CASE STUDY
In Q1 2026, a global EdTech enterprise set out to expand its existing partnership beyond renewals and into three Commercial sales motions designed to unlock incremental ARR, improve market coverage, and strategically reallocate Account Executive capacity up-market.
The initiative focused on building a scalable operating model for Commercial long-tail growth, giving the EdTech giant a structured way to pursue lower-touch opportunities while allowing internal sales teams to focus on larger, more strategic accounts.
This was not simply a vendor expansion. It was a commercial execution initiative requiring strategic program management and coordinated planning across sales, operations, enablement, analytics, IT, finance, and vendor teams.
5280 PMO supported the initiative by creating the execution structure needed to move cross-functional planning into launch-ready implementation.
Primary stakeholders included:
Sales Development Director
The enterprise Business President
Global Sales VP
Enablement
Sales Operations
GTM Operations
GTM Analytics
IT
Finance
Vendor leadership and launch teams
Because the commercial motions were newly launched, long-term performance results will be measured over time. The immediate impact was the successful expansion and launch readiness of three Commercial sales motions with a defined FY26 revenue target and operating model.
$1.5M–$2M FY26 ARR target
Increased coverage of Commercial 1–99 segment accounts
Future lift in 1–99 segment win rates
Reallocation of AE capacity toward higher-value, up-market deals
New India ADR motion designed to generate net-new pipeline from previously untouched ICP
Launch of three vendor-supported Commercial motions
The EdTech enterprise did not face a single major blocker. Instead, the challenge was managing a dense network of dependencies that had to come together for launch.
The initiative required coordination across internal enterprise teams and vendor to ensure the right people, systems, territories, workflows, and training were ready before go-live.
The execution risk was not whether the strategy made sense. The risk was whether every operational dependency could be coordinated with enough clarity and discipline to launch on time.
5280 PMO created the program structure, cadence, and visibility needed to keep the work moving across teams.
The team used a structured Waterfall methodology supported by the enterprise’s preferred tools, including Google Sheets, Gmail, Google Slides, Slack, and Zoom.
A 5280 PMO Smartsheet dashboard was used for reporting visibility.
This gave the enterprise a controlled execution environment without forcing the team into tools or processes that did not match how they already worked.
The primary goal for the edtech enterprise was to expand the vendor’s partnership across three commercial motions:
Launch a vendor-led full sales cycle outbound motion to monetize commercial accounts not assigned to AEs in FY26.
Shift inbound coverage in the
1–99 segment to vendor so LATAM Commercial AEs could focus on higher-value, up-market opportunities.
Stand up an ADR motion to generate net-new pipeline from a large volume of previously untouched India ICP.
Together, these motions were designed to help the edtech enterprise capture incremental revenue, expand market coverage, and create a more scalable commercial sales model.
5280 PMO’s approach centered on practical execution control: define the plan, identify dependencies, align workstreams, track risks, and maintain visibility from planning through launch.
The project plan was managed through a Google Sheet schedule based on the client’s preferred operating model. The RAID log was collaborative, allowing the full team to update risks, assumptions, issues, and dependencies in real time.
5280 PMO’s strategy included:
This approach aligned with 5280 PMO’s Strategic Program and Project Management Services by helping the edtech enterprise translate a strategic commercial growth initiative into a coordinated, cross-functional execution plan.
5280 PMO helped the edtech giant complete the expansion of the vendor’s partnership across all three Commercial motions.
While ARR performance will be measured over time, the project established the operating foundation needed to support the enterprise’s FY26 growth goals.
The project delivered the operational structure and launch readiness required to support the new commercial motions.
Key deliverables included:
The result was a more coordinated commercial execution model designed to scale revenue coverage without creating unnecessary burden for internal sales teams.
“We designed a scalable long-tail growth model that transitioned transactional opportunities to the vendor, enabling account executives to concentrate on larger, strategic deals while establishing a framework that could scale alongside the business.”
Catherine Dickert, Program Manager
5280 PMO
Collaboration was structured around workstreams, weekly touchpoints, and shared visibility. Each workstream met weekly to review open tasks, dependencies, and RAID items. This ensured that teams were not operating in silos and that launch-critical issues were surfaced early.
Leadership played a critical role in sustaining this pace. Strong executive alignment enabled rapid, informed decision-making when it mattered most. Visible leadership presence across teams and locations reinforced cultural cohesion during a period of significant change, while clearly defined ownership across workstreams prevented drift and confusion. This was not passive oversight. It was active friction removal, enabling the organization to move faster with confidence.
Collaboration was supported through:
The cadence gave every stakeholder a clear view of what needed to happen, who owned it, and where decisions or escalations were required.
Leadership played a critical role in maintaining momentum.
The Sales Development Director drove the project and remained heavily involved throughout execution, helping ensure cross-functional alignment and maintaining visibility with senior leadership through bi-monthly updates.
Leadership impact included:
The project created a scalable foundation for Commercial long-tail growth by allowing the vendor to manage transactional sales opportunities while the enterprise AEs focused on larger, higher-value accounts.
Key impacts included:
The EdTech giant had a clear commercial growth opportunity: expand coverage, monetize long-tail accounts, generate new pipeline, and move AE capacity toward higher-value deals. But turning that opportunity into an operational reality required more than a plan. It required structured execution, disciplined dependency management, and the ability to coordinate multiple teams and vendor workstreams without losing momentum.
5280 PMO helped create that structure. By managing the schedule, RAID log, workstream cadence, leadership reporting, and launch dependencies, 5280 PMO gave this enterprise the visibility and control needed to expand the vendor partnership across three Commercial motions.
The result was a scalable commercial execution model built to support FY26 ARR growth and long-term sales capacity optimization.
