Fractional CRO leadership, Austin, Texas

Build the revenue system your next stage requires

Fractional CRO leadership to build the revenue structure required to scale, strengthen portfolio performance, prepare for exit, or enter a new market or channel.

Schedule a 30-minute call See the four stages

For founder-led companies and private equity or family-office portfolio companies, typically $2M to $100M in revenue, across North America.

Who we work with

Two kinds of companies call, for two different reasons

Engineer working on a production line at an industrial company

Founder-led companies

Growth has become inconsistent, and every important deal still runs through the founder

CEOs and owners of established B2B companies, often in manufacturing, industrial and commercial services, whose forecast is no longer credible.

We replace founder-run selling with a system the team can execute: cadence, KPIs and CRM discipline that hold.

How embedded leadership works

$2M to $100M: Revenue of the companies we work with
30+ years: Of sales leadership behind the work

Executive in a suit at an investment firm

Private equity and family offices

A portfolio company needs commercial leadership through a transition, a first 100 days, or exit preparation

Investors, portfolio-company boards and M&A advisors with a value-creation plan that depends on revenue.

We install a commercial operating system and executive-level reporting the board can trust.

Start with the Trailhead diagnostic

30 days: Objective diagnostic of the revenue organization
100 days: Execution plan the next leader can inherit

The Clear Direction Revenue Ascent Program

The right level of revenue support for where your company is now

Four stages, one route. Most companies enter at Trailhead and move up only as far as the business needs. Each stage builds on the one before it.

Stage 01
Trailhead
Revenue Diagnostic
Determine what is actually limiting revenue performance before committing to a larger solution.
- Revenue strategy and market focus
- Pipeline quality and forecast credibility
- Sales process and qualification
- Leadership, roles, and accountability
- Marketing-to-sales alignment
- Founder or key-person dependence
- Team capability and readiness
Leave with clarity, not guesswork.
Learn more
Stage 02
Initial Ascent
Revenue Advisory
Executive-level guidance for leaders who need better revenue decisions, sharper priorities, and consistent accountability, but do not need an embedded sales executive.
- Revenue priorities and decision support
- Pipeline and forecast review
- Business-development accountability
- Targeted coaching and capability development
Clearer priorities. Better revenue decisions.
Learn more
Stage 03
Base Camp
Revenue Operating System Build
Design and install the commercial infrastructure required for repeatable growth.
- Ideal customer profile and market segmentation
- Sales process, pipeline stages, and qualification criteria
- CRM structure and operating discipline
- KPI scorecards and forecasting methodology
- Hiring profiles, compensation, and team design
- A defined 90-day execution roadmap
A visible, repeatable revenue system leadership can manage and sales can execute.
Learn more
Stage 04
Summit Push
Fractional CRO and Revenue Operating Partner
Fractional executive leadership for companies where revenue performance has become a strategic risk or a critical part of the value-creation plan.
- Commercial leadership through scale, transition, or exit preparation
- Revenue strategy and executive leadership
- Hiring, coaching, and team development
- Sales-team performance and accountability
- First-100-day or transformation execution
Senior revenue leadership without the commitment of a full-time CRO or the scope of a full-time sales manager.
Learn more

Improve your sales execution, strategy and process

Three areas every engagement touches, whatever stage a company enters at.

Sales execution

Build the sales organization that fits your objectives
Put sales force automation to work on your processes
Define metrics for key objectives and daily activity
Manage the team and hold it accountable

Strategy

Use business intelligence to raise the growth rate
Build the compensation model that drives the behavior you need
Set precise goals for sales and business growth

Process

Hire, onboard and train the sales team
Produce predictable forecasting
Set rules of engagement everyone understands
Build the forecasting and pipeline management tools

Case studies

What changed inside two companies

All case studies

Food serviceTexas

Texas Food Service Company

A Texas-based food service company with over 50 years of success recognized it needed outside expertise to address growing gaps in sales infrastructure and revenue. Sales leadership had been managed directly by the President, a model that was no longer sustainable for future growth.

Back to pre-Covid revenue in 2022, double-digit growth in 2023, accounts added in all five major cities.

Sales infrastructureSales team rebuildFounder-led

Read the case study

ManufacturingNorth Carolina

North Carolina Manufacturer

A change in ownership and a realization that they needed an experienced sales and business leader. The company was operating from transaction to transaction without a strategy or plan.

Pipeline grew 5X in six months, gross margin rose 7 points, and the owners completed the exit they wanted.

Sales strategyExit preparationOwnership transition

Read the case study

Client results

Trusted by clients who have seen real results

We engaged John Spencer as our Outsourced VP of Sales a month prior to the pandemic. We maintained key accounts, retained our top sellers, and prepared for 2021. By Q1 of 2021 we were recruiting and growing again. The sales infrastructure like the weekly sales meetings, KPIs and CRM kept the Sales team focused and looking forward. John became part of our senior staff and contributed to all elements of the company given his broad experience. I recommend companies consider a Fractional or Outsourced Sales leader as the next logical step to advance the sales vertical, prior to hiring full-time.

Paul Brown

President, Mcliff, Family Office

Certifications and partners

Certified in the methodologies behind the work

About the founder

John E. Spencer

Founder, Clear Direction Sales Development

John E. Spencer works with founder-led and private equity-backed companies when revenue growth becomes inconsistent, unpredictable, or overly dependent on the CEO.

He embeds as a fractional CRO to install the leadership, structure, and accountability required to turn sales into a disciplined, performance-driven function, without the cost or risk of a full-time executive.

With over 30 years of leadership experience spanning the U.S. Air Force, Fortune 500 companies, and growth-stage businesses, John brings both strategic perspective and hands-on execution. He has built sales teams from the ground up, stabilized underperforming organizations, and implemented scalable go-to-market systems across companies ranging from $5M to $300M+ in revenue.

John works inside the business: leading teams, installing process, and aligning leadership around measurable performance. Companies engage him when forecasts lack credibility, sales performance is inconsistent, or growth is constrained by founder dependence.

The result is a sales organization that operates with clarity, accountability, and predictable, repeatable revenue.

More about Clear Direction

ACG Austin San AntonioPresident
Powered by Sales XcelerationAdvisor
ProVisorsGroup Leader
redM AustinPresident

Not sure which stage fits? Start with a 30-minute conversation.

Tell John what revenue looks like today. You will leave the call knowing whether a diagnostic, advisory support, or embedded leadership is the right next step.

Schedule a 30-minute call Send a message