The challenge

As a company transforming wealth transfer with AI-powered tools, Luminary was in its early stages when David recognized the need for a more formalized sales process.

Before engaging Ram, David and his Head of Commercial, Mary, were owning sales themselves. They needed guidance on building a scalable, professional sales team, establishing a clear sales pipeline, and aligning their approach to the buyer’s mindset. The company was ready to hire their first Account Executive, but they wanted to ensure they had the right structure in place before making any permanent hires. 

As David put it:

“The house wasn’t on fire, but we knew we needed help.”

Why the Progress Advantage?

Ram was brought in to provide a hands-on, tailored approach to Luminary’s needs. Luminary’s case was interesting because they needed someone who could help them with both high-level strategy and day-to-day tactics — especially in the early stages. They wanted someone who could help them build a repeatable framework that would help them grow in the smartest way possible. Getting the right people in the right seats was critical — and the next step was creating a playbook that would utilize those people strategically. 

“While generally consultants or third-parties tend to be very ideas focused or strategy focused, Ram will sit down and push you to actually get stuff done. He provides a lot of resources, and is refreshingly tactical.” 

The solution

Ram helped define what Luminary’s sales structure should look like and crafted the job description for their first hire, a Founding Account Executive. He also provided detailed interview material and walked them through the search process. Once Pat, their first AE, was hired, Ram took charge of his onboarding, guiding him through both the big-picture vision and the “tactical and nitty-gritty things.”

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Beyond sales, Ram’s expertise extended into customer success, enterprise deals, pricing, and pitching. 

“Ram has an amazing range. Before we had anyone dedicated to sales, he did a great job of meeting us where we were and giving us exactly what we needed at that time.” 

Ram continued to act as Luminary’s outsourced head of revenue, helping build out their sales pipeline, coaching the team, and developing comp frameworks to align incentives.

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“He taught us to reframe things to a buyer’s mindset, taking the questions from what we want to do with the buyer to what the buyer actually wants from us,” Mary said. 

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The result

With Ram’s help, Luminary successfully onboarded their first Account Executive and established a solid foundation for a professional sales organization. Pat remains with the company, and Ram's influence has extended across multiple departments.

“He’s the consultant that founders actually want to work with.” 

Ram introduced compounding strategies that helped create urgency and move deals through the funnel faster. His guidance on pipeline management, deal acceleration, and strategic decision-making helped Luminary’s team become more thoughtful and strategic.

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As David summed up, “He’s like our outsourced revenue office, always knowing when to toggle between the big picture and the details at a moment’s notice.”

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“Ram has this mantra of ‘Don't do it tomorrow, do it now,’” Mary added. “It was transformational to get to watch a great sales leader like him in action.”