The Fractional Baker’s Dozen + 1

Welcome to The Independent Operator, a blog series from Pavilion featuring insights for GTM leaders navigating fractional and advisory work.

Meet Neil...

Neil Weitzman is a longtime Pavilion Ambassador and the co-leader of our CAF (Consultant, Advisor, Fractional) sub-community. A seasoned fractional CRO and GTM operator. Neil brings tactical wisdom and unfiltered insights to help independent executives thrive. This article is part of The Independent Operator, Neil’s ongoing series for Pavilion.

Connect with Neil on LinkedIn | Linktree | Follow his GTM or GTMFO Substack or learn more at weitzmangtm.com

13 Non Negotiables for Independent Operators Who Want to Last

Whether you are a Fractional CRO, a full-time CMO, or a full-time in-seat GTM operator this is true for us all;

Speed separates great teams from bad teams more than anything else. It is not intelligence. It is not one product over another. It is not the coolest logo.

It is speed. Execution. Responsiveness. Getting sh*t done. That is what we notice and tell others about and that is also what we complain about when it is not there.

I believe deeply that quick responses, fast action, and real time improvements win more often than not. Over and over again, across companies, stages, and markets, speed shows up as the difference between momentum and mediocrity.

Independent operators feel this more acutely than most. We are dropped into environments where expectations are high, context is incomplete, and patience is limited. We do not get the luxury of slow learning curves and 90 day plans. We are expected to see clearly, decide quickly, and move things forward.

If you can move fast and execute you will be a star.

Building a sales team and a GTM system that actually works is not as easy as it looks. Anyone who has been a founder or a CRO knows this deeply.

Best practices are bullsh!t (read about that here)
Knowing what good looks like is not as easy as it sounds
Keeping up with AI and technology is a full-time job in itself

If all this was easy, every company would be a billion dollar company. Instead, we are operating in a world with more noise, more tools, more competition, more information, and far more educated buyers.

It feels like there has been more change in the last year than the last ten combined, and there is no reason to believe that pace is slowing. As James Kaikis put it, no one has ever been a CRO in 2026.

For independent operators, this matters. We are asked to drive outcomes inside systems that we barely know, and drive them yesterday. Asking the right questions and knowing what is non-negotiable right out of the gate is critical.

What I see most often is not incompetence. It is mediocrity.

Calendars are full and dashboards look impressive. People are working hard but ignoring what actually matters.

There are many things in GTM that are open for debate. But there are also fundamentals that are not.
This is my list of a bakers dozen plus one more GTM non-negotiables.

But before I give it to you, we must start with this.

NONE of it matters if your team does NOT want to win. Or, as Shoresy would say, they need to hate to lose.

If I am building a team today, or inheriting one mid stream, I need to see grit, ambition, drive and openness to constant learning. You can call that old school if you want. You can roll your eyes and say okay boomer, but show me a consistently winning team that does not have it. I have yet to see one.

That said, desire alone is not enough. Wanting to win gets you part of the way, but it does not carry you across the finish line. That is where non-negotiables come in. These are mine:

A Baker’s Dozen+1 for Independent Operators

1. First Impressions - This matters more than ever. Add value, be kind, be professional, have a personality, smile for darn sake.
2. Sense of Urgency - Move everything forward “yesterday”, respond to Inbounds IMMEDIATELY.
3. Phone First - When someone emails you just pick up the phone and call them. The difference is huge.
4. Proper Discovery - Have absolutely clarity on - Why Anything? Why Now? Why Us?
5. Up Front Contract - Do this during meeting #1 / discovery (more on that here)
6. Exception Setting - Do this once there is interest to move forward. It’s setting the rules of a game so that everyone knows how to play. (Test out my Expectation Setting coaching sim for this here)
7. BAMFAM - Still the best way to reduce sales cycle throughout the process.
8. Proper Meeting Preparation - Salespeople think they’re prepared for meetings, 75% of buyers say otherwise.
9. Actionable Meeting Follow-ups - Do it right away, thank you email to everyone with clear action steps AND 1:1 email to EVERY meeting attendee.
10. Add Value at Every Touchpoint - 62% of buyers prefer to work with salespeople who act as advisors rather than just selling products.
11. WARM over COLD - 84% of B2B buyers start the buying process with a referral and 50% end up buying what their peers are using = We trust people we know more than people we don’t.
12. Execution is the Only Thing - Be a driver not a passenger.
13. You HAVE to be Different / Creative to Stand Out - This is not optional. If you don’t know this by now you are lost.
14. None of it Matters Without Self-Learners - It does not matter how good you are today, you will not be great tomorrow if you do not practice. If you don’t have a learning/coaching program in place and if your team is not learning on their own, change this before everything else.

If you want to talk to someone about these GTM Non-Negotiables. I built a coaching sim in Avarra - you can go talk to Cate here. She would love to coach you through them.

What This Means for Independent Operators

Fractional leaders are not paid to be busy. We are paid to raise the bar. We are brought in to replace motion with progress and ambiguity with clarity. Our real job is to leave behind teams that continue to win after we roll off. The Baker’s Dozen is not optional. It is the cost of competing.

See you next month with another unfiltered dispatch from independent operator life.