardless of sales cycle length.
- No discovery calls by week 6 — not a cycle-length issue. OpenView benchmark: carrying a full meeting load by week 6.
- Wrong-ICP pipeline — deals consistently outside target buyer profile signal a judgment failure that rarely self-corrects.
- No coaching uptake — call quality scores flat week-on-week after structured feedback. If they're not improving on calls, they won't close.
- Persistent blame attribution — framing failures as product/leads/marketing problems without changing approach. Distinguished from legitimate infrastructure gap by whether they're proposing solutions or waiting for rescue.
- Zero CRM hygiene — requires operations cleanup, contact data missing, next steps blank. Signals they won't build a forecastable book.
Activity floors (throughout probation):
- 30 outbound touches per day to vertical-aligned named-account list
- 5 new opportunities created per week
- ≥50% of pipeline self-sourced (not pure inbound)
- Discovery → demo conversion ≥40%
- Weekly 1:1 with Sales Manager (CEO interim until Aug 2026)
Minimum 9 months before replacement decision if leading indicators are positive but ARR is behind — the cycle needs time. If leading indicators are negative at month 6, act then. Don't wait for the ARR gate to confirm what the activity data already shows.
Karl and the reseller channel: how do we treat strategic AE work and indirect motion?
Two linked calls. (a) Karl: Senior Strategic AE / Whale Hunter, 2-3 named whales at a time, no quota, no team management, reports to CEO. Comp: $100k token base salary (recognises the full-time effort, not pure equity) + shareholder equity. (b) Reseller channel: convert to referral-only, same commission rate as the sales team, no dedicated channel comp.
Karl's role
| Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| Title | Senior Strategic AE (or "Founder's AE") |
| Comp | $100k token base salary + shareholder equity (no commission) |
| Accounts | AusPost (confirmed in-flight), BHP (inbound), mining vertical lead |
| Vertical | Mining (expo booked, BHP reached out unprompted) |
| Quota | None, pure strategic |
| Reports to | CEO directly |
| Does NOT manage | Sales team, Channel, Resellers |
Reseller channel
- Existing reseller-introduced deals stay with their current owner
- New introductions = same commission rate as a referral lead (no channel premium)
- Karl does NOT manage reseller relationships
- When Sales Manager starts (Aug 2026), audit which referral sources are worth keeping vs ending
RevOps: what does the contractor actually do every day?
$150k contractor for 6-12 months. Without this role, the comp plan, pipeline ownership, and forecast all fail because nobody owns the system.
This is not what a CFO does. David covers the finance layer he already owns: commission payment approval, ARR reporting, budget. RevOps covers the operational GTM layer David has no mandate or tooling for: HubSpot hygiene (348 blank salesperson codes, $11.2M stale pipeline), deal routing automation, attribution enforcement, quota and territory administration, comp plan data reconciliation, pipeline stage enforcement. Gartner: "RevOps optimises the GTM dashboard (leading indicators); Finance ensures those metrics show up in profit (lagging indicators). They need each other — neither replaces the other." These are structurally distinct roles.
Daily activities
| Morning | Pipeline hygiene check, flag stale deals, missing mandatory fields, owner-less leads from last 24h |
| Mid-morning | Lead routing audit, did the auto-routing send each new lead to the right rep? Fix exceptions. |
| Mid-day | HubSpot/Wiise reconciliation, closed-won deals in HubSpot match contracts in Wiise? |
| Afternoon | Forecast aggregation, report building, dashboard refresh |
| Late afternoon | Tool admin, automation builds, ad-hoc rep requests |
Weekly recurring
| Mon | Pipeline summary email to leadership; auto-flag deals overdue stage progression |
| Tue | Support Sales Manager in pipeline review (provides data, takes actions) |
| Wed | CS reporting: NRR, retention, expansion attribution by CSM |
| Thu | Marketing alignment + channel ROI analysis (Google Ads spend vs paid wins) |
| Fri | Weekly KPI dashboard refresh; commission accruals updated |
Project work (key projects in order)
- Build deal auto-routing workflow in HubSpot (Existing in Land Window → original AE; existing outside → CSM; reseller-origin → Karl/referral; new logo → ICP routing). Day-1 priority.
- Build renewal motion automation, T-90 auto-create renewal opportunity, route to assigned CSM.
- Build commission calculation tooling (spreadsheet → eventually CaptivateIQ or similar once team is 10+ quota carriers)
- HubSpot dashboard set: rep performance, pipeline health, forecast, source attribution
- Wiise-HubSpot integration health monitoring (catch sync failures early)
- Stage-definition enforcement (mandatory fields per stage; HubSpot blocks progression without)
- Customer health score build (combining adoption + engagement + commercial signals)
Google Ads spend: increase or optimise first?
Optimise first, then increase. Current spend $357k/yr produces 47 paid customers (CAC $7.6k), but conversion-value tracking is broken, so the bidding optimiser is flying blind. Fix tracking, then increase spend selectively.
| Phase | Action | Spend impact |
|---|---|---|
| Next 30 days | Fix Google Ads conversion value tracking (broken today). Re-baseline campaign performance with real ROAS data. | $0 incremental, gets the data right |
| Q1 FY27 (Jul-Sep 2026) | Increase AU spend 30% on high-intent terms (Government, Healthcare, NFP-specific keywords). Pause low-intent generic "lone worker" terms. | +$10-12k/mo (~$120-150k/yr) |
| Q2 FY27 (Oct-Dec 2026) | Launch UK paid spend (currently minimal). UK is highest-ARPU geo but underrepresented. | +$3-5k/mo trial, scale if ROAS >3× |
| Q3-Q4 FY27 | Scale on what's working; cut what's not. Aim for paid CAC <$10k. | Variable, driven by ROAS |
Why not spend more today?
Without conversion-value tracking working, more spend just buys more low-intent clicks. Fix the data first, then scale on what's actually generating closed-won. Google Ads paid customers today have $3k avg deal (small), the spend lift needs to target higher-intent (Government tender keywords, Health-vertical procurement terms) where deal sizes are 10-30× larger.
100-Falcon Healthcare deal: lead → trial → 3-year close → renewal +20.
End-to-end walkthrough of how the model executes. Lead arrives Day 0, signs 3-year contract by Day 90, full deployment by Day 123, renews with expansion at Month 36. Total customer revenue 6 years: $258k. Total comp paid: $9,100 (3.5%, inside industry norm).
Day 0: Lead arrives
Form submission: "100 Falcons, Healthcare, 3-month timeline." Auto-routes to Jess (Health AE) via vertical rule. 30-min response SLA.
Day 22: Plan the Wedding
Pilot proposal locks expansion plan in HubSpot: success criteria, named buyer, projected $30k Y1 ACV, target full-rollout signing date. This single step prevents pilot stalls.
Day 90: Contract signs
3-year, $30k Y1 ACV, $50k HW. Multi-year × Source weight = $6,250 commission. Assigned CSM joined pre-close call (Day 85) and owns the customer cradle-to-grave from Day 0.
Phase-by-phase timeline
| Phase | Days | Stage | Owner | What happens |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lead arrival | 0 | New Lead | Marketing → Jess | Form submission, auto-routing fires |
| Qualification + Discovery | 1-7 | Discovery | Jess | 30-min call, mandatory HubSpot fields, deal created |
| Demo + Technical fit | 8-21 | Demo + Technical | Jess + Huseyin SE | Demo, technical Q&A, customer asks for 20-device trial |
| Plan the Wedding | 22-35 | Pilot Proposal | Jess + customer | Pilot scope, success criteria, named buyer, expansion target locked in HubSpot. Daniel introduced. |
| Pilot Live | 36-65 | Pilot Live | Assigned CSM + support team + Jess | 20 devices shipped, training delivered (support team), weekly health check-ins by CSM |
| Main Contract Close | 66-90 | Commercial Close | Jess + assigned CSM (pre-close) | Proposal, procurement, signing. CSM joins Day 85. Handoff packet completed Day 89. |
| Internal Handoff | 90-91 | Closed-Won | Jess → assigned CSM | HubSpot fires workflow, single internal handoff call. Same CSM owns the customer cradle-to-grave. |
| Onboarding | 90-123 | Day 0-30 from close | Assigned CSM + support team | 100 devices ship, training, first-user-check-in by Day 14 |
| Onboarding → Steady State | Day 30 (Day 123 since lead) | Steady State begins | Same CSM continues | No CSM handoff. Onboarding wraps; ongoing relationship begins with the same person. |
| Steady State | Months 2-32 | Active customer | Assigned CSM + support team (escalation) | Quarterly QBRs, monthly health reviews, customer pays Y2 + Y3 |
| Renewal Trigger (T-90) | Month 33 | Renewal Identified | HubSpot auto → same CSM | HubSpot creates renewal opportunity automatically; routed to existing CSM |
| Renewal Negotiation | Month 33-35 | Negotiation | Same CSM | Customer wants +20 licences. Uplift $8.5k < $50k threshold = CSM owns close. |
| Renewal Close | Month 36 | Renewed (3-year) | Same CSM | 120 licences × 3-year. Customer pays $46k Y1. |
Money flowing at each stage
Jess (AE) earns $6,250
$30k × 10% × 1.25 (3yr) × 1.0 (inbound) = $3,750 SW commission
+ $50k × 5% (hardware, new subscription attached) = $2,500
= $6,250 total, paid when customer pays Y1 invoice
Same CSM earns $2,850
($30k × 4%) + ($8.5k uplift × 8%) = $1,200 + $680 = $1,880 × 1.25 (3yr) = $2,350 SW commission
+ $10k × 5% (hardware, new devices) = $500
= $2,850 total. Jess earns $0 (outside Land Window, uplift below threshold). The CSM has owned the customer since Day 0, trust + context maximises retention.
Customer LTV vs comp cost: 6-year view
| Item | $ |
|---|---|
| Y1-Y3 software (original 3-year contract) | $90,000 |
| Y1 hardware (one-off) | $50,000 |
| Y4-Y6 software (renewal 3-year contract, 120 licences) | $108,000 |
| Y4 hardware (20 new devices) | $10,000 |
| Total customer revenue (6 years) | $258,000 |
| Jess (AE) at close | -$6,250 |
| Carley (CSM) at renewal | -$2,850 |
| Total comp paid (lifetime) | $9,100 |
| Comp as % of customer revenue | 3.5% |
Industry benchmark: 4-7% lifetime sales+CS comp ratio (Bridge Group SaaS comp survey). This deal is well inside norms.
What each rep sold, where they're tracking, and what they need to deliver FY27.
Each quota grounded in SaaS-industry benchmarks against our actual historical performance. Tenured reps get a productivity uplift (existing rep, better engine around them = more output). New capacity (vertical AEs, inside sales) ramps to fill the gap between per-rep uplift and company target. Tiered by segment, because mature SaaS doesn't give everyone the same quota.
How quotas should move year-over-year at our scale
Company-wide growth target (KeyBanc + OpenView 2024 SaaS Surveys)
Smaller SaaS is expected to grow faster than larger SaaS. Common 30% YoY benchmark is for $25M+ ARR companies, not us.
| ARR band | Median YoY | Top quartile | Top decile |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1-5M | 60-75% | 100%+ | 150%+ |
| $5-15M (us, $8.77M) | 38-50% | 60-80% | 80-100% |
| $15-25M | 35-40% | 55-65% | 80%+ |
| $25-50M | 28-32% | 45-55% | 65%+ |
| $50M+ | 20-25% | 30-40% | 40-50%+ |
Our $12M commit = +37% YoY = median range for our band. Defensible and achievable without Karl. $14M stretch = +60% YoY = top-quartile. $17M blue sky = +94% = top-decile, Karl required.
Per-rep YoY uplift (Bridge Group 2024 SaaS Compensation Survey)
Tenured rep quotas typically lift 10-15% YoY (median 12%). Logic: the rep is the same person but the engine around them improves — marketing produces more inbound, SDRs qualify better, the rep gets more seasoned, motion sharpens, comp tooling matures. Same hours, more output.
The ~25-point gap between company-wide +37% YoY and per-rep +12% YoY is filled by new capacity, not by overloading existing reps. That's the discipline. Asking tenured reps to carry the entire growth on their backs is how good reps quit.
| Tier | Typical quota range | Typical OTE | Quota:OTE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enterprise / Strategic AE | $1.5-3.0M ACV | $300-450k | 4-6× |
| Mid-market AE | $0.8-1.2M ACV | $180-260k | 4-5× |
| Vertical AE (regulated) | $0.7-1.0M ACV | $180-220k | 4-5× |
| SMB / Velocity AE | $0.3-0.6M ACV | $90-140k | 3-4× |
| Inside Sales / SDR-AE hybrid | $0.15-0.3M ACV | $80-110k | 2-3× |
Same quota across all reps is a sign of immature quota design. Mature SaaS tiers by segment, tenure, patch quality, and specialisation. What's universal: quota:OTE ratio (4-5×), attainment expectation (60-70%), accelerator design above 100%.
How we apply this to FY27
Tenured AEs (Chanel, Adam): 2-yr productivity baseline × 1.12 YoY uplift. Mid-market (Lachlan): below-standard 3.5× OTE during PIP. Vertical AEs (Jess, Miles): ramped quotas anchored to OTE × 3.7. Inside Sales + UK country-lead: tier-specific math. Karl: no quota (whale-hunter, equity + token base). Sanity-checked against pipeline ≥3× coverage.
How each quota is derived
Source data: Wiise sales register, FY25 (full year) + FY26 YTD (Jul 2025 - May 2026, 11 of 12 months). Run-rate = YTD × 12/11. Bradley Shallard left in FY25 — his name on the FY26 invoice register is a Wiise salesperson-code default, not active selling.
| Rep | Tier | FY25 TCV (actual) |
FY26 YTD annualised TCV (Jul-Apr actual × 12/10) |
2-yr baseline | YoY uplift method | FY27 Quota |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chanel | Strategic Accounts + Retail Vertical | $2.04M | $2.13M | $2.09M | ×1.12 YoY (Bridge Group median productivity uplift) | $2.35M |
| Adam | Enterprise / UK | £790k (A$1.53M) | £1.30M (A$2.50M) | £1.05M (A$2.02M) | ×1.12 YoY (Bridge Group median productivity uplift) | £1.17M (A$2.25M) |
| Lachlan | Mid-market (PIP) | $4.10M Services Australia outlier |
$346k | $500k ex-outlier | Flat — OTE × 3.5 (below standard, reflects PIP risk) | $700k |
| Jessica | Vertical AE — Health (Feb 2026 start) |
— | — | n/a (ramped) | OTE × 3.7, ramped Q1 → Q4 | $700k |
| Miles | Vertical AE — Gov (Feb 2026 start) |
— | — | n/a (ramped) | OTE × 3.7, ramped Q1 → Q4 | $700k |
| Inside Sales | SMB / Velocity (junior) | — | — | n/a | OTE × 2.1 (SDR-style, sub-$20k ACV deals) | $200k |
| Emilia | UK Country Lead (sales + CS + support) |
— | — | n/a (multi-function) | Country-lead model, below 4-5× because role isn't pure-sales | £300k / A$580k |
| Karl | Strategic AE / Mining ($100k + equity) |
$2k | $0 | n/a (whale-hunter) | No quota — AusPost + BHP/mining = upside swing | No quota |
| Quota carriers + ISR + UK | $7.67M | $4.98M | — | — | $7.50M | |
Why we lifted Chanel + Adam above their 2-yr baselines: The new sales plan ships structural changes that make tenured reps more productive — Inside Sales below them filters inbound, RevOps auto-routing removes admin/mis-attributed deals from their plates, top-11 secondary CSM assignment shares the servicing load, multi-year multipliers (1.10×–1.50×) drive bigger TCV per deal. SaaS YoY productivity uplift on tenured reps is 10-15% (industry practitioner benchmark; Bridge Group 2024 AE Metrics Report documents quota growth trends at scale). We applied 1.12× — earned by the engine changes, not arbitrary.
Notes on outliers: Lachlan's FY25 $4.10M is the Services Australia deal — landed with material help from Tom and Trav, paid out $300k commission, and he hasn't repeated since. Removing it gives a $500k ex-outlier baseline, which is what the PIP framework is built around. Adam's FY26 run-rate is inflated by a single $2M deal that booked Oct 2025; the 2-yr blended baseline at $2.02M is more representative.
FY27 quota summary (final allocation)
| Rep | FY27 Quota (TCV) | OTE | Quota:OTE ratio | Anchoring method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chanel Kaczmarek Head of Strategic Accounts & Retail |
$2.35M | $280k (uplift to $450k recommended) | 8.4× (current) / 5.2× (post-uplift) | 2-yr baseline ($2.09M) × 1.12 YoY uplift (Bridge Group median) |
| Adam Gergis Enterprise / UK AE (Head of UK) · employed & paid via UK entity (GBP) |
£1.17M (A$2.25M) | A$280k (uplift to A$450k recommended) | 8.0× (current) / 5.0× (post-uplift) | 2-yr baseline £1.05M × 1.12 YoY uplift (Bridge Group median) |
| Lachlan Papley Tenured AE — on PIP |
$700k replacement search underway; decision July 2026 |
$200k | 3.5× | OTE × 3.5 (below SaaS-standard 4-5×, reflects PIP risk) |
| Jessica Lithoxoidis Vertical AE — Health (in ramp) |
$700k ramped Q1 → Q4 |
$190k | 3.7× | OTE × 3.7 (ramped year, full ratio Y3) |
| Miles Jones Vertical AE — Gov (in ramp) |
$700k ramped Q1 → Q4 |
$190k | 3.7× | OTE × 3.7 (ramped year, full ratio Y3) |
| Inside Sales Specialist New hire (junior) |
$200k | $95k | 2.1× | SDR-style: small-deal close + AE assist |
| Emilia (UK) All-functions UK lead |
£300k / A$580k | £90k / A$175k | 3.3× | Below standard (multi-function role: sales + CS + support) |
| Karl Pagin Founding shareholder · Strategic AE — named whales only · $100k token base + equity |
No quota 2-3 named whales = upside |
$100k base + equity | n/a | Whale-hunter (no productivity baseline applies) |
| Quota carriers + ISR + UK | $7.50M | $1.42M (current) / $1.76M (post-uplift) | 5.3× (current) / 4.3× (post-uplift) | Within SaaS 4-5× band post-OTE-uplift |
Open pipeline coverage check (HubSpot, today)
Coverage = open pipeline ÷ FY27 quota. Figures are unweighted face value — not probability-adjusted by stage. SaaS rule: 3× is healthy, below 2× is a flag, below 1× is a crisis.
| Rep | Open pipeline | FY27 quota | Coverage | Top deals in pipe |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adam | £7.0M (A$13.45M) | £1.17M | 6.0× | UK Home Office £3.4M, ASDA £1.14M, OCS Morrisons £2.0M, Flintshire £347k (Suffolk £1.04M lost 14 May) |
| Chanel | $3.33M | $2.35M | 1.4× | Mix of existing-customer expansion + new-logo enterprise. Below 2× = Q1 pipe-build priority. |
| Jessica (Health) | $2.19M | $700k | 3.1× | 86 deals, mostly small-mid; needs 1-2 enterprise lands |
| Miles (Gov) | $812k | $700k | 1.2× | 90 deals, mostly small Gov procurement; pipeline-build gating |
| Lachlan | $343k | $700k | 0.5× | PIP justification — below crisis floor |
| Karl | $681k (no AusPost yet) | No quota | — | AusPost not in HS; 6 small deals mis-tagged |
| Fed (in exit window) | $3.75M | $0 (exiting) | — | Reattribute on exit |
| Peter (in exit window) | $1.19M | $0 (exiting) | — | Reattribute on exit |
Pipe-build mechanics: how Chanel (1.4×) and Miles (1.2×) get to 3× by Q4 FY27
Coverage gaps don't fix themselves. "Q1 pipe-build priority" is a sentence; below is the actual mechanism per rep. Owners and cadences are in the operating rhythm (Pillar 05).
1.4× → 3× by Q4 FY27
- Named-account target list (top 50): peer accounts of Wilson Parking, Linfox, Spotless — same vertical / similar org structure. Built Day-1 with RevOps; refreshed monthly.
- ABM motion against the 50: sequenced outreach (LinkedIn + email + direct), 1 named-account touch per rep-day. ~12 weeks to reach all 50 with multi-touch.
- Karl hand-offs: non-mining whales below Karl's two-named threshold flow to Chanel by default.
- Customer-referral motion: Emma surfaces 1-2 customer-introduced peers per month from QBR conversations into Chanel's pipe.
- Marketing-nurture loop: case studies (Wilson Parking, Linfox, Spotless) feed Chanel's vertical accounts via outbound sequences and content syndication.
- Inside Sales as filter: qualified-out inbound >$50k ACV gets routed to Chanel; everything smaller stays with ISR.
Q1 target: 1.4× → 2.0× (need ≈ $1.5M added pipe). Q4 target: 3.0× ($7.0M open pipe). Tracked in weekly pipeline review.
1.2× → 2.5× by Q4 FY27
- 30 outbound touches/day floor (activity floor — already in Decision 03) against vertical-aligned named list, mostly State Gov procurement contacts.
- TenderLink + AusTender feeds: live Gov tenders auto-routed to Miles within 24h of publication; he owns Day-1 contact on any matching scope.
- LinkedIn Sales Navigator targeting: ICT panels, lone-worker safety policy authors, State Gov OH&S leads — 50 saved searches, weekly review.
- Channel-referral motion: ICT Group + State Gov ICT panels as referral sources (no channel comp, same referral rate as the team).
- Vertical content programme: 1 Gov-specific asset / month (lone-worker compliance briefing, State legislation summary, case study). Drives inbound + warms outbound list.
- Coaching cadence: weekly 1:1 with Sales Manager (CEO interim until Aug), call-shadowing weekly, deal-clinic monthly until graduation.
Q1 target: 1.2× → 2.0× (need ≈ $700k added pipe). Q4 target: 2.5× ($1.75M open). Probation graduation gate at month 12 = 80% quota for 2 consecutive months.
How the $7.50M quota pool reconciles to the $14M FY27 commit
| Component | FY27 contribution | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Retained ARR base (start FY27) | $8.08M | $8.77M FY26 exit ARR × 92% gross retention |
| Expansion (CS-driven, not sales-quota) | $1.2M | Top-11 expansion plays + multi-year multipliers |
| New-business 1st-year ARR $7.50M TCV × 40% (Y1 of multi-year mix) × 70% attainment (above Bridge Group's 53% median, earned by focused team + sharper motion) | $2.1M | Quota × Y1 mix × expected attainment |
| Adam UK pipeline overshoot (one of OCS / ASDA / Flintshire above quota) | £260k / A$500k | Adam's 6.0× coverage (£7.0M open) means modest above-quota landings are likely |
| Karl whales + founder-direct inbound (upside swing, not in commit) | $0.8-1.5M | AusPost confirmed + BHP/mining + 1-2 unprompted enterprise inbound/year that bypass the rep funnel (historical pattern, arrive direct to CEO/founder). Stretch survives Karl underperformance if one founder-direct whale lands. |
| FY27 commit ARR | $14M | $9.0 + $1.2 + $2.1 + $0.5 = $12.8M base + $1.2M Karl upside buffer |
| FY27 stretch ARR | $14M | If outbound engine fires + UK enterprise (OCS + ASDA) closes in-window. +60% YoY — top-quartile for $5-15M ARR band. |
| FY27 blue sky (Karl fully delivers) | $17M | AusPost + BHP/mining + UK + above-plan attainment. +94% YoY — top-decile. |
SaaS benchmark sanity checks
| Benchmark | SaaS standard | Duress FY27 plan | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Company-wide YoY growth at our ARR band | $5-15M ARR: median +38-50%, top-quartile +60-80% | +37% YoY ($12M commit), +60% YoY ($14M stretch), +94% ($17M blue sky) | Median commit (defensible) · top-quartile stretch · top-decile blue sky |
| Per-rep YoY productivity uplift (tenured) | +10-15% (industry practitioner benchmark; Bridge Group 2024 AE Metrics Report) | Chanel + Adam each at +1.12× on 2-yr baseline | Inline |
| Quota : OTE ratio (Enterprise AE) | 4-6× | 8.0-8.4× current → 5.0-5.2× post-uplift | Needs OTE uplift to $450k |
| Median AE quota at our scale | $1.0M ACV (Bridge Group 2024) | Enterprise tier (Chanel/Adam) $2.25-2.35M TCV / ~$900k ACV equiv | Inline |
| Pipeline coverage | 3× minimum | 2.8× blended (Adam 6.0×, Chanel 1.4×, Jess 3.1×, Miles 1.2×, Lachlan 0.5×) | Mixed — Adam strong, Chanel + Miles + Lachlan need Q1 pipe-build |
| Expected attainment | 53% median (Bridge), 60-70% well-run | Plan assumes 70% | Within band |
| Quota tiering (same vs different per rep) | Mature SaaS = tiered by segment/tenure | 5 tiers used: Enterprise, Mid-market, Vertical, Velocity, Country Lead | Mature design |
| Sales-team headcount per $ARR | 1 quota carrier per $1-2M ARR (mid-market) | 5 quota carriers for $14M = $2.8M ARR/rep | Under-resourced — supports stretch into FY28 hiring |
Where each rep needs to be by end of FY26 (30 June 2026)
FY26 ends 30 June 2026. Final month — closing now. Per-rep close-out targets to carry momentum into FY27:
| Rep | FY26 YTD TCV | FY26 close-out target | Jun gap remaining |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chanel | $1.77M | $2.1M | $330k (on pace) |
| Adam | £1.08M (A$2.09M) | £1.19M (A$2.3M) | £110k (Suffolk lost 14 May, focus shifts to OCS Morrisons trial) |
| Lachlan | $288k | $400k | $112k (PIP threshold; $343k pipe = needs 30%+ close) |
| Jess + Miles | $13k | $80k combined | $65k (probation month-4 milestone) |
| Quota carriers | $4.16M | $4.88M | $717k |
Reading the data
- Chanel: $2.35M = baseline × 1.12 YoY uplift. She did $2.04M and $2.13M consecutively — most reliable productivity signal in the dataset. The new motion (Inside Sales filtering inbound, RevOps auto-routing removing admin tags, top-11 secondary CSM sharing account load, multi-year multipliers driving bigger TCV per deal) is what earns the 12% lift. OTE needs to move from $280k to $450k to keep the 5× quota:OTE ratio honest — a comp design fix.
- Adam: £1.17M = baseline × 1.12 YoY uplift (A$2.25M at £1 = A$1.93). Same productivity-uplift method as Chanel. Pipeline coverage at 6.0× is strongest in the team (£7.0M open pipe). Suffolk £1.04M lost 14 May 2026 — first material UK loss. If OCS Morrisons + ASDA + Flintshire close in window, £260k Y1 ARR above quota = the model's contingency. Same OTE uplift needed. UK numbers in GBP; OTE stays in AUD because employer is AU entity.
- Lachlan: $700k = below-standard 3.5× OTE during PIP. FY25 $4.10M was the Services Australia tender — landed with material help from Tom and Trav, $300k commission, no repeat. Ex-outlier baseline = $500k. Without enterprise-deal-finding capability his pipe is small-deal-only ($343k = 0.5× crisis coverage). PIP starts June 2026; decision July 2026. Replacement search already underway in parallel.
- Jess + Miles: $700k each ramped (OTE × 3.7). Both were hired specifically for outbound — but FY26 YTD shows ~$10k TCV each, not because of the reps but because there is no outbound motion yet (no named-account lists, no cadence templates, no AI personalisation, no RevOps routing). The $700k quota is conditional on the outbound engine being live by Q1 FY27. Batch 1-3 of the build plan (Apollo + named accounts + cadences) is the critical path. If the engine slips to Q2, realistic FY27 for each drops to $300-400k. Miles piloting the Gov vertical in Batch 4; Jess pilots Health (largest vertical by ARR at $2.98M). By month 24 (mid-FY28) they should be on full 4-5× ratio at $850-950k once the engine is proven.
- Inside Sales + Emilia: tier-specific math. ISR uses SDR-style 2.1× ratio ($200k quota on $95k OTE) reflecting small-deal velocity. Emilia uses country-lead model (£300k on £90k OTE = 3.3×) which intentionally sits below pure-sales 5× because the role is sales + CS + support combined.
- Karl is the $14M → $17M swing and leads the mining vertical. Karl is a founding shareholder who landed Coles (our largest customer) — his accountability is equity-based, not OTE-based. AusPost confirmed in-flight, BHP reached out unprompted, mining expo booked. $100k token base + shareholder equity. No quota because his work is named-deal, relationship-driven, and non-comparable to BAU AE motion — he operates on named deal accountability: each whale (AusPost, BHP) tracked by name with explicit close targets in the CEO operating review.
- Bradley left in FY25. FY26 invoice-register entries under his code are book-defaulted billings, not active selling. Day-1 RevOps cleanup reattributes.
- Fed (NZ) and Peter (Head of Growth) are in exit windows. Open pipelines ($3.75M + $1.19M = $4.94M) reattribute on exit to Sales Manager / Karl / CSMs by customer type.
Accelerates the path to break-even. Cost-discipline, not cost-cutting.
Today: $168k/month EBITDA loss (-18.6% margin), improving each month. Break-even sits at ~$900k MRR / ~$10.8M MRR-based ARR — between FY27 commit ($12M TSAV) and stretch ($14M). The plan adds $95k Y1 incremental cost on top of the existing burn; new ARR contribution at ~73% blended software margin (APP 82%, Falcon 59%, Eagle 66%) closes the gap and crosses break-even within the FY27 window.
| Y1 Cost Movement | $ |
|---|---|
| FREED (3 exits in-flight) | |
| Peter Scarlata (Head of Growth, probation) | −$300k |
| Mikayla (terminated Friday) — sales ops hire, not the junior AE replacement for Lachlan. Junior NFP AE replacement is a separate hire (Decision 06). | −$130k |
| Fed (NZ, conditional 1 July if 50% pipeline not landed) | −$130k |
| Lachlan (on PIP, not exit, $0 freed unless PIP fails) | $0 |
| Total freed (Y1, assuming Fed exits) | −$560k |
| ADDED (hires + variable comp) | |
| Inside Sales Specialist (junior, $75k base) | +$95k |
| Sales Manager ($200k base + commissions) | +$200k |
| RevOps (contractor 6-12 months) | +$150k |
| Customer Success expansion comp (variable) | +$100k |
| Karl token base salary ($100k, no commission, no existing salary today) | +$110k |
| NFP AE replacement (only if Lachlan PIP fails, Q1 FY28 contingent) | $0 (Y1) |
| Ecomm build (in-house, no cash) | $0 |
| Sales coach (not required) | $0 |
| Total added | +$655k |
| NET Y1 INCREMENTAL (Lachlan stays on PIP, Fed exits) | +$95k |
| Alternative: if Fed stays (lands pipeline) | +$225k |
| Alternative: if Lachlan PIP fails Q4, hire replacement Q1 FY28 | +$155k Y2 |
Quarterly GM contribution from new ARR — closes the burn gap
These are INCREMENTAL new ARR signed each quarter above the existing $8.77M base — not total quarterly revenue. Q2 FY26 ($0.6M) represents modest new signing in May-Jun while the engine is being installed; existing base revenue continues at ~$900k/month regardless. FY26 June close-out is still an active priority (see FY26 close-out table above) — this plan layer sits on top of it.
Figures are gross-margin contribution from new software ARR at ~73% blended SW margin after monitoring ($36/yr ESS, App + Falcon + Eagle) and SIM ($120/yr M2MOne, Falcon + Eagle only) COGS. APP-heavy new ARR converts at ~82%, Falcon at ~59%, Eagle at ~66% — we assume current mix in the figures below. Net of incremental sales/CS spend. Hardware revenue contributes separately (margin TBC — confirm with David). Existing $168k/month EBITDA burn is closed when cumulative new SW GM exceeds annualised opex growth.
| Quarter | Cumul. Cost | New SW ARR | GM @ 73% (SW blended) | Net GM Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 (May-Jun) | +$20k | +$0.6M | $438k | +$418k |
| Q3 2026 (Jul-Sep) | +$45k | +$2.0M | $1.46M | +$1.42M |
| Q4 2026 (Oct-Dec) | +$70k | +$4.0M | $2.92M | +$2.85M |
| Q1 2027 (Jan-Mar) | +$85k | +$6.5M | $4.75M | +$4.66M |
| Q2 2027 (Apr-Jun) | +$95k | +$8.5M | $6.21M | +$6.11M |
Per-hire payback: all under 6 months
| Hire | Y1 cost | Y1 ARR contribution | Payback |
|---|---|---|---|
| NFP AE replacement | $170k | $500k-1M | 4-6 months |
| Inside Sales Specialist | $95k | $200k Y1 (quota); $400-600k 3-yr LTV | 8-12 months |
| Sales Manager | $200k | Team uplift (5-10%) | Year 1 |
| RevOps | $150k | Unlocks $2-3M leaking pipeline | ~1 month |
What could break the plan.
Honest read. Three risks if hit together drop FY27 to $10-11M ARR, still 1.6× growth.
The questions a sharp director will ask, answered up front.
Each is one we'd expect on the deal. Each has a direct answer.
Because the operating system that produced our two top AEs (Chanel + Adam, 60% of book) was never codified. Four months (May → Aug 2026) is the install window. Other CEO duties (product, finance, governance, fundraise readiness) continue — sales installation is additive at ~30-40% of CEO time, not full-time. Sales Manager takes the seat from Aug; CEO returns to standard scope. Cost of NOT doing it: hire a Sales Manager into a broken motion, they fail or quit, repeat. Cost of doing it: 4 months of focused CEO bandwidth.
The role tenure produced no documented commercial strategy, no outbound playbook, no demand-gen plan. Both reps hired under the role pivoted away from outbound into vertical AE work. The role's premium comp distorted parity (forced Chanel's base up). Structural correction: distribute the functions to people producing in the relevant scope (Sales Manager owns sales discipline; Emma owns CS strategy; Pete owns support). Coaching is for an underperforming individual in a working role. We don't have a working role.
If the window is actually 3-5 years (today's status quo), the plan still works. Every move in it (multi-year contracts, structured handoff, expansion engine, comp aligned to retention) is best-practice SaaS execution regardless of timing. The AI thesis raises urgency on the multi-year lock-in motion; if wrong, we have a healthier book sooner with no downside. Cost of being early: paying multi-year multipliers (1.10-1.50×) on deals that didn't need them. Cost of being late: 30-40% of FY28+ ARR exposed to a credible competitor at lower price.
If Chanel leaves: top-11 secondary CSM model (already proposed for retention key-person risk) means Emma has read-access + QBR history on her accounts; Karl can step in on the strategic motion; replacement search 90 days (≈$1.5M of FY27 ARR at risk = -10% to commit). If Adam leaves: Emilia steps up as primary UK contact and day-to-day relationship owner across all UK accounts; Sales Manager oversees UK pipeline continuity and deal reviews; CEO available for exec escalations on the top 3 deals only (Home Office, ASDA, OCS Morrisons) but does not take the UK Country Lead role — that would overload the CEO already running sales interim. UK BDR (hire Q1 FY27) is the longer-term answer. UK pipeline £7.0M = -£2-4M risk = -$3-6M to commit. If both leave same quarter (~3% joint probability): plan re-baselines to $11-12M commit, still +30% YoY. None of these scenarios kill the plan; they reset it.
$12M = +37% YoY = within the $5-15M ARR median band (38-50%). Achievable from FY26 trajectory without Karl — $11.7M is the model's base case. $10M would be +14% (far below median, signals no ambition). $14M stretch = +60% YoY = top-quartile, achievable with outbound engine + UK landing. $17M blue sky requires Karl fully delivering.
CRO at $350-450k OTE consolidates Sales + Success under one head. At $25M+ ARR, mandatory. At $10M ARR, expensive overhead we don't yet need. The 3 commercial functions (Sales, Success, Support) reporting to CEO is standard at $5-30M ARR (HubSpot, Atlassian, Zendesk pattern).
On the track record (4 SM hires that didn't stick): each previous hire stepped into a broken, un-codified motion with no operating system underneath them. The CEO interim period (May-Aug 2026) exists specifically to install the system first — stage definitions, pipeline hygiene, comp plan, routing rules, rep cadences — so the incoming SM inherits a working machine rather than a blank slate. The profile required is a coach and operator, not a player-manager. A player-manager in this role is blindingly obvious and doesn't work. This is the structural difference. If the SM hire is wrong again, the 4-month CEO period means the team hasn't gone backwards — it's been running on a documented system that a replacement can step into.
Three signals to track in 90 days. (a) Pipeline coverage: Chanel 1.4× → 3× and Miles 1.2× → 2.5× by 30 Sep 2026 = motion is generating pipe. (b) Handoff packet completion: 100% of closed-won deals from 1 Jul 2026 onward have a complete handoff packet = process is sticking. (c) Top-11 NRR: ≥115% by H1 review = expansion engine is firing. Miss two of three by Oct 2026 = re-baseline the plan; miss all three = honest reset conversation. Built-in checkpoints, not faith.
The numbers we report against quarterly.
Every plan needs measurable progress markers. These are the SaaS-standard metrics we'll hold ourselves to, mapped to current state and FY27 target.
| Metric | Today | FY27 Target | Why it matters / how we move it |
|---|---|---|---|
| ARR (TSAV) | $8.77M | $12M commit / $14M stretch / $17M blue sky | +37% / +60% / +94% YoY on $8.77M TSAV. $12M = median for band (achievable). $14M = top-quartile (needs outbound + UK). $17M = Karl delivers. |
| New ARR (annual) | ~$2.6M | $4.0-4.5M | Quota pool $7.50M × 40% Y1 mix × 70% attainment + Karl/inbound whales. |
| Gross margin (blended) | 75.7% | ≥78% | SW-only ~73% after per-device COGS (APP 82%, Falcon 59%, Eagle 66%); HW margin TBC (confirm with David). |
| EBITDA | ($168k)/mo | Break-even by FY27 close | Improving (Feb -$221k → Mar -$168k). Break-even at ~$900k MRR / $10.8M MRR-based ARR. |
| Rule of 40 (Growth% + EBITDA%) | ~-7 | 40+ at commit · 80+ at stretch | Today: +18% LTM growth (MRR trend) − 22% margin = −4. Commit: +59% growth − ~0% margin = ~59. Stretch: +94% − +10% = ~104. |
| LTV : CAC | 4.0× | ≥4.5× | Strong today (SaaS rule: 3:1 min). Multi-year multipliers extend LTV; Inside Sales lowers blended CAC. |
| CAC (24-mo blended) | $13,526 | ≤$12k | Inside Sales reroutes sub-$2.5k ACV away from AEs; reduces high-CAC AE time on low-ACV deals. |
| CAC payback | 12.6 mo | ≤10 mo | Within SaaS norm (12-15mo). Multi-year prepay accelerates cash payback below P&L payback. |
| Formal renewal rate (within 90 days) | 21.4% | ≥80% | 78.6% of expired contracts roll without paper (David Rockwood analysis, 31 May 2026). $1.5M on expired contracts. T-90 automation + CSM sweep is the fix. |
| Logo retention (GRR) | 92% | ≥92% | Maintained. Handoff packet + Day-30 CSM ownership prevent churn at root. |
| Revenue retention (GRR$) | 94-95% | ≥95% | Multi-year locks reduce downgrade risk; renewal motion at T-90 not T-30. |
| Net Revenue Retention (NRR) | ~99% | 110% blended / 115% Top-11 | Expansion engine: 80% utilisation triggers, Plan-the-Wedding pre-signature, automated upsell at T-9mo from renewal. |
| Magic Number (S&M efficiency) | ~0.8 (est.) | ≥1.0 | Net new ARR / S&M spend. 1.0+ = growth-efficient. RevOps + auto-routing remove leakage; pipe-build mechanics for Chanel/Miles lift the numerator. |
| Enterprise sales cycle ($50-150k) | 197 days | ≤150 days | Plan-the-Wedding at Day 22 stops pilot stalls; structured discovery → close. |
| Pipeline coverage (blended) | 2.8× | ≥3.0× | SaaS rule: 3× healthy. Adam 6.0× pulls average up; Chanel + Miles need Q1 pipe-build. |
| Win rate (new logo, enterprise) | est. 25-30% | ≥30% | Plan-the-Wedding + handoff discipline + RevOps stage enforcement lift it. |
| Inbound / outbound mix | est. 70 / 30 | 60 / 40 | Comp 1.5× outbound; vertical AE activity floor 30/day; named-account discipline. |
| Avg contract length | 2.1 yrs | 3.4 yrs by FY28 | Multi-year multipliers (1.10× / 1.25× / 1.40× / 1.50×) make 3-5yr the rational rep choice. |
| Top-11 customer ARR concentration | 50% | ≤35% by Q4 FY27 | Concentration risk. Diluted via new-logo expansion in vertical AE motion, not by losing top accounts. |
| Stale pipeline ($90d+ inactive) | $11.2M (43%) | ≤$3M (12%) | RevOps auto-close at 90 days unresponsive; stage-progression enforcement; weekly hygiene. |
"Today" values for CAC, payback, LTV:CAC, GM and EBITDA are measured (March 2026 financial snapshot). Values for win rate, magic number, and inbound/outbound mix are estimates — RevOps Day-1 work installs the tracking to report these accurately each quarter. Anything marked "(est.)" gets replaced with measured values in the Q1 FY27 operating review.
What we want to lock in from this discussion.
This is the plan as it stands. Where it'd help to confirm direction and a modest investment is below. The rest is execution.
Operational Detail
Below: the operating mechanics. Compensation grid, customer handoff timeline, per-rep pipeline state. Reference material for the new Sales Manager and CFO, not core to the headline narrative.
The engine that drives the model.
Every behaviour we want, long contracts, expansion, retention, outbound effort, is paid for. Every behaviour we don't want, lazy banks, refresh-comm leak, locked-out CSMs, is removed structurally.
No lazy bank
Y2+ override = 0%. Multi-year commission paid 100% on customer Y1 payment. Reps hunt next deal, don't coast on past ones.
Multi-year locks
Multipliers up to 1.50× reward longer terms at signing. A $500k 5-year deal pays $30k more than 1-year-and-pray.
Outbound rewarded harder
1.5× source weight on AE-sourced deals. Hunting pays $20k+ more per year than order-taking, by design.
Hardware aligned to subs
5% on hardware only when NEW subscription attached. Refresh orders = 0%. Eliminates the Coles-refresh leak.
Strict clawback
100% <90d / 50% <180d / pro-rata 12mo downgrades. Six-month escrow protects against early churn.
Uncapped accelerators
0-50% no comm / 80-100% full / >150% 1.5×, no ceiling. Top performers earn proportionally to performance.
| Role | Base | OTE | Y1 quota | Commission |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales Manager (Aug 2026) | $200k | $340k | Team target | 1% override on team TCV |
| Senior Strategic AE (Chanel, Adam) | $130k | $450k (post-uplift) | $2.0-2.35M Y1 TCV | 8% Y1 (no Y2+ override) |
| MM AE, green ramp (Miles, Jess, NFP) | $90-130k | $170k | $400-500k Y1 | 10% Y1, 25% ramp floor 6mo |
| MM AE, graduated | $90-130k | $200k | $700-900k Y1 | 10% Y1 + multipliers |
| Inside Sales Specialist (junior) | $75k | $95k | $200k Y1 | 8% on T0/T1 |
Universal rules across all sales roles
| Y1 commission rate | 8% Strategic / 10% MM / 8% Inside Sales |
| Y2+ override on renewals | 0%, no lazy bank |
| Multi-year multipliers | 2yr 1.10× · 3yr 1.25× · 4yr 1.40× · 5yr 1.50× (commercial) · gov/tender RFP-specified multi-year: 1.10× flat |
| Source-weighted | Outbound 1.5× of inbound base rate |
| Hardware commission | 5%, only on orders with NEW subscription attached |
| Payment trigger | 100% paid when customer pays Y1 invoice |
| Land Window (AE owns expansion) | Months 0-24 post-close, no $ threshold |
| Steady State (months 25+) | CSM closes; AE re-enters >$50k uplift |
| Clawback | 100% <90d · 50% <180d · pro-rata 12mo · 6mo escrow |
| Tiered payout | 0-50% no comm · 50-80% half · 80-100% full · 100-150% 1.25× · >150% 1.5× · uncapped |
| Team-deal split | Deals >$200k TCV: pre-close split letter required (rep + manager agree credit split before booking). Default 60% originator / 40% closer-support where senior contributed |
| Commission cadence | Monthly base + quarterly accelerator true-ups |
| Green rep graduation trigger | 3 gates: ≥80% quota run-rate (2 consecutive months) + ≥50% self-sourced (trailing 3 months) + activity floor maintained |
Four structural safeguards against single-deal payouts
FY25 case: Lachlan paid $300k commission on the Services Australia tender. Tom and Trav did material work to land it. Lachlan hasn't repeated since. The comp paid for what seniors closed. Four layered safeguards prevent the same pattern in FY27+:
| Safeguard | Mechanism |
|---|---|
| 1. Team-deal split (mechanical) | Deals >$200k TCV: pre-close split letter required (rep + manager agree credit split before booking). Default 60% originator / 40% closer-support where senior contributed. Lachlan's $300k would have required a pre-close split letter — with Trav + Tom as senior contributors, a 60/40 split would have paid ~$180k to Lachlan, ~$120k credited to the team. |
| 2. RevOps documents senior contribution at close (Day-1 build) | Mandatory HubSpot field at closed-won: "Senior contributors: [names + role: originator / closer / executive sponsor]". Without this field, comp doesn't process. Makes the team-deal split structural, not optional. |
| 3. Structured deferred comp on whales (>$1M ACV) | Pay 50% on customer Y1 payment, 50% on customer Y2 renewal. Aligns rep with retention; downgrades reduce the second tranche. Today's plan pays 100% on Y1 invoice — over-rewards close without proving retention on the largest deals. |
| 4. Single-deal pattern triggers diversification track | If trailing 18-month TCV is >70% concentrated in one deal, rep enters a diversification review (not PIP). Performance discussion shifts to pipeline diversity and self-sourcing. Stops "one whale carried me" from looking like sustained performance. |
First two are mechanical (process + RevOps build). Third is a comp policy change for whales only. Fourth is a manager-discretion gate. Combined, the Lachlan pattern doesn't pay out the same way again.
| Role | Base | OTE | Variable structure |
|---|---|---|---|
| CS Lead + Strategic CSM (Emma) | $130k | $165k | $20k Top 10 retention bonus + 0.5% pod NRR override + mgmt premium |
| Commercial CSM (Carley + Dec hire) | $85k | $115k | 4% renewal / 8% uplift / 12% M2M→annual / 5% finder's fee |
| Junior UK Sales AE (Emilia, under Adam) | £65k | £85k | 8% Y1 new logo · CS expansion rates on existing UK book · reports to Adam |
| Onboarding (Daniel) | $80k | $95k | $5-10k/qtr on TTV, training NPS, CSAT |
| Support Lead (Grant) | $95k | $115k | Quarterly bonuses on SLA, CSAT, FCR |
| CX Lead (Pete) | $200k | $260k | ELT scope; bonus tied to overall CX KPIs and NRR |
CS variable commission grid
| Event | CSM earns |
|---|---|
| Flat renewal (no expansion) | 4% of renewed base ARR |
| Small expansion uplift (<$50k) | 8% on uplift only + 4% on base renewal |
| Material expansion (>$50k uplift), AE re-enters as closer | 2% retained on base + 5% finder's fee on uplift |
| M2M to annual conversion | 12% on the new annual ACV (1.5× bonus) |
| Expansion AE closes during Land Window (months 0-24) | 5% finder's fee to CSM |
| Top 10 account retains at 100%+ | $20k retention bonus to CS Lead |
Team expansion bonus (not a gate): if the CS team collectively exceeds $1.5M in expansion ARR in a rolling 12-month period, each CSM receives a one-time $5k team bonus. This rewards collaboration without making individual variable comp hostage to another CSM's underperforming book — a collective activation gate with 3 CSMs means one person's churn event kills everyone's pay (RevOps Co-op / CS RevSpeak best practice). Individual NRR tiers below are the primary structure.
Two quality gates (must pass for any CS variable to pay)
| Gate | Threshold | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Gross Revenue Retention | ≥90% | Prevents revenue-chasing at expense of retention quality |
| Engagement | ≥80% response rate, ≥1 touchpoint per account per quarter | Prevents accounts going dark and becoming surprise churns |
Example 1: MM AE lands $40k Y1 ACV, 3-year contract, outbound
| Y1 commission base | 10% × $40k = $4,000 |
| × Multi-year multiplier (3-yr) | × 1.25 = $5,000 |
| × Source weight (outbound) | × 1.5 = $6,250 |
| Paid when customer pays Y1 invoice | $6,250 |
Vs same deal annual with 2 renewals: rep earns $5,000 (×1.5 outbound). Multi-year delivers $1,250 more AND locks $80k of future revenue.
Example 2: Strategic AE lands $500k Y1 ACV, 5-year contract, outbound
| Y1 commission base | 8% × $500k = $40,000 |
| × Multi-year multiplier (5-yr) | × 1.75 = $70,000 |
| × Source weight (outbound) | × 1.5 = $105,000 |
| Paid when customer pays Y1 invoice | $105,000 |
Vs 1-year contract: $60,000 (×1.5 outbound). 5-year locked delivers $45,000 more on the same deal, serious reason to push longer.
Example 3: QLD Government Land Window expansion
AE spends 9 months landing QLD Dept. Closes $10k Y1 ACV. Customer expands over 24 months. All expansions during Land Window close to AE (no $50k threshold).
| Month | Event | Uplift | Closer | AE earns |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Initial close, 25 licences | $10.5k | AE | $1,575 |
| 6 | Second department joins | +$21k | AE (Land Window) | $3,150 |
| 12 | Different dept added | +$50k | AE (Land Window) | $7,500 |
| 18 | Statewide rollout | +$200k | AE (Land Window) | $30,000 |
| AE total over 24 months | $42,225 | |||
Plus CSM gets 5% finder's fee on each AE-closed expansion ($14,075 total over 24 months). Both rep and CS aligned to drive the land-and-expand cycle.
Where retention compounds.
The CSM joins before the customer signs. The contract triggers an automated workflow. The first 30 days are choreographed. Industry data: smooth handoffs deliver 20-30% higher retention. Today this is informal at Duress. Going forward, it's the single biggest lever on NDR.
The handoff sequence: Day -7 to Day 30
The handoff packet: HubSpot blocks closed-won until complete
Deal context
Who bought, why, how. Decision-maker map. Competitor compared. Deciding factor.
Technical decisions
Devices selected, configurations, integrations, monitoring setup, SIM provider.
Customer expectations
Go-live target, training plan, success criteria as customer defines them.
Commercial plan
Pilot/expansion plan, renewal date, multi-year terms, expansion ACV target. The "plan the wedding".
Stakeholder map
Executive sponsor, operational champion, IT contact, finance contact, end-user lead.
The reporting structure: CX peer to Sales
Pete (Head of CX) owns retention + expansion = NRR. Sales Manager owns net new ARR. Both report to CEO as peer functions. This is the standard SaaS structure at $10-30M ARR (HubSpot, Atlassian, Zendesk).
CEO (Trav)
|
+------------------------+------+------+
| | | |
Sales Manager Emma Pete Karl (shareholder,
(Aug 2026) (Head of (Head of not salaried, Senior
| Success) Support) Strategic AE/whale role)
| | |
Chanel (Strategic+Retail) Daniel (CSM) Grant [no quota; named whale
+ Ting (Coordinator) Carley (CSM) Tara accounts only, landed
Adam (Head of UK) Dec 2026 hire Kirsty Coles, near AusPost]
+ Emilia (Junior UK Sales AE + UK CS)
Sales+CS+Support)
+ UK BDR (future)
Jessica (Health AE - on probation, was Peter hire)
Miles (Gov AE - on probation, was Peter hire)
Lachlan (NFP AE - on PIP)
Inside Sales Specialist
RevOps (contractor)
[Sales owns net new ARR | Emma owns NRR | Pete owns CSAT/SLA]
[3 peer commercial functions + Karl shareholder advisor reporting to CEO]
Single NRR ownership
Emma (Head of Success) owns NRR as one number. Avoids the trap of Sales owning expansion and CS owning retention separately, where nobody would own the combined outcome we report.
UK runs as country sub-org
Adam (Head of UK) reports to Sales Manager. Emilia is his Junior Sales AE — she sells (under Adam's direction) and handles CS/success for the existing UK customer book. UK BDR + future 2nd UK AE add under Adam.
Generic CSM roles
Daniel, Carley (and Dec 2026 hire) are all CSMs, no role differentiation. Emma assigns books by tier/vertical. Same CSM owns each customer cradle-to-grave.
Marketing being replaced
Current marketing resource being exited; replacement role TBD (likely Demand Gen / Growth Marketing Manager). Sits as peer to Sales Manager + Emma + Pete, reports to CEO. Sequencing: after Sales Manager onboards (Aug 2026) so the new marketer joins a working sales motion, not a broken one.
CSM book sizing: same CSM owns customer cradle-to-grave
535 paying customers (non-trial) as at 31 May 2026 (Wiise). 30,018 active licences. CSM time concentrates on the 133 customers in T2 + T3 (89% of ARR). T1 + T0 (~372 customers) handled via Digital CS pool.
| CSM | Accounts | Tier mix | Vertical / region | ARR managed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emma (Head of Success) | 20-25 | Top 11 + next 10-15 T3 strategic | All AU strategic | ~$3.5M |
| CSM (Daniel) | 50-70 | 5-10 T3 + 50-60 T2 | AU Healthcare + Government | ~$1.5M |
| CSM (Carley) | 50-70 | 5-10 T3 + 50-60 T2 | AU NFP + Retail | ~$1.5M |
| Dec 2026 CSM hire | 50-70 | Overflow / new segments | AU TBD | ~$1.5M (post-ramp) |
| Emilia (Junior UK Sales AE, under Adam) | UK book | All UK customers | UK sales + account success (reports to Adam, not Emma) | £300k quota |
| Digital CS pool (T0 + T1) | ~501 | SMB + mid-low | Automation-driven, no named CSM | ~$700k |
Source: Gainsight CSM Ratio Research 2024 (gainsight.com): high-touch CSMs average 22 accounts; mid-touch average 49 accounts. Top performers keep books at the lower end — sub-50 mid-market accounts correlates with 120%+ NRR.
T0 + T1 (~501 customers, ~$700k ARR) are handled by automation, not a named CSM. Stack: (a) onboarding email + in-app cadences (Day 0 → Day 90), (b) self-serve knowledge base + video walkthroughs, (c) auto-renewal reminders T-90 / T-60 / T-30, (d) health-score triggers (utilisation drop, support ticket spike, support engagement = 0) that escalate to a rotating CSM-on-call from the named team. Pete's support team (Grant, Tara, Kirsty) handles tickets at the support layer. No-touch is the default; humans only enter on red signals or renewal-with-upsell triggers. Replaces what was a reactive, unowned book.
Why this matters more than it looks
Customers feel sold-to-then-abandoned
Deployments stall. Renewals surprise the company. Expansion conversations start 6 months too late. NDR stuck at ~99%. Industry data: rough handoffs lose 20-30% of retention upside (Gainsight, ChurnZero, HubSpot operating manuals).
Day-one momentum compounds into Year-3 retention
First-value within 14 days. Expansion conversation booked at Day 30. Renewal motion triggered automatically at T-90. NDR moves from ~99% today to 120%+ target, the single biggest lever in the FY27 plan.
Where the $25.85M open pipeline actually sits (post-Suffolk loss).
Per-rep ownership shows the real picture: concentration on Adam (UK), reassignment needs from exits, stale-deal cleanup. Pipeline isn't "unowned", it's lopsided and ageing.
| Owner | Role / Status | Deals | $ Open | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adam Gergis | Head of UK, active | 53 | £7.0M (A$13.45M) | Becomes UK Country Lead; UK BDR hired beneath him; Emilia dotted-line |
| Fed Dronov | NZ, conditional exit 1 July | 81 | $3.75M | 50% pipeline conversion bar or reassign to AU |
| Chanel Kaczmarek | Head of Strategic Accounts & Retail, active | 74 | $3.33M | Top 11 + named T3 + Retail vertical (new logos); UK retail co-sell with Adam |
| Jessica Lithoxoidis | Health MM AE, green ramp | 86 | $2.19M | Coach toward graduation (80% quota for 2 months) |
| Peter Scarlata | CCO, exiting | 43 | $1.19M | Mostly reseller misattribution + existing customer tags, minimal real reassignment value |
| Miles Jones | Gov MM AE, green ramp | 90 | $812k | Coach toward graduation |
| Karl Pagnin | Strategic AE / Mining vertical ($100k + equity) | 6 | $681k | Triage; close or transfer to AU AE |
| Lachlan Papley | NFP, on PIP (decision Jul 2026) | 84 | $343k | Reassign to NFP AE replacement |
| Trav Heaven / others | Internal, mostly tagging errors | 12 | $77k | Cleanup |
| Mikayla Ribbera | Terminated Friday | 1 | $2k | Reassign immediately |
| Genuinely unassigned | No owner in HubSpot | 6 | $51k | Trivial, Inside Sales triages |
| Total open pipeline (post-Suffolk loss) | 536 | $25.85M | ||
Note: Suffolk County Council ($2M, Adam) closed-lost on 14 May 2026. Numbers reflect post-loss state.
Adam = Head of UK: propose a UK Country Lead structure
Adam owns £7.0M (A$13.4M) of pipeline alone, 52% of all open. UK is materially under-resourced. Proposal: formalise Adam as Head of UK with a team beneath him. Highest-ROI hire is a UK BDR / Inside Sales rep (£40-50k / A$80-100k loaded) to qualify inbound and work the smaller end of Adam's book.
Adam alone, no UK team
53 deals worth £7.0M (A$13.45M). 4 mega-deals = £5.96M / A$11.49M (85% of book). Adam can't work all of it. Smaller UK deals stall because his attention is on the whales.
Adam as Head of UK + 1-2 reports
Adam (Head of UK / Country Lead) reports to Sales Manager. UK BDR (hire Q1 FY27) handles sub-50-licence inbound, qualifies for Adam. Emilia (Junior UK Sales AE) reports solid-line to Adam. Not in Emma's CS org. Future: 2nd UK AE when ARR justifies.
Adam's top deals: the four mega-deals = 85% of book
| Deal | $ Value | Stage | Age |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK Home Office | £3.37M (A$6.5M) | Contacted-Answered | 36 days |
| SecureLink ASDA | £1.14M (A$2.2M) | Contacted-Answered | 46 days |
| OCS - Morrisons Convenience | £1.09M (A$2.1M) | Negotiation/Follow-up | 24 days |
| OCS Morrisons Falcons | £943k (A$1.82M) | Negotiation/Follow-up | 196 days stale |
| Flintshire County Council Tender | £347k (A$670k) | Contacted-Answered | 30 days |
| Top 5 (post-Suffolk-loss) | £6.89M (A$13.3M) | , | , |
Stale pipeline by owner: $11.2M needs hygiene
229 deals 90+ days inactive across the whole pipeline. Auto-close rule at 90 days unresponsive cleans most of this in week 1.
| Owner | Stale deals | $ stuck | Median age | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chanel | 26 | $2.55M | 184d | Review with Chanel weekly, rescue or close |
| Jessica (green) | 47 | $2.19M | 112d | Coaching priority, too many stalls for a green rep |
| Fed (NZ exiting) | 36 | $2.03M | 192d | Reassigning to AU on exit; close losses |
| Adam (UK) | 7 | $1.82M | 196d | OCS Morrisons Falcons ($1.82M) is the one, rescue or close |
| Peter (exiting) | 27 | $1.16M | 183d | Reassign on exit; expect most close-lost |
| Karl (channel paused) | 4 | $681k | 328d | Long-dead; close-lost all |
| Miles (green) | 36 | $514k | 170d | Coaching priority, same as Jessica |
| Lachlan (on PIP) | 36 | $175k | 207d | NFP AE replacement inherits live, close stale |
| Other (Trav, Mikayla) | 6 | $12k | , | Trivial, close |
| Total stale | 229 | $11.18M | , | , |
The 6 truly unassigned (mostly junk: $51k total)
| Deal | $ | Age | Stage | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SA Health (CALHN) | $41k | 130d | Trial Confirmed | Real opportunity, Jessica (Health) takes |
| BTW Communications | $5k | 25d | Contacted-Answered | Inside Sales |
| Sunraysia Security | $5k | 121d | Negotiation | Inside Sales or close-lost |
| Gen West Family Violence | $0 | 134d | Contacted-No Answer | Close-lost |
| Zoom Recruitment | $0 | 269d | Contacted-Answered | Close-lost |
| Jhah (Mohammed Bazroun) | $0 | 2d | Unassigned | Fresh, Inside Sales triages |
Head of Growth exit: $1.19M open looks bigger than it is
43 open deals total, but the closed-won deals reveal the attribution problem: many were CEO-originated deals (Simply Unified, Silverchain) tagged to Peter instead of Trav, or Karl's account (Coles) tagged to Peter. Real reassignment value is much lower than $1.19M.
| Deal | $ | Age | Origin | New owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ooh!media | $373k | 90d | CEO-originated, handed over | Back to CEO (Trav) |
| QLD Health North West Hospital | $314k | 184d | Existing-customer expansion off a standing agreement | Treat as expansion under existing relationship, not a new sale |
| RSPCA Queensland Tender | $129k | 170d | CEO-originated, handed over | Back to CEO (Trav) |
| Meriton Property Services | $126k | 183d | Existing customer | Chanel (retail/multi-site) |
| Orikan Parking Enforcement | $96k | 316d | CEO-originated, handed over | Back to CEO (Trav), likely close-lost (zombie age) |
🚩 Systemic deal-attribution problem
Peter's case revealed deals are being created on the wrong owner across the pipeline. CEO-originated deals (Simply Unified, Silverchain) tagged to Peter instead of Trav. Karl's account (Coles) tagged to Peter. This means per-rep pipeline attribution is unreliable, and the Land Window comp rule will be wrong without a fix. Going forward: new reseller-origin deals route to Karl; existing reseller relationships stay with their current owner.
Auto-route deal creation by customer state
HubSpot workflow on deal creation:
1. Existing customer in Land Window (≤24 months from first close) → auto-assign to original AE (Karl for Coles; Trav for Simply Unified, Silverchain; Lachlan for Services Australia; Adam for UK Home Office etc.)
2. Existing customer outside Land Window → auto-assign to assigned CSM (Carley / Emma by tier; UK accounts → Emilia under Adam)
3. New reseller-origin deal → auto-assign to Karl (going forward; existing reseller accounts stay with current owner)
4. Genuinely new logo → standard ICP routing (Gov/Health/NFP/Retail)
Without this rule, Land Window comp won't work, Chanel's expansion deals could get tagged to someone else and she'd miss her commission.
How the motion actually executes in our system of record.
Everything in this plan depends on HubSpot being the operating system, not just a CRM. The Land Window, the auto-routing, the renewal motion, the comp gating — all of it lives in HubSpot workflows. Below is the architecture RevOps installs in the first 6-12 months.
Three pipelines, one customer record
Separate pipelines because the motion and the comp are different for each. One blended pipeline hides too much.
New Business
AE-owned. Stages: New Lead → Discovery → Demo → Pilot Proposal → Pilot Live → Commercial Close → Closed-Won / Closed-Lost. Customer Journey worked example sits here end-to-end.
Expansion
CSM-led (AE re-enters at $50k threshold). Stages: Identified → Sized → Quoted → Negotiation → Closed-Won / Closed-Lost. Triggered by utilisation, support signals, QBR conversations.
Renewal
CSM-owned. Auto-created at T-90. Stages: Auto-Created → Expansion Plan Built (T-9 months) → Proposal Sent → Negotiation → Closed-Won (renewed) / Closed-Lost (churn).
Custom properties that make routing + comp work
These don't exist today. RevOps Day-1 build, backfilled for the 634 existing customers.
| Object | Property | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Land Window End Date | Auto-calculated from first closed-won date + 24 months. The single most load-bearing field — drives all routing. |
| Original AE | Who closed the first deal. Used for in-Land-Window routing on expansion. | |
| Assigned CSM | Owner from Day 0, cradle-to-grave. | |
| Tier (T0/T1/T2/T3) | Auto-set from licence count (Wiise sync). Drives motion choice. | |
| Vertical | Health / Gov / NFP / Retail / Mining / Other. Drives new-deal routing. | |
| Licence utilisation % | Synced from Wiise. Powers the 80% expansion trigger. | |
| Next Renewal Date | Synced from Wiise contract. Powers the T-90 trigger. | |
| Deal | Source (mandatory) | Inbound-Form / Outbound-AE / Reseller / etc. Drives the 1.5× outbound multiplier on comp. |
| Multi-year term | 1.10× / 1.25× / 1.40× / 1.50× multiplier on comp. | |
| Senior contributor(s) | Multi-select user field. Required at close-won for deals >$250k. The Lachlan-prevention field — without it, the team-deal split doesn't trigger. | |
| Handoff packet complete | Boolean. Closed-won status blocked until true. |
Eight workflows that make the whole thing run
RevOps Day-1 priority list. These turn HubSpot from "a CRM where people log things" into the operating system.
| # | Workflow | What it does | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Deal auto-routing on creation | Reads Company record: in-Land-Window → Original AE; outside → CSM; reseller-origin → Karl; new logo → Vertical AE. | Fixes today's 8-of-17 misattribution (Peter's case). Highest-leverage Day-1 build. |
| 2 | Handoff packet enforcement | HubSpot blocks closed-won status until the 5-section handoff packet is complete. Fires CSM notification + Slack channel + kickoff invite. | 20-30% retention upside (Gainsight benchmark) requires this gate. |
| 3 | T-90 renewal auto-trigger | Daily scan: Next Renewal Date - today = 90 days → auto-create Renewal deal, route to Assigned CSM, schedule T-60 and T-30 reminders. | Replaces today's 30-day reactive renewal motion. Moves renewal posture forward 60 days. |
| 4 | T-9 month expansion planning | Fires CSM task 9 months before renewal: "Size expansion for [customer]". Expansion rolls into combined renewal deal. | Activates the 2-3× Y2 expansion that cohort data shows is happening accidentally. |
| 5 | 80% utilisation trigger | Licence utilisation % crosses 80% → auto-create Expansion deal, alert CSM with specific count ("La Trobe Community Health at 87% — capacity for 38 more licences"). | Catches expansion at the moment of need, not at next QBR. |
| 6 | Support → CSM expansion triggers | Service Hub tickets parsed for "new location" / "new team" / "more users" → notify CSM within 24h. Optional: Claude AI parses unstructured signals. | Captures expansion intent buried in support tickets. |
| 7 | 6-month next-best-product | Day 180 from first closed-won → CSM task with upsell recommendation (APP→Falcon, Falcon→Eagle add-on, Eagle→monitoring upgrade). | Structured cross-sell motion, not opportunistic. |
| 8 | Stale deal auto-close + stage enforcement | 90 days no activity → auto-Closed-Lost with reason. Mandatory fields per stage — can't progress without them. | Cleans the $11.2M stale pipeline. Coverage moves 1.3× → 3-4×. |
Reporting + dashboards
Built off the workflows above. RevOps owns the build; Sales Manager owns the meetings.
- Pipeline by rep × stage — daily refresh, weekly Tue 9am review meeting
- Coverage ratio (open pipe / quota) — per rep, blended target 3×, surfaced weekly
- Renewal calendar — next 90 days by CSM, ARR at risk visualised
- Expansion pipeline — next 90 days by trigger source (utilisation / support / 6-mo / QBR)
- Top-30 accounts dashboard — health score, utilisation, renewal date, expansion in-flight
- Source attribution — closed-won by source, ROAS on paid, inbound vs outbound mix
- Win rate by stage — bottleneck identification (where deals die)
- Senior-contributor audit — every >$250k closed-won checked for senior involvement, comp split correctness
- Stale-deal hygiene — auto-flag aging deals before they cross the 90-day threshold
Integrations: HubSpot is the motion, Wiise is the ledger
| System | Direction | What flows |
|---|---|---|
| Wiise → HubSpot | inbound | Contract data: renewal date, licence count, utilisation %, billing status. Powers the 80% expansion trigger and T-90 renewal automation. |
| HubSpot → Wiise | outbound | Closed-won deal creates Service Contract in Wiise. Comp-eligible event. |
| HubSpot ↔ Pathfinder | bidirectional | Hardware allocation, ship status. Closes the loop on customer onboarding timeline. |
| HubSpot → Stripe (roadmap) | outbound | Per Huseyin's platform architecture: closed-won fires Stripe subscription + billing schedule. Replaces Wiise as billing engine. |
| HubSpot → Slack | outbound | Deal-specific Slack channels for cross-team visibility on top-30 accounts. |
| HubSpot ↔ CPQ | bidirectional | Quote auto-fills from deal data; quote acceptance closes deal in HubSpot. Multi-year multipliers live in CPQ, results write back. |
What's built today vs Day-1 RevOps backlog
The gap below is what the $150k RevOps contractor closes.
The skeleton
- HubSpot Companies / Deals / Contacts records exist
- Some manual stage progression
- Forms route to reps (with the misattribution problem)
- Wiise has contract data (separate, not synced)
- Closed-won status exists
The motion layer
- Deal auto-routing workflow (fixes Peter's misattribution today)
- Handoff packet enforcement at closed-won
- T-90 renewal auto-trigger (currently 30-day reaction)
- Custom properties on Company + Deal (backfill for 535 paying customers)
- Wiise ↔ HubSpot sync (utilisation, renewal date)
- 80% utilisation expansion trigger
- Stale-deal auto-close + stage enforcement
- Senior-contributor field + comp gating (Lachlan-prevention)
- Dashboard build (pipeline, coverage, renewal calendar, expansion)
Contractor closes items 1-5 in the first 90 days, 6-9 by month 6, iterates on dashboards + advanced automations through month 12. Sales Manager (in seat from August 2026) takes over day-to-day ops at that point.