Revenue leader. I get companies through transition.
Founders, CEOs, and boards bring me in when the market shifts, the technology outruns the org, or the team stops working as one. I fix it by mentoring the people you already have, every leader in seat, until revenue moves again. A fix, not a deck. Embedded daily, or part-time alongside your team.
Chris Schafer
NA · APAC
Mid-market to enterprise
Inside the full arc to exit
Largest in company history
I fix revenue with the team you already have.
I help companies through revenue problems. Not with a deck, and not by clearing out your people. With the team you already have.
That is what a revenue leader does. I mentor every leader in seat, all of them if that is what it takes, until the team is aligned around one customer and one plan and revenue starts to move. I have spent 25 years doing this across industries, from NetSuite through its IPO and the Oracle acquisition to President-level operations at ImportGenius. I see the system, not just the symptoms.
Most engagements start with a 30-minute fit call. If we are a match, we move quickly.
Name the problem. I've seen it before.
Six ways companies arrive here. Pick the one that sounds like yours.
- 01"My leadership team is the problem. Good people, pointing fingers, and nothing moves."People problem → Start with HELP
- 02"Revenue is flat and nobody can tell me why."Revenue problem → How I work
- 03"I don't actually know who my ideal client is, and growth has stalled."Ideal client → Run the diagnostic
- 04"I know there's revenue in this company. I can't find it."Find the revenue → Book a strategic session
- 05"I need an operator in the seat, hands on, until this is fixed."Hands-on help → Apply for an engagement
- 06"I need a private mentor. Someone who has been here, and keeps it quiet."Private mentorship → Start with a free call
Six doors, one system underneath. Every one of these is the same broken revenue engine showing up in a different room. If your version isn't on the list, message me on LinkedIn and describe it. I'll tell you what I see.
The method is simple. The discipline is not.
I do the same thing every time. It is simple on purpose, because the answer is almost always hiding in plain sight.
- 01I come in and sit with the team.
- 02I ask everyone the same set of questions.
- 03I read the answers closely, especially where they diverge.
- 04I interview a few of your customers, fast.
- 05I come back and tell you the truth about what I found.
- 06We fix it together, with the people already in seat.
Almost every time, it is the same finding. The distance between people has grown, and it shows up as a communication problem. Everyone is focused on something slightly different, and not all of it serves your best customer. Your buyer does more research and has more options than ever. Being good is no longer enough. You have to be great, and great means aligned.
Two ways to work together.
Embedded turnaround.
Short-term, full-time interim role. I step in as your revenue leader, fractional CRO, or interim President depending on what the company needs. I work alongside your executive team every day until the org is stable, the GTM motion is fixed, and you have a successor ready.
Executive team coaching.
Part-time engagement. I coach your CEO, CRO, founders, or full exec team on the operating decisions that are stuck. Weekly or biweekly cadence. Best for companies that have the right people in seat but need outside pattern recognition.
25 years builds a deep bench of operators I trust. I bring them in on demand when an engagement needs more than me, and I have placed leaders full time, over and over, when that was the right answer. Often the right answer is a referral, and I make those for free. Even if I'm not the right individual, let's connect, and I'll do my best to point you to the right person.
25 years operating, building, and turning around revenue orgs.
I spent over a decade at NetSuite as one of the key global leaders through its growth from $30M to over $1B in revenue, including its IPO and the Oracle acquisition. I built and ran multiple verticals and led teams across North America, Asia, and Australia through that growth.
Most recently I served as President at ImportGenius. Today I run OnDemand Leaders with my wife Elisha, and I co-authored the HELP Operating System.
This is me. New videos most days on the OnDemand Leaders channel.
HELP. The method behind the work.
HELP stands for Hear, Evidence, Learn, Proceed. It's the operating system I use for the conversations that drive every decision in a turnaround. Calm. Logical. Effective.
It scales. A two-minute hallway exchange. A weekly forecast call. A board meeting. A six-month engagement. Same four steps.
Hear
Full attention, not partial input. Skip it and you train the team to escalate just to be heard.
Read more →Evidence
Separate what you know from what you assume. The diagnosis cracks at the spot you treated a story as a fact.
Read more →Learn
Recognition over instruction. The team gets sharper when they pull the pattern from their own past, not yours.
Read more →Proceed
Surface the options. Don't name the winner. The team gets a decision either way. Only one version gets conviction.
Read more →Use HELP to run forecasts that hold.
Handle objections without losing the deal.
Keep accounts when the relationship is wobbling.
Make the call when the data is incomplete and the room is tense.
From the people I've led and mentored.
In the first conversation that I had with him he led me to explore an area of my business for growth that I had not even thought about. His energy and optimism are contagious and he really brought out the best in everyone.
He offered me what is perhaps the most valuable gift you can give to another person, time. He invested his time and used his influence to champion my potential, and for that, I am forever grateful.
I learned how to sell software and lead people from Chris. He has an incredible ability to apply strategy and emotional intelligence to any situation to achieve the best possible outcome for his team and his clients.
Once you have a chance to work with him, you will understand why he has a fantastic track record of very happy customers and very loyal employees.
Where the buyer changed and the playbook didn't.
I post what I am seeing inside live engagements. GTM dynamics, the HELP Operating System, and the shifts AI has already forced on B2B buying. Weekly notes also published to Insights.
Connect on LinkedIn ↗You know what others are reading right now.
Revenue is breaking. Let’s fix it.
If you’re a founder, CEO, or board member watching the numbers slip and the team spin, the first conversation is free. I hold Fridays for these calls. I’ll tell you what I see, what I’d do, and whether we’re a fit. No pitch deck. Need me before Friday? Message me on LinkedIn.
Greater Toronto Area · serving NA & APAC