When should you hire a COO?

Hire a COO when the constraint is the owner, not the market. The practical test: the team has repeatable lead flow, decisions queue behind one person, and at least two moves a quarter get delayed because nobody else is allowed to make them.

Do I need a COO or a VP of Sales?

If one great closer would fix the number, hire a VP of Sales. If the number is stuck because pricing, hiring, comp, and renewals all route through the owner, a closer will not fix it. That is a seat problem, not a headcount problem.

Is it too early to hire a COO?

It is too early if you are still hunting for product-market fit, if unit economics are broken, or if payroll depends on the next deal closing. A COO makes a working business run without you. A COO cannot make a business work.

Should the first operations hire be full-time?

Usually not. A full-time operations leader costs salary plus benefits and payroll taxes, and typically requires a 3–6 month hiring search before anyone touches the bottleneck. Most owners at this stage need the moves made in the next ninety days, which is what a fractional seat or an Operating Partner is for.

What happens if you wait?

The delay has a price and it compounds. A top producer's retention conversation delayed two quarters, 40% of closings coming from one lead source, a team lead hire delayed six months, a comp plan nobody rewrote. Those numbers are almost always larger than the cost of the seat.

How do I know the hire is working?

Within thirty days, the calls you have been carrying get made by someone other than you, and your team reports on them with that person in the room. If that has not happened by day thirty, the hire is wrong.

Michael Schuerman · Growth Partner · Atlanta

You hire a COO when the constraint is you.

By Michael Schuerman · Growth Partner · Atlanta

Not when sales volume hits a number. Not when the team hits a headcount. When the decisions that move the team are all queued behind one person, and that person is you.

Apply for a call30 minutes. Bring the bottleneck.

02 The test

Three signals, not a revenue number

Lead flow repeats. The team has a reliable way to create opportunities. If it does not, you have a demand problem and a COO will not touch it.

Decisions queue. Lead routing, splits, hiring, retention. Every one of them waits on you, and the queue is longer this quarter than last.

Moves slip on the calendar, not on the merits. You know what to do. It has been on the list for two months. That is the tell.

Two out of three means the seat is worth pricing. Three out of three means the delay is already costing you more than the seat.

Show me my number

03 The other hire

COO or VP of Sales

Ask one question. If a great closer walked in Monday, would the number move?

If yes, hire the closer. It is cheaper, faster, and the scoreboard tells you in a quarter whether you were right.

If no, the number is stuck somewhere a closer cannot reach. Pricing nobody has revisited. A comp plan that rewards the wrong behavior. A renewal conversation you keep moving. Three managers who have never been trained to manage. That is the seat.

Most owners hire the closer twice before they admit it was the seat.

04 Too early

When the answer is not yet

You are still testing what you sell and to whom. A COO makes a working business run without you. A COO cannot make a business work.

Payroll depends on the next deal. Fix cash first. Every operating improvement takes longer than a payroll cycle.

Unit economics are upside down. More volume through a broken model is a bigger loss, run more efficiently.

I decline these on the first call. It saves us both a quarter.

05 Questions owners ask

The rest of it

When should you hire a COO?: Hire a COO when the constraint is the owner, not the market. The practical test: the team has repeatable lead flow, decisions queue behind one person, and at least two moves a quarter get delayed because nobody else is allowed to make them.
Do I need a COO or a VP of Sales?: If one great closer would fix the number, hire a VP of Sales. If the number is stuck because pricing, hiring, comp, and renewals all route through the owner, a closer will not fix it. That is a seat problem, not a headcount problem.
Is it too early to hire a COO?: It is too early if you are still hunting for product-market fit, if unit economics are broken, or if payroll depends on the next deal closing. A COO makes a working business run without you. A COO cannot make a business work.
Should the first operations hire be full-time?: Usually not. A full-time operations leader costs salary plus benefits and payroll taxes, and typically requires a 3–6 month hiring search before anyone touches the bottleneck. Most owners at this stage need the moves made in the next ninety days, which is what a fractional seat or an Operating Partner is for.
What happens if you wait?: The delay has a price and it compounds. A top producer's retention conversation delayed two quarters, 40% of closings coming from one lead source, a team lead hire delayed six months, a comp plan nobody rewrote. Those numbers are almost always larger than the cost of the seat.
How do I know the hire is working?: Within thirty days, the calls you have been carrying get made by someone other than you, and your team reports on them with that person in the room. If that has not happened by day thirty, the hire is wrong.

Not sure which hire it is.

Bring me the bottleneck. If it's a fit, you'll get a firm price before you commit to anything.

Apply for a call

If it’s not a fit in the first ten minutes, we both know.

Not ready to book

Every week you wait has a number on it. The calculator tells you what it is, in about two minutes.

Show me my number