Waiting Costs More Than Acting: Why Interim Sales Leadership Matters Now
It always starts small: a few new hires, some shifting territories, and a little more on everyone’s plate. On paper, it looks manageable. In reality, momentum starts slipping long before anyone notices.
We saw it firsthand during a field project. What started as a simple ride-along revealed overwhelmed teams, confusing territory assignments, and leaders stretched too thin. Within days, we optimized the structure, clarified targets, and rebuilt field confidence before deeper problems could take hold.
That’s the power of real interim leadership. Not just filling a seat but protecting your growth before you even feel it slipping.
Gaps Don’t Stay Still, They Grow
When a leader leaves, the damage doesn’t happen all at once. It builds quietly.
Coaching stops.
Field rides disappear.
Meetings are shorter or canceled.
The team holds it together on paper, but underneath, trust erodes, performance dips, and culture starts to splinter.
And the longer it lasts, the harder it is to pull the team back.
You don’t just lose a leader. You lose momentum, culture, and your best people — the ones trying to hold it all together without enough support.
Hiring a permanent replacement months later doesn’t solve that.
By then, you’re not onboarding a new leader, you’re asking them to dig out of a hole.
Covering Isn’t Leading
We hear it all the time:
“Can’t our other AVP just cover for a while?”
Here’s the truth:
- Approving expense reports isn’t leadership.
- Processing PTO requests isn’t coaching.
- Being a name on a Monday call isn’t driving growth.
Covering means administrative survival.
Leading means field rides, sales meetings, one-on-ones, development plans, and culture, the real work that keeps teams together and pushes them forward.
Stretching good leaders thinner burns them out and risks losing them, too.
A True Interim Leader Does More Than Keep Things Running
The right interim doesn’t just keep the lights on. They build, sharpen, and strengthen during transition. Leaving problems to sit idle only sets your next leader up to play catch-up. A focused interim plan builds the momentum they need to succeed from day one.
What a real interim leader does:
- Blends into your culture immediately, not operating like an outsider.
- Listens first. Observes without disrupting the team’s rhythm.
- Diagnoses hidden performance gaps, such as reporting, routing, and market targeting.
- Coaches the team on real-world skills: sales calls, account targeting, and field performance.
- Stays hands-on with day-to-day leadership: sales meetings, field rides, growth planning.
- Builds a clear runway for the next permanent leader, not a mess to fix.
When You Work with Growth Solutions, You Get the Whole Team
With Growth Solutions, interim leadership isn’t a one-person solution.
You get:
- A hand-matched interim leader based on service line (home health, hospice, home care, etc.) and market expertise.
- Full access to strategic support from our consulting team behind the scenes.
- Custom reports, field ride analysis, territory realignment, operational planning.
- Help interviewing and vetting your next permanent leadership hire.
- Ongoing strategic input if you need help beyond the interim period.
Our interim leaders aren’t isolated contractors. They’re backed by a complete engine of experts who have already been inside hundreds of agencies like yours.
Interim Isn’t Just for Emergencies
Some agencies call us when a leader leaves. The prepared ones call before that. Interim support isn’t just a rescue plan. It’s a proactive move to:
- Manage growth surges.
- Navigate acquisitions smoothly.
- Balance leadership bandwidth when scaling fast.
- Keep culture and cadence strong while the next move is planned carefully.
And when you know you have an “easy button” for future gaps—someone you trust and who is ready to step in—you can move faster without risking stability.
We can even set flexible agreements to step in only when needed, without rework or starting from scratch.
Setting You Up for Success That Lasts
Interim leadership is often where our client work begins — but it rarely ends there.
Once agencies experience the difference:
- In admits stabilized through a leadership gap.
- In culture flipped from broken to high performing.
- In teams re-energized and re-aligned.
- In permanent hires stepping into a strong, well-prepared environment…
They realize interim support isn’t just about bridging gaps, It’s about building something better. When you work with Growth Solutions, you’re setting up your agency for sustainable success, not just a temporary fix.
Don’t Lose What You’ve Built
One leadership gap can stall your momentum.
Two can cost you your future leaders.
Three can start undoing the culture you worked years to build.
The solution isn’t waiting longer.
It’s acting smarter and sooner.
Let’s ensure the next gap is just a small step, not a giant setback.