Fractional sales leadership for owner-led companies
A sales team that no longer needs the owner to close every deal.
Stride Sales acts as the senior sales leader owner-led businesses haven’t hired yet, at a fraction of a full-time VP’s cost. It builds the sales system, trains the team to hit target and stays accountable for results, so the business can realize the value it was built to deliver.
In English or French. Every call is with Michaël directly.
- Private equityGo-to-market led across four portfolio companies as VP Portfolio GTM.
- 20+ years in B2B salesManaged IT and cybersecurity, telecom, SaaS, logistics, fleet management, HVAC, environmental services and industrial distribution.
- Fully bilingualSelling and leading in English and French, from Toronto to Montréal.
- Five-time President’s ClubThree as Canada’s Best SMB Sales Leader at TELUS, two as FedEx’s top enterprise seller worldwide.
From owner-dependent selling to a system the team runs
Today
Every deal still runs through the owner
- The owner still closes most of the deals.
- The forecast is a best guess, and everyone knows it.
- The CRM exists, but nobody trusts what’s in it.
Every company is different: the Stride Analysis decides what actually gets built.
What Stride Sales builds with the team
Sales stages shaped around how buyers decide. For example:
- Targetthe right accounts
- Qualifyreal opportunities
- Proposea clear offer
- Closeby the team
The owner keeps the decisions and key relationships, not every deal.
- A CRM the team keeps current
- A weekly pipeline and forecast rhythm
- Coaching on live deals
- A monthly account of what moved
A senior sales leader without the full-time hire
A fractional sales leader does the work of a sales executive, sized to what the business needs today.
Full-time VP of Sales
- Cost
- A senior salary, bonus and benefits, plus a recruiting fee
- Getting started
- Months to recruit, then time to ramp up
- The sales system
- Usually hired to lead an existing sales function
- Commitment
- A long-term hire that is hard to reverse
Stride Sales
- Cost
- A fraction of that cost, with no recruiting fee
- Getting started
- Work starts with the Stride Analysis, the first stage of every engagement
- The sales system
- Builds it, then trains the team to reach target with it
- Commitment
- Accountable for agreed targets, with a handover agreed up front
The starting point
The need is tested before anyone is hired.
The Stride Analysis reviews the pipeline, deals, pricing and team, then sets out in writing what’s holding sales back and what kind of leadership will move them forward. It’s the first stage of every engagement, and the work starts with what moves revenue soonest.
Ask about the Stride AnalysisFrom first call to handover
- 01Stride AnalysisWhere the work starts
Identifies what’s holding sales back, the priorities for improvement, and the starting point for measuring progress.
- 02Stride FootingBuilt with the team
The missing pieces go in: the right targets, a sales process, a CRM and tools the team trusts, and reporting that stands up to a buyer. Then the team is trained to use them and reach target.
- 03Stride CadenceAccountable for targets
Stride Sales leads the sales function part-time, holds the team accountable, and develops a successor who can take over while the owner steps back from daily sales.
- 04Hand overPlanned from the outset
Once the agreed criteria hold, the function passes to a successor who is already running it week to week.
How progress is measured: Measures are agreed with each client, typically covering team target attainment, pipeline coverage, forecast accuracy, the team’s ability to operate independently, and the owner’s freedom from day-to-day sales.
Built for companies at a turning point
The situation matters as much as the industry. The patterns that hold sales back recur across sectors, and the specifics of each market are learned during the Stride Analysis.
Growth has stalled
The founder’s own selling built the company. It carried the business this far but won’t carry it further, and every deal still waits on one person.
Preparing to sell or hand over
Buyers pay for revenue that doesn’t walk out the door with the owner. Building it takes time, so the best moment to start is well before the sale.
Recently acquired
New owners want a sales plan they can track from day one. Stride Sales has worked from the investor’s side of that table and knows what they will ask for before they ask.
Expanding into a new market
Québec –Ontario
A new region needs its own way of selling. Stride Sales sells and leads in English and French and knows both markets, so companies can grow across the provincial line without starting over.
Track record
Results from Michaël’s roles before founding Stride Sales.
- 62%→ to 140%
Of target for a 12-person sales team at TELUS, after a new SMB sales methodology. The level held every year.
TELUS - 85%
Average share of reps on Michaël’s TELUS SMB team who finished above target, year after year.
TELUS - 6 months
Within six months, the sales team at Fully Managed, a new national TELUS division, reached target.
Fully Managed (TELUS)
Results from previous roles. They describe past performance and are not a forecast or guarantee for any engagement.
Led by Michaël Laguë
At TELUS, Michaël created the company’s sales methodology for larger SMB clients. Its results led TELUS to bring him into Fully Managed, a new national division, to support and improve its sales strategy. That work brought him to Alphi Capital Partners to lead go-to-market across four portfolio companies.
Stride Sales brings that same discipline directly to owner-led companies, with senior leadership that stays hands-on from the first conversation to the handover.
Every engagement starts with a conversation.
In English or French, with a straight read on where sales stand and what would move them.