Name the missing responsibility.
Identify whether the business needs commercial direction, live sales support, a partner channel, or workflow implementation. A strategy engagement will not automatically provide daily deal support. A workflow project will not automatically supply pricing judgment or sales management. Specify the decision rights and execution the business needs.
- Name the commercial priority and its current owner.
- Define the meetings and opportunities support will cover.
- Document work that remains with the founder or internal team.
Evaluate a concrete first scope.
Ask for a plan tied to one current constraint. The scope should state inputs, access, deliverables, working cadence, capacity, and acceptance criteria. Review relevant experience and ask how the provider would handle your actual sales cycle. Avoid treating an attractive revenue target as evidence of a workable delivery plan.
- Agree a baseline and a measurement method.
- Separate outputs the provider controls from market outcomes.
- Set a review point and a practical handoff plan.
Define commercial incentives carefully.
A fixed project or monthly scope can cover the agreed work. An outcome bonus may be appropriate when the outcome, attribution, baseline, and payment trigger are clear. Define exclusions and responsibilities before work starts. The structure should reflect the sales cycle and the team's contribution, not an unsupported growth promise.
- Identify the data source used to measure the outcome.
- Agree attribution and the measurement period.
- Keep bonus terms in the signed scope.