Do you want to seize the moment but not freak out unnecessarily? Then you have to learn to be proactive and keep calm at the same time.

It’s good to be ambitious. It’s good to be proactive.

From my own experience as the Founder & CEO of Yonder, a B2B SaaS company, I fully agree: I set ambitious targets for myself and my team, and I plan my work 2–4 weeks ahead.

Now, this article isn’t about being ambitious and proactive. It’s about keeping calm and carrying on in the midst of entrepreneurial hectic and all the setbacks that are oh-so-characteristic of entrepreneurship.

Once again: It’s good to be ambitious and proactive. But keeping calm is possible even when you’re ambitious and proactive. Looking at our team as a whole and our journey over the last few years, I think we do have some potential for improvement in this area.

Let’s look at some real-life examples.

Example 1: A New Customer

Winning new customers is exciting, especially when a new large customer signs up. That’s what happened recently after a long dry spell in sales.

Of course, the team was excited when the message came through that we had been selected as the provider and that the contract would be signed shortly.

And that’s when the unnecessary hectic began. We need to set up the tenant for the new customer. We need to plan on-site training sessions. And damn, the assigned customer success manager was just about to leave for a 3-week vacation.

Guys. Saying that a contract would be signed is not the same thing as signing a contract. I had to hold everyone back, and I looked like a party spoiler. I reminded everyone that we should cross the bridge once the contract was signed.

Guess what? The contract was signed two days before the assigned customer success manager returned from vacation, and he could jump right in after his return.

Example 2: A Promised Deep Sell

One B2B SaaS strategy is land-and-expand. You start with a small scope in a big organization, proving the value of your solution, and then expanding from there.

We’ve followed this avenue many times. And on quite a few occasions, our customers asked for proposals for an organization license, i.e., a flat-fee license covering their entire organization. Some of these proposals showed very big numbers that made us dream.

Now, back to the topic of this article. What happens every time an enterprise customer asks for an organization license proposal? Unnecessary hectic. We start discussing how to refactor our software to handle the huge amount of new users. We dream about the marketing effects the big rollout will have in the industry, and what it would mean for our future growth and potential exit perspectives. And amid the frenzy, we tell our board about the big proposal.

Guys. They only asked for a proposal for a deep sell, but they haven’t signed the proposal yet. Deep sells in enterprise organizations always take much longer than anticipated, as you have to navigate hierarchies and procurement. Wait for the purchase order before you get carried away by unnecessary discussions.

Example 3: Market Consolidation

The B2B software market is changing fast. It’s not just because of AI, but because investors love vertical software in B2B markets with high switching costs.

That’s why every now and then, we are approached by investors and consultants, asking us for our view of the market we operate in. We’ve also seen competitors merge and partners being sold to competitors.

Enter the hectic, again. Every time an investor or consultant reaches out, the wildest speculations are discussed. What if competitor A merged with partner B? What if competitor C lured away our top two customers, merely to prepare itself for a merger with competitor D? If such a transaction eventually closed, would the market be dead for us?

It’s good to take competitors and risks seriously. But it’s unwise to try to adapt your strategy and vision to rumors about possible transactions. History teaches us that there is always a third way, and that we should cross the bridge when we get there.

Conclusion

It’s a tight edge between being proactive and keeping your cool. Both elements are required for success — sometimes you have to seize the moment; sometimes being too quick degrades your options.

Do you want to seize the moment but not freak out unnecessarily? Here is my advice: First, plan conservatively. Second, prepare but don’t overprepare. And third, seize the moment when the time is right — not before, and not after.