By Mel RossLet's talk

Operations

Fix how the business runs.

I work across operations, sales operations, systems and AI builds. Pick the level of help that fits, or tell me what's stuck and we'll sort it out on the call.

Tell me what's not workingSee pricing

What I work on

Most problems touch more than one part of the business.

A CRM issue can start with a bad process. A reporting problem can start with unclear ownership. AI added to a broken workflow makes the broken workflow faster. So I look at the whole operation first.

Operations

Put structure around the business so everything doesn't depend on a few people holding it together.

  • How the team runs week to week
  • Clear roles and ownership
  • Accountability
  • Process improvement
  • Getting teams working together
  • Growth planning
  • KPI design

Sales Operations

Build the process, systems and reporting behind the sales team so reps can sell and leaders can actually see what's happening.

  • CRM strategy
  • Pipeline management
  • Sales coverage
  • Forecasting
  • Reporting
  • Compensation and incentives
  • Customer strategy
  • Sales process design

Systems + Technology

Get your systems working together so the team stops entering the same thing twice.

  • Salesforce
  • CRM optimization
  • Dashboards
  • Reporting
  • Workflow design
  • System implementation
  • Technology selection
  • Integrations

AI + Automation

I build AI and automation into the work where it saves real time. I'll also tell you where it doesn't belong. Want to learn AI yourself? See AI Training →

  • AI opportunity assessment
  • Workflow automation
  • AI-assisted processes
  • Internal AI tools
  • Reporting automation
  • Process automation
  • AI adoption
  • Technology integration

How you can hire me

3 ways to work together.

Discovery tells us which one fits. It's normal to land between two.

DIAGNOSE

Clarity Sprint

Starting at $2,500

Length: 2 to 3 weeks

For: You know something isn't working and you need to know what to fix first.

What you get:

  • Interviews with the people closest to the work
  • Process, systems and reporting review
  • Who owns what, and where work gets stuck
  • AI and automation opportunities worth doing
  • A prioritized 90-day plan and my recommendation for what to do next
Tell me what's stuck
MOST COMMON
RUN

Fractional COO

$3,500 to $10,000+/month

For: You need an experienced operator in the business without hiring a full-time COO.

Where you land depends on how involved I am:

  • Advisor, from $3,500/month: regular working sessions on priorities, KPIs and decisions. Your team does the work.
  • Operating Partner, $4,500 to $7,500/month: I own important projects and drive them to done.
  • Embedded, $7,500 to $10,000+/month: I join the leadership team, run the meeting rhythm and hold accountability across teams.

3-month minimum. Same invoice every month, and hours flex across the quarter.

Talk about fractional support
BUILD

Projects

$3,500 to $15,000+

For: You know what needs to be built or fixed and you want someone to own it.

Examples of what I build:

  • AI and automation workflows
  • CRM setup and cleanup, including Salesforce
  • KPI dashboards and reporting
  • Process redesign
  • Sales compensation and territory design

Fixed scope, fixed price, clear finish line. Price depends on scope and timeline.

Discuss a project

Ongoing fractional engagements generally begin with a three-month commitment. Final scope, capacity and investment are determined after discovery.

Still not sure which one you need?

If you're somewhere between two of these, that's normal. Discovery is designed to determine the right level of involvement.

TELL ME WHAT'S NOT WORKING

Not ready to talk yet? The 10 signs is a quick read on where the strain is actually showing up.

When I usually get the call

We've grown, but our systems haven't.

What used to run on instinct and a few key people starts to strain once there's more of everything.

Everything still comes back to me.

Every decision, approval and escalation routes back through the founder or one key leader.

We know what we need to do. It's just not happening.

There are plenty of priorities, but nobody has the time, ownership or cross-functional authority to drive them.

We have tools. We don't have a system.

The CRM, spreadsheets, reporting, AI tools and processes exist, but they don't work together in a way that makes the business easier to run.

How I work

The goal is to solve the problem, build the capability and leave the business stronger.

  1. Understand

    Get inside the business and find what is actually happening, not just the loudest complaint.

  2. Prioritize

    Separate what's loud from what matters and determine where change will have the greatest impact.

  3. Build

    Fix the systems, ownership, processes and operating rhythm.

  4. Transfer

    Build capability into the team so the business runs better without me than it did with me.

How engagements actually work

No. Most people know something isn't working but aren't sure whether they need advisory support, a project, or ongoing operational leadership. Discovery is designed to determine the right level of involvement, and it's a normal thing to land between two of them. If you want a rough read before that conversation, the ten-sign check takes about two minutes.

You don't need to know what to call the problem.

Tell me what's happening, what's frustrating you, or what isn't getting done. We'll figure out what kind of help actually makes sense from there.

TELL ME WHAT'S NOT WORKING

Prefer to write it down first? Answer a few questions and I'll review it before we speak.