Most growth problems aren’t execution problems. They’re decision problems.
When leadership decisions are implicit, unstable, or revisited under pressure, teams compensate.
Marketing spreads effort.
Sales adapts on the fly.
Plans reset instead of compounding.
The Keystone Program exists to make a small set of critical leadership decisions explicit, and durable, so marketing and sales can execute without constant course correction.
“Rob provided excellent service and counsel as we grew Billback in the U.S.
A great experience!”
– Andrew M., former CEO of Billback Systems
What Keystone Is (and Isn’t)
Keystone is not a marketing plan.
It is not a campaign strategy.
It is not outsourced execution.
It is a structured decision system that sits underneath marketing and sales.
At its core is a Decision Map — a shared view of:
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Who you are really for
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What problem you are committed to own
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When a buyer is ready for sales
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What priorities hold when resources tighten
When those decisions are aligned, everything downstream becomes easier to evaluate and adjust.
When Keystone is Most Useful
The Program is most effective when:
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Growth feels uneven or fragile
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Sales is carrying messaging load
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Leadership is about to hire or restructure
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A transition has created uncertainty
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Plans keep changing but direction doesn’t hold
If the primary need is campaign execution, vendor management, or tactical support, Keystone is not designed for that.
How the Program Works
1. Keystone Assessment
A focused diagnostic that identifies:
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Where effort is diluted
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Where leadership decisions are unclear
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Where sales is compensating
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Where priorities shift under pressure
The outcome is clarity about what is actually constraining momentum.
2. Keystone Framework
The Framework formalizes a shared Decision Map.
This includes:
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Target definition and segmentation clarity
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Problem ownership and positioning guardrails
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Sales and marketing role boundaries
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Priority rules for resource allocation
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KPI logic that reflects buyer readiness, not just volume
The result is not a document.
It’s a set of decisions leadership agrees to hold.
3. Keystone Advisory
Structure only works if it holds.
Advisory support helps leadership:
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Pressure-test decisions as markets shift
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Prevent drift under quarterly pressure
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Evaluate marketing and sales activity against the map
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Avoid rebuilding the system repeatedly
This is senior-level oversight, not execution management.
4. Keystone Enablement Sprint
Transitions require stabilization.
When a marketing leader exits, a new one joins, or the team is rebuilding, the Enablement Sprint helps:
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Translate the Decision Map into team structure
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Clarify hiring profiles
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Align agencies and contractors
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Prevent compensation and confusion during reset moments
The goal is implementation without dependency.
What Success Looks Like
Teams using the Keystone Framework typically notice that:
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fewer decisions need escalation
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sales conversations start further down the field
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marketing effort becomes easier to evaluate
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leadership spends less time correcting drift
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progress feels steadier and more predictable
The work doesn’t feel flashy.
It feels calmer — and more effective.