What I’d Do in the First 12 Weeks as Head of Growth at a B2B SaaS Startup Plateaued at €500K ARR
Structured in three focused phases:
Your company hit a growth ceiling around the €500k ARR mark? That’s where things get really interesting. The product has likely proven value, there's some revenue consistency, but momentum is stalling. In this phase, a company often suffers from unclear positioning, leaky funnels, scattered execution, and a lack of growth strategy.
Here’s how I’d approach the first 12 weeks as Head of Growth, structured in three focused phases:
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2 ways I can help you scale your B2B company beyond €1 Million ARR 🤝
1️⃣ 1-on-1 Marketing Advisory — For B2B founders growing from €0 to €1M ARR (starting at €500/month)
Weekly strategy sessions via video call
Actionable insights, frameworks & guidance
Ongoing support via Slack or WhatsApp
2️⃣ Growth & Paid Media Freelancer / Fractional Head of Growth (pricing on request)
Strategic guidance and hands-on execution for rapid results
Seamless integration with your team
Backed by 7+ years of B2B marketing & growth expertise
🔗 Visit valentineiber.com
🚦 Weeks 1–2: Growth Audit — Get the Full Picture
Before touching growth levers, you need to understand the real story. Why did growth slow? What’s actually working? What isn’t? This is your diagnostic phase.
1. Customer Deep Dives: Talk to Your Audience
This is your fastest path to insight. Forget analytics dashboards for a moment — pick up the phone.
Talk to top 10 active customers: Why did they buy? What alternatives did they consider? What feature or outcome makes them stay?
Interview churned customers: What was the tipping point that led to leaving? Were expectations unmet?
Extract their language: Use exact phrases customers use to describe their pains and wins — this language will later fuel positioning, website copy, sales scripts, and ads.
Pro tip: Group responses into pain clusters — you'll start seeing themes emerge.
2. Data Audit: Find the Leaks
You can’t optimize what you don’t measure. Here’s what I’d break down:
Funnel Performance:
Analyse your CRM Data.
Traffic → Demo Booked → Sales Qualified Lead (SQL) → Closed-Won.
Calculate conversion rates between each step.
Identify where the biggest drop-offs are.
Do this for each traffic source if possible.
Is there already a lead scoring in place? If yes, can you find any correlation between lead sources and high scores?
Additional Key Metrics:
LTV by customer segment — who brings long-term value?
Churn by segment — is retention a problem with a specific ICP?
Sales Cycle — how long from first touch to close?
CAC & Cost per Demo per channel — how much are you paying for certain leads? (if you already started with paid channels)
Attribution & Tracking:
Is your current setup giving clarity on what channels drive pipeline and revenue?
Are you tracking all your funnels appropriately? (e.g. are you using and tracking UTMs)
What’s your attribution model and what does it show? (first-touch, multi-touch, and/or self-reported attribution).
3. Team & Process Review: Are We Aligned?
Growth gets blocked when marketing, sales, and customer success aren’t rowing in the same direction.
Who owns each part of the funnel and customer lifecycle?
Is there a clear definition for each lifecycle phase (Lead, MQL, SQL, Opportunity, Customer)?
Is sales working leads that marketing brings and how?
Are leads properly nurtured after the first interaction?
How are insights being communicated in the team?
If you see misalignment, flag it now — this is the time to fix structural issues.
🛠️ Weeks 3–6: Fix the Foundation & Start Shipping Experiments
You’ve done the homework. Now it’s time to act.
4. Sharpen Positioning & Messaging
Without clear positioning, everything else breaks — sales gets harder, marketing doesn't convert, churn increases.
Define (or refine) the ICP & Persona:
Who is your best-fit customer right now? → Which customer profile brings in the most revenue / has the highest revenue potential?
Use a proven template to map your ICP. Here is an example:
Map out the personas for each ICP:
Work on Your Messaging:
It’s important to fix your confusing positioning. I am using a messaging framework inspired by fletchpmm to map out and develop a super sharp messaging:
5. Quick Wins & Low-Hanging Fruits
While the foundation sets in, you can drive immediate pipeline.
Retarget Past Leads: Run reactivation campaigns with the updated value prop. Focus on deals that went cold or were “not now.”
Churned Users Campaign: “We heard you — and we fixed it.” Address their core complaint and invite them back with a demo or discount.
Website Refresh: Apply new messaging, optimize CTA clarity, highlight customer proof, and simplify navigation.
SEO Content: Focus on bottom-of-funnel keywords (e.g., “alternatives to X,” “best [tool] for [role]”).
Conversion Optimization (if running paid ads): A/B test landing pages, creatives and copy.
6. Sales & Marketing Alignment
At this stage, misalignment is one of the biggest growth blockers. Fix it now:
Lifecycle Stages: Agree on what a marketing & sales-ready lead looks like and who is taking care of contacts in each lifecycle.
Lead Scoring: Collaborate on scoring model based on behavior and your ICP/Persona definitions.
Handoff Process: Who follows up, how fast, and with what messaging?
Syncs: How often do marketing & sales exchange their knowledge and insights? Make sure to have at least monthly meetings.
🔁 Weeks 7–12: Scale What Works & Build Repeatable Motions
By now, you’ve gathered early signals and some test results. Time to go from testing to scaling.
7. Double Down on Working Channels
Some channels will start showing traction. Time to commit.
Outbound: If (cold) outreach is converting, try to scale it with more automation, specific and valuable content + personalization.
SEO: If content is driving demos, ramp up with a content calendar targeting mid and bottom funnel.
Partnerships: If partner programs, integrations or co-marketing bring leads, deepen those relationships.
Community: If you generate leads and sign contracts directly out of your community, strengthen it. Here is a guide on how to leverage community for B2B companies.
Don’t try to do everything. Go deep on 1–2 channels that show the most promise.
8. Build a Content Engine
Content is your long-term asset. But it needs to be strategic.
Middle & Bottom Funnel First:
Case studies, ROI calculators, objection-busting content, comparison pages (e.g. “Your product vs Competitor A”).
FAQ-style blog posts addressing decision-stage questions.
Share deep industry insights and opinions.
Founder-Led Marketing:
Ghostwrite LinkedIn posts or newsletter from the founder’s voice.
Use storytelling + insight, not product pushes.
Reuse content pieces like blog posts, videos or case studies.
📈 Week 12: Wrap-Up & Roadmap
Your 90-day deliverable: clarity, traction, and a playbook for what’s next.
Analyse the Last Weeks and Present Your Growth Roadmap:
What did we learn about our ICP and messaging?
What growth experiments succeeded or failed?
What foundational changes were made?
What channels or strategies are we doubling down on?
What is the plan for the next 6–12 months?
Final Thoughts
This playbook isn’t about hacks — it’s about focus, fast learning, and building a growth engine that compounds. A company at €500k ARR has proven some value. Your job as Head of Growth is to figure out where the real momentum is hiding and unlock it.
Speed, clarity, and alignment win.
Feel like you need support?
2 ways I can help you scale your B2B company beyond €1 Million ARR 🤝1️⃣ 1-on-1 Marketing Advisory — For B2B founders growing from €0 to €1M ARR (starting at €500/month)
Weekly strategy sessions via video call
Actionable insights, frameworks & guidance
Ongoing support via Slack or WhatsApp
2️⃣ Growth & Paid Media Freelancer / Fractional Head of Growth (pricing on request)
Strategic guidance and hands-on execution for rapid results
Seamless integration with your team
Backed by 7+ years of B2B marketing & growth expertise
🔗 Visit valentineiber.com