Commercial Excellence Leader: Who You Gonna Call? 

One of the litmus tests I learned early on in my career when evaluating a company is the “Ghostbusters Principle.” 

The question this principle asks is, “Who does the C-Level exec call when their job is on the line?” 

In enterprise software, that C-Level leader means the Chief Revenue Officer (CRO), Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), etc. 

When the CMO is in trouble, they call Adobe, as Adobe is the leader in creative and marketing automation. Similarly, when the CRO is in trouble, they call Salesforce, the leader in B2B Sales CRM. 

When the CEO is in trouble, they tend to call management consultants like McKinsey & Company or Bain, as they are known to provide the best overarching market and strategy advice. They’re also the traditional “fall guys” when things inevitably go sideways, but that’s for another blog. 

Here at Pitcher, we must continually ask ourselves, who calls Pitcher? Who is our champion in the organization that turns to us as their trusted advisor? 

The answer is in the Commercial Excellence Leader (CEL) or Chief Business Officer (CBO). 

A Commercial Excellence Leader is responsible for driving optimal performance and efficiency across an entire organization’s commercial functions, such as sales, marketing, and customer engagement. The role is very strategic, focused on aligning commercial efforts with broader business objectives to maximize revenue, market share, and customer satisfaction. 

Key Responsibilities of a Commercial Excellence Leader include: 

1. Strategic Alignment: ensure sales and marketing strategies align with overall business goals 

2. Process Optimization: identify inefficiencies in sales and marketing processes and implement improvements 

3. Performance Management: set and track key performance indicators (KPIs) for commercial teams 

4. Enablement: equip teams with tools, resources, and training to perform effectively 

5. Data-Driven Decision Making: analyze market data, customer insights, and internal performance metrics to guide strategies 

6. Cross-Functional Collaboration: work with product, finance, and operations teams to streamline go-to-market efforts 

7. Change Management: lead transformation initiatives, such as adopting new technologies or processes 

The rise of the Commercial Excellence Leader is one of the most strategic convergences of marketing, ops, sales, data, and processes I’ve witnessed in decades.  It’s a refreshing, strategic approach to blow away organizational silos, creating value across the business. 

This should serve as your wake-up call to get to know and understand the Commercial Excellence Leader. They are budget holders, decision makers, and leaders within the organization.   

Watch this space.