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Commission Intake → Delivery SOP

Process doc

Commission Intake → Delivery SOP

The highest-ambiguity work we sold, governed end to end. A phase-gate procedure whose real job was protecting resources on both sides — no internal time committed until an opportunity cleared qualification, and no artist approached until the project team had a plan.

The highest-ambiguity work we sold, governed end to end. A phase-gate procedure whose real job was protecting resources on both sides — no internal time committed until an opportunity cleared qualification, and no artist approached until the project team had a plan.

Type

Process doc · SOP

Format

Governed phase-gate table

From

Enterprise commission program · 30+ engagements

01 · Context

Enterprise commissions were the highest-ambiguity work we sold. Clients arrived with highly specific requests and undisclosed budgets; artists sometimes brought expectations a single project couldn’t carry. Before this SOP, we’d invest weeks building full proposals for work the client couldn’t afford, and opportunities were floated to artists before the scope was real — so we managed disappointment instead of projects. Qualification wasn’t only budget and model-fit: it was a practical read on whether we could execute the brief while keeping the artist’s voice centered, and an honest check on stakeholder expectations. This document governed 30+ engagements, from rapid-turn projects to multi-year programs for Fortune 500 clients.

02 · The artifact

SOP-014 · v3.2

Owner: Program Lead · Rev. Q2

Commission Intake → Delivery

1

Intake & scoping

Brief captured on one form; budget + deadline confirmed

Client Partner

Signed brief + budget locked

2

Artist match

Shortlist against medium, availability, rights fit

Program Lead

2–3 artists confirmed available

3

Kickoff & contract

SOW, artist agreement, milestone calendar issued

Ops Coordinator

Both agreements countersigned

4

Production

50% GATE

Artist creates; liaison checks in at the midpoint

Artist Liaison

Midpoint WIP approved by client

5

Review & QA

Runs against the market-ready rubric (Artifact 06)

Program Lead

Rubric passed · no open flags

6

Delivery & handoff

Files shipped, invoice sent, retro logged to archive

Ops Coordinator

Delivered · invoiced · retro filed

Roles: Client Partner · Program Lead · Ops Coordinator · Artist Liaison

Escalation: any missed gate → Program Lead within 24h

↳ recreated clean · client names, budgets & artist IDs redacted before publishing

SOP-04 · v3.2

Commission Intake → Delivery

owner: Creative Director

#

Phase

Owner

What has to be true to advance

1

Qualify

The gate

Art Advisor

Three-filter threshold: (1) opportunity aligned with our model, (2) client disclosed budget, timeline & outcome expectations in writing, (3) stakeholder expectations realistic against what the outcome can be. Missing any one stops it here. No proposal work. Full stop.

2

Scope

Project team

Cross-functional review — art advisor, ops lead, curator, creative director. Materials circulated ≥48 hrs ahead. Output: communication plan, mockup/design requirements, dependency map, vendor quotes documented before anything starts.

3

Assess risk

Creative Director

Two-variable matrix: known process + existing design = green. One new variable = proceed with structure. Two new variables = decline or restructure. We don’t prototype on client money.

4

Artist commitment

Creative Director

Opportunity presented neutrally on a standard talk track — the artist decides. Living project tracker opens: timeline, budget, client notes, every communication logged in both directions.

5

Contract + payment trigger

Creative Director

Annotated contract template — every clause explains what’s needed and why. Execution releases the initial payment covering materials and startup costs. Production does not start before this line.

6

Produce + deliver

Ops lead

Structured client reviews, documented decisions, payment triggers tied to milestones, closeout report to stakeholders.

Roles: CD owns process · art advisor owns client comms · ops own vendors & logistics

Escalation: budget/timeline/scope change → back to project team, never 1:1

↳ recreated & sanitized · client names, budgets and artist identities generalized before publishing

03 · Outcome

30+

30+

enterprise engagements governed end to end

3

3

filters cleared before a single proposal hour is spent

48 hrs

48 hrs

minimum lead time before any project-team review

The most valuable output of this SOP wasn’t smoother delivery — it was data. Tracking qualification and win rates across years of commissions showed our conversion didn’t justify commissions as a lead offering, and I recommended repositioning them as an opportunity opener. A process that tells you what to stop selling is doing its job.