Hedge Co — RevUp Sales Playbook

Hedge Co — RevUp Sales Playbook
A practical, Hedge Co–specific sales enablement guide for reps, covering TAM, ICP, Sales Approach, Process, Deal Management, and KPIs.
Context Snapshot
Hedge Co is an independent software vendor selling a portfolio of professional media workflow tools for ingest/backup, transcoding, archive, and collaboration. The product set addresses the full camera‑to‑archive workflow.
On-Set / Offload
OffShoot for verified ingest and offload; Foolcat for reporting.
Archive / LTO
Canister for LTO archive workflows and long-term storage.
Cloud / Collaboration
Arctic and Postlab for cloud storage and remote collaboration.
Transcoding / Avid
EditReady for transcoding; Mimiq for Avid-style collaboration.
Hedge appears to operate a product‑led, trial‑to‑paid activation model. Arctic is a recent cloud‑focused offering and may be a strategic push to increase SaaS recurring revenue. GTM likely mixes self‑service/inbound for smaller customers with direct/enterprise sales for larger post houses and broadcasters. [INFERENCE – requires validation]
Playbook Overview & Purpose
This playbook converts RevUp's sales enablement approach into a practical, Hedge Co–specific guide sales reps can use in the Platform pursuit during Pre‑Demand.
1
Total Addressable Market (TAM)
Who Hedge can sell to and where to focus outreach.
2
Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)
The buyers and buyer behaviors that produce the best outcomes.
3
Sales Approach
Buyer‑centric conversation flows, opening plays, and trigger listening.
4
Sales Process
How leads become in‑funnel opportunities; stage definitions, entry/exit criteria, and next‑yes examples for both inbound and direct motions.
5
Deal Management & Forecasting
Standardized scoring across four categories, "next yes" rules, and forecast confidence thresholds.
6
Sales Team, Goals & KPIs
Activity model (L.A.P.S.), suggested KPIs, and placeholders where data needs confirmation.
Total Addressable Market (TAM)
Broad Market
Professional media production and post‑production workflows requiring verified media ingest, dailies/transcoding, collaboration, and long‑term archive.
Industries & Geographies
Media & entertainment (primary). Advertising, corporate video, sports, broadcast. Geographic focus: United States with global reach for distributed teams.
Major Customer Segments
Post houses and editorial facilities
Film & TV production companies (on‑set DIT workflows)
Broadcast & sports production operations
Advertising agencies and production studios
Corporate/brand video teams with high media volumes
Rental houses and workflow services providers
Company Sizes & Buyer Categories
Small teams/freelancers to mid‑market post houses (self‑service/professional licenses)
Mid‑size to large post facilities and broadcasters (enterprise deals, multi‑seat licensing)
Primary buyers: Heads of Post, Post Supervisors, DITs, Technical Ops/IT, Editors, Production Managers
Relative revenue contribution (SaaS/cloud vs. perpetual/license) and primary GTM channel split with average deal sizes by segment require validation. [INFERENCE – requires validation]
Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)
ICP structured to prioritize opportunities Hedge Co can win quickly and scale. Focusing on these characteristics concentrates effort on buyers who need media‑native workflows and can adopt multiple products, improving conversion and lifetime value.
✅ Required to Sell
Organization does professional video production or post‑production
Has repeatable projects (episodic, commercials, dailies) needing verified ingest and archive
Decision influencers include DITs, post supervisors, and technical operations/IT
These are prerequisites for product fit.
⭐ Ideal to Sell
Mid‑size post houses and production companies with multi‑seat editing and centralized storage
Organizations already using LTO or considering LTO adoption for cost-effective archive
Teams with distributed editors needing project/version collaboration (Final Cut/Avid/other NLEs)
Higher ACV and likelihood of adopting multiple Hedge products.
🔥 Highest Motivation to Buy
Organizations that recently experienced near‑miss data loss, file corruption, or missed delivery SLAs
Facilities with high storage costs seeking archive alternatives (LTO or object storage)
Urgent, measurable pain shortens sales cycle and increases willingness to pay.
Exact buyer titles, procurement processes, average deal size, typical contract length, and detailed buyer org charts require confirmation per account. [INFERENCE – requires validation]
Sales Approach (Customer‑Centric)
Use buyer outcome storytelling and risk avoidance framing: start with the buyer's current environment, quantify risk/impact, and show how Hedge Co's combined tools deliver predictable, verified workflows.
Core Approach Steps
1
Understand Current Environment
Current ingest/backup methods, archive strategy (LTO vs cloud), collaboration pain points.
2
Map Current → Desired State
Uptime/speed of dailies, archive costs, multi‑editor conflicts, delivery risk tolerance.
3
Demonstrate Hedge Co Solution
OffShoot, Foolcat, Canister, Postlab, Mimiq, Arctic — as required by use case.
4
Create Urgency
Near‑misses, increasing storage costs, regulatory/retention obligations, production timelines.
5
Show Why Hedge
Media‑native UX, checksum verification, modular adoption that scales.
Conversation-Opening Guidance
Command Statement: "Let's walk through how you currently protect camera media and where silent risks live."
Open-Ended Starter Questions
"Tell me what happens to footage at wrap each day—who backs it up and how do you verify it?"
"How do editors collaborate when they're not co‑located?"
"What's your current archive policy for completed projects?"
Pain → Solution Alignment
Unverified copies / no chain-of-custody → OffShoot + Foolcat
Expensive online storage & long retention → Canister + LTO or Arctic
Remote collaboration conflicts → Postlab / Mimiq
Trigger Types to Listen For
Vague Triggers
"We're getting slow," "Our editors fight over projects," "Storage is getting expensive."
Curiosity Triggers
"We're exploring cloud archive options," "Looking for faster ingest on set."
Pain / Problem / Impact
Failed transfers, no verification, conflicting project files → missed deadlines, rework, reputational risk, unexpected storage spend.
Sales Process
Two channel views: Inbound (product‑led trial conversions) and Direct/Enterprise (sales‑led for larger accounts). Keep Pre‑funnel vs In‑funnel distinction clear.
Pre‑Funnel (Common to Both Channels)
MQL
Marketing Qualified Lead: Trial activation, demo request, or product trial where user indicates organizational affiliation.
SAL
Sales Accepted Lead: MQL validated for fit — media production use, team size above minimum seats, budget timeline within 12 months.
Required data to progress: company name, buyer role/title, rough team size/edit stations count, trial product(s) used, activation date.
Inbound (Product‑Led) Stages
Direct / Enterprise Stages
Tracking requirements: Trial activation date, pilot start/end dates, success criteria, number of seats, storage volumes, and legal/finance contacts must be documented in CRM. Exit criteria require an explicit "Next Yes" — a calendar commitment or written acceptance. [INFERENCE – requires validation] The inbound trial funnel is expected to be the primary lead source for small/mid customers. Confirm channel conversion benchmarks.
Deal Management & Sales Forecasting
Use the standard 4‑category scoring model. Score each category as 0.0 / 0.5 / 1.0 and sum for deal confidence (0.0–4.0 total).
0.0–1.0
Do not forecast (insufficient)
1.5–2.5
Pipeline development (low confidence)
3.0–4.0
Forecastable (medium to high confidence)
Minimum threshold to include as commit: 3.0+ with at least Business Case = 1.0 AND Agreed Timeline = 1.0.
Definition of "Next Yes"
"Next Yes" is the explicit, calendar‑bound agreement to the next meaningful milestone. The Next Yes must be trackable in CRM and backed by an owner and a date.
❌ Next Step (NOT a Next Yes)
"I'll think about it."
✅ Next Yes (Valid)
"We'll run the pilot starting July 6 — I'll confirm the technical contact and calendar invite now."
✅ Illustrative Example
A 3.0/4.0 score deal where the Head of Post agrees the pilot metrics and Procurement confirms PO process — move to commit forecast bucket. [ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE – NOT FACT]
Recommended Cadence
Weekly deal reviews with score updates and blocked‑item escalation for deals below 3.0 that have a close date within the quarter.
Typical Committee Composition
DIT
Head of Post
IT/Storage Lead
Procurement
Confirm common stakeholder lists per account. Production schedules (shoot dates, delivery windows) commonly drive procurement timelines — explicitly capture these to lock Agreed Timeline scoring. [INFERENCE – requires validation]
Sales Team, Goals & KPIs
Where numeric targets are unknown, placeholders are provided and clearly marked as [INFERENCE]. Confirm with RevUp/Hedge leadership before committing targets.
Suggested Sales Goals (High Level)
Trial → Paid Conversion
Increase trial→paid conversion rate by X% (confirm baseline).
ARR Growth
Grow ARR from mid‑market post houses by Y% (confirm baseline).
Sales Cycle
Shorten enterprise sales cycle by Z days through standardized pilot processes (confirm baseline).
Monthly Goals Table (Placeholders)
All numbers above are placeholders and must be confirmed with Hedge/RevUp. Exact revenue targets, average deal size, baseline win rate, current conversion metrics, headcount, compensation plans, and historical KPIs cannot be determined from provided information. [TO CONFIRM]
Activity Model — L.A.P.S.
1
L = Leads
Trial activations, marketing inbound forms, event followups
[INFERENCE] 150 trials/month
2
A = Appointments
15‑min qualification calls, technical discovery meetings
[INFERENCE] 45 qualified calls/month
3
P = Proposals
Pilot plans, quotes, enterprise proposals
[INFERENCE] 12 pilots/proposals/month
4
S = Sales
Signed contracts / subscriptions
[INFERENCE] 4 closed deals/month
Activity KPIs to Track Weekly
Trials activated (by product)
Trial → SAL conversion rate
Pilot start rate and pilot success rate
Sales cycle length by segment (trial‑led vs enterprise)
Deal score distribution and forecast accuracy
Operational Notes & Enablement
Provide sales with: Pilot plan template, technical integration checklist, ROI one‑pager, standardized pricing tiers, and reference playbooks for common verticals (post houses, broadcast, rental houses).
Implement weekly deal reviews focused on deals with score < 3.0 and close date within 60 days.
Train reps on capturing "Next Yes" in CRM with date and owner to prevent stalled trials.
Recommended quota and compensation alignment should balance trial conversion incentives with enterprise ACV attainment — confirm with RevUp/Hedge finance and sales leadership. [INFERENCE – requires validation]
Action Checklist
Immediate Next Steps 
Confirm channel split and conversion baselines (inbound vs. direct). [TO CONFIRM]
Create or update the Pilot Plan template with measurable acceptance criteria and timeline. (PRIORITY)
Populate CRM with trial activation fields, stakeholder mapping, and "Next Yes" required fields.
Validate pricing tiers, typical deal sizes, and procurement timelines with Hedge leadership. [TO CONFIRM]
Run a one‑hour rep workshop to practice opening questions and Next Yes capture for trial leads.
Priority reminder: The Pilot Plan template is the highest-priority deliverable. All CRM fields for "Next Yes" must include a date and owner to prevent stalled trials and ensure forecast accuracy.