18 Months in my Practice: Lessons From the Trenches
- Summer Poletti
- Sep 30
- 6 min read
I know you love a personal journey update, so after running this practice for 18 months, I've got plenty of hard-won lessons. If you've started to envision what your next-act career might look like, you've considered working with a fractional exec, or you're just plain curious, this one's for you!
I started the personal journey series because when I first started reaching out to podcast guests, they were curious about the "how". So I wrote a blog about it, it got lots of views, and now it's a quarterly tradition.
What you'll get in this post:
This post is inspired by some of the folks I've talked to on my "feedback tour" who are considering working as a fractional when their corporate career sunsets. So for those folks, here are some lessons you don't have to learn the hard way.
5 Lessons From the Field
Focus, Focus, Focus
Most fractional execs, consultants, and coaches come to their work with a ton of experience. And it took an advisor reminding me that "just because you can, doesn't mean you should".
If you offer a lot of different services to a lot of different markets or sizes of companies, you run the risk of no one seeing themself in your story, which means you don't cut through the noise.
What I'd do differently: Go to market with an ideal client profile defined AND a sharp and precise scope of services offered.
Early Wins Give False Hope
I can say it now - the first 90 days post launch were a lot easier than this year so far. Your first projects are going to come from people you already know, and that well dries up a lot faster than you think.
What I'd do differently: A lot more outbound a lot earlier.
People are More Willing to Help Than You Think
I'm about 6 months into my "feedback tour" that is helping me refine my messaging and meet new people. I love helping people and I hate asking for help. And I've been pleasantly surprised to find that most people describe themselves in the same manner.
What I'd do differently: Ask for help sooner - the "feedback tour" should start as soon as possible after launch.
You Lose Touch Quickly
I didn't have the luxury of prepping for my second act while still gainfully employed. If you're in the payroll industry, you know. If not, just imagine that your employer did something stupid, ended up front page news, and you lost your job mid-Covid while being labeled guilty by association by your entire network.
Regardless, you lose touch pretty quickly and fall out of people's radar quicker than you think.
What I'd do differently: Keep my own list of collaborators while still working in corporate. A spreadsheet, contacts in Gmail, freeware CRM. And nurture regularly with insights and shared knowledge.
You Rise the Struggle Bus for a Long Time
All this has been leading to this inevitable truth. I went into this knowing the first year was going to be hard. I stand corrected. The first 2-3 years are going to be hard. There will be a point when you get most of your business by referrals. There will be a point in time when you no longer ride your won revenue rollercoaster. It just takes longer than you want. There's a lot of trusting the process here and believing in yourself.
What I'd do differently: Nothing. I'm working on my own terms, flexing my superpowers, truly helping people. And in this career I get to work as long as I want.
The 6 Questions CEOs Keep Asking ChatGPT — Answered
“Why do prospects ghost after demos?”
I hear this a lot and there's no one magic answer. The most common reason - you're probably giving demos to looky-loos and not people actually serious about buying.
“Deals slip every quarter—how do I tighten forecasts?”
Like the previous, one common pitfall arises more often than others. The pipeline is full of hope, prospects who were not properly qualified.
Need more: I've got some more tips for you in this post. This will help you perform a pipeline health check.
“Churn is spiking—fastest way to plug the leak?”
It's often one of two things - either a clunky onboarding in which trust is eroded, or taking clients' business for granted (at least in their perspective). It's why I encourage businesses of all sizes to have a client success strategy even if there's no budget for a success team.
Need more: Here's a mini pod that give your client success plays you can run with any budget.
“Marketing says leads are gold, Sales says junk—who’s right?”
Like many things, the root cause if often a lack of alignment between those two functions. Start with a unified definition of an ideal client, then move to shared understandings of what a "sales ready" prospect looks like.
Need more: I've got a mini podcast that will help you with 6 easy steps to better sales/marketing alignment.
“Hired a star VP Sales, but we’re stuck—what should I check first?”
A lot can be going on. If the new VP of Sales has the experience to lead a stellar team but you're not getting the results you need, I often find two things: marketing's not up to snuff, or there's no solid foundation set or the foundation and strategies could be from your last growth sprint. (What got you here won't get you there.)
"How Can AI Help with Sales?"
There's SO MUCH that AI can do it can be overwhelming. Start by looking at your revenue growth and spot the top 1-3 things that need work. Then set a goal and look for a solution (AI or human-led) to help achieve your goal.
Need more: Of course, I wrote about this too. This goes deeper into what AI can and can't do, and a framework for getting started.
3 Objection Busters: What Founders Won’t Say Out Loud
“Consultants leave decks, not impact.”
From where I stand, I build with you because revenue growth strategy is my thing. I don't just tell you what you should do. I help you implement and then you own every custom strategy, framework and playbook I create for you.
Need more: Check out some of these clients wins
“Bringing in help makes me look weak.”
Well, if this is true, call me weak. I work with an advisor because I'm too close to my own challenges, and there are certain things you take for granted as "inevitable". Working with an outsider brings fresh perspectives and speeds up your growth because they also bring insights they learn from the field.
Need more: Check out these testimonials
“Outsiders won’t get our regulated niche.”
Kind of true. Which is why you should look for an advisor who knows your niche. Someone who works with B2B and B2C, startup to $100MM ARR. That's a no for me, and I've seen that in more LinkedIn profiles than I want to admit.
And here's some food for thought. You're bringing in the outsider to shine a light on the things you've gone nose-blind to and bring fresh ideas. You and your team are the resident experts. I recommend looking for an advisor who can partner with your internal experts, bring their fresh ideas, and create something magical. Together.
Favorite Moment From the Trenches
I'm hired for the sales playbooks I write (they're awesome by the way), but the challenge was always getting salespeople to use them.
The smart sales playbook did what I intended, gave the sales guy a "coach in his pocket", he actually used it! Meeting prep also takes 7 seconds (yes, we timed it.)
And this is why it's my favorite moment so far - the happy accident is that he's running 33% shorter meetings.
Need more: This quick listen explores the challenges I aimed to solve with the smart sales playbook
Revenue Engine Diagnostic + 30-Day Momentum Plan
Because most revenue problems aren’t pipeline… they’re process, positioning, or people pulling in different directions.
I run a 30-day Revenue Engine Diagnostic. It’s a focused project where we look at your buyer journey, team alignment, pipeline, and revenue strategies to find the top 2–3 things holding you back—and build a plan to fix them.
Fixed scope. $3,500 flat. You get the confidence to stop guessing and start pulling levers that work.
I only do 3 per quarter and the next slot opens November 1. Apply for yours now.
Rise of Us is a revenue-architecture practice led by Summer Poletti. We help $2MM - $30MM ARR fintech and SaaS companies build buyer-first GTM systems that scale. Through our Revenue RISE™ framework we align sales, partnerships, marketing, and success, coach the people who run them, and deliver early wins that compound into predictable growth. We train an AI-powered Smart Sales Playbook to keep the momentum running long after the engagement concludes.
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