Won about half the deals, from almost none.
A cold start. The region ran on a playbook built for another market, with no demand engine underneath it. We rebuilt the go-to-market from scratch and carried the number with the CEO, CFO, and board.
What this chapter drove, and what it taught me on the way. Both up front, because the lessons are the point, not a footnote.
The region ran a headcount-heavy motion ported from another market, and it would not port. Fifty buyer interviews became the tiebreaker for every argument that followed. The fastest way to hear the market is to ask fifty buyers before you argue once internally.
The cold start's quietest problem was one play run against every buyer. Splitting the motion by deal size and complexity, commercial and enterprise, is what let five people become a ~50-person org without the win rate collapsing on the way.
The 300%+ lift in closed-won productivity did not come from hiring faster. It came from the coaching and enablement engine built underneath the org while it grew. Heads scale the cost line. The engine scales the output.
The region was a cold start wearing a warm playbook. The first leader had not worked out, the org assumed a headcount-heavy motion from another market would port to North America, and it would not: no demand engine, no working motion, and a win rate near nothing.
The rebuild started by admitting we did not know the customer. More than fifty prospect and customer interviews became the tiebreaker for every argument that followed. Not my opinion against the playbook. The buyer's voice against everything.
People first. Five people became a ~50-person GTM org, all reporting up through me, SDRs to CSMs to the managers running them, with a coaching and enablement engine underneath that lifted closed-won productivity 300%+. The motion got segmented by deal size and complexity, commercial and enterprise, so reps stopped running one play against every buyer.
The rebuild only worked because it was never a sales tweak. Product turned the interview findings into Embedded Finance as modular, out-of-the-box components, so customers could adopt the hardest product fast, and it unlocked the biggest deals in the segment. Marketing rebuilt the demand story around what buyers actually said. The multi-vertical playbooks, travel, embedded finance, e-commerce, each carried its own qualification and value story because different buyers proved they needed different reasons.
The system carried the rest: ICP scoring and routing pointed reps at the right deals instead of brute-forcing volume, and the repeatable parts of the motion went on rails so the selling hours went to selling.
Two years later: the Americas up about 5x from the cold start. Win rate from roughly one in twelve to better than one in two. Deal size six times larger. Cycles cut by more than half. The lesson I keep from it: when the playbook and the market disagree, the market is right, and the fastest way to hear it is to ask fifty buyers before you argue once internally.
A cold start on a foreign playbook, with the buyer's voice missing. More than fifty prospect and customer interviews became the tiebreaker for every argument that followed, and the real ICP came out of them.
Fifty interviews before a single system. Then segmented commercial and enterprise motions by deal size and complexity, and with product, Embedded Finance shipped as modular components customers could adopt fast.
The system carried qualification, routing, and the repeatable parts of the motion; the reps kept the selling and the judgment, with the coaching and enablement engine underneath.
N · NORMALIZE is how the team made it the default way of working. T · TIE BACK is the outcomes below.
How the build unfolded.
What I owned, and what it produced.
The whole commercial number, and the receipts it threw off. Pick a lens.
Scaled the Americas about 5x from a cold start, and put the region on track.
What the people I built with said.
Heath led our North America SME sales team with exceptional skill. His deep understanding of the cross-border payments landscape helped the business find product-market fit and propelled our sales to new heights.
I've never learned more from a manager. Heath pairs strategic vision with genuine mentorship, and his sales approaches consistently exceeded targets.
Heath crafted and executed a channel strategy that strengthened existing partnerships and forged new, strategic alliances across industry ICPs. Together we unlocked substantial GTM growth.
An exceptional leader who played a crucial role in my professional growth. His dedication to advancing deals and guiding the team toward our milestones has been invaluable.
Heath is a GTM hero among sales leaders. He is always willing to roll up his sleeves and lead the initiatives most sales leaders would not. His passion is undeniable.
Empathetic, driven, and strategic. Heath scaled the team through major growth and hiring sprints, and is a great relationship-builder with clients and stakeholders.
When I think of an ideal manager, I think of Heath. He amplified and advocated for the team and helped us grow, without it ever feeling like micromanagement.
Heath built the sales team from 0 to 1 and established the processes that gave us structure as the company scaled. Always thinking outside the box, always prioritizing the customer.
Heath executes across sales, marketing, strategy, and ops. I love his fail-fast, test-and-iterate approach. He would be an excellent addition to any GTM team.
Heath is what every sales recruiter hopes for: a dedicated, involved hiring partner who knows the delicate balance of when to push for a candidate and when to let go. If you're scaling a GTM team, Heath is an excellent partner.
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