First week: establish who owns the work
Name the person who runs the pipeline review, meets sellers individually, handles deal escalations and gives leadership a forecast. Tell the team what that person can decide and what still needs founder approval. Review open opportunities with each seller. Record the customer’s next step, the seller’s commitment and any promise the departing leader made. Preserve access and records through your normal company process.
First month: make the forecast inspectable
Separate opportunities supported by customer activity from those carried forward on hope. Check close dates against buying steps, approvals and remaining work. Keep a regular coaching and review schedule. Avoid changing territories, compensation and sales stages all at once merely to signal a fresh start. Identify the few changes that address observed problems, name their owners and revisit the results.
Days 30 to 90: define the permanent role
Use what you learn to write a role based on actual responsibilities. Does the business need daily team management, a new market strategy, hiring capacity or all three? Give the incoming leader a record of people, opportunities, forecast assumptions, commitments and unresolved decisions. Interim management should leave the team understandable to the next person, with a planned transfer of responsibility.