CASE STUDY # 013
Manufacturing
Engagement Focus
Revenue decline, sales execution, process efficiency, organizational alignment
The Challenge
The organization was experiencing a sustained revenue shortfall, with sales averaging 18% below budget. Leadership required a clear diagnosis to identify whether the issue stemmed from market conditions, sales performance, or internal execution failures.
Key Findings
The assessment identified multiple internal execution breakdowns impacting revenue performance:
1. Sales Role Misalignment
- Outside sales and business development roles lacked clearly defined expectations.
- Significant role overlap created internal competition rather than collaboration.
- The environment became increasingly toxic, diverting energy away from winning new business.
2. Excessive Process Complexity
- The path from solution development to quoting, ordering, and shipping contained an excessive number of steps.
- Lengthy internal cycles delayed customer responses, allowing competitors to gain advantage.
- Sales momentum was lost during extended decision and fulfillment timelines.
3. Inside Sales Underutilization
- Inside sales resources were significantly underutilized.
- Incentives and accountability were misaligned, resulting in low urgency and limited ownership of revenue outcomes.
Corrective Actions Implemented
1. Sales Structure & Leadership Alignment
- Leadership clarified the organization’s vision, desired outcomes, and execution expectations.
- Two divisions were consolidated into one unified structure with clearly defined roles, territories, and responsibilities.
- Cross-training was implemented to improve collaboration and reduce friction between teams.
2. Process Simplification
- Eliminated approximately 75% of unnecessary steps, paperwork, and forms across the sales and fulfillment process.
- Streamlined workflows to reduce internal delays and improve responsiveness.
3. Inside Sales Accountability
- Transitioned quoting responsibility to the inside sales team.
- Established direct accountability for revenue targets, tying performance to measurable outcomes.
Results
Cultural & Organizational Impact
- Shifted from siloed, competitive behavior to a collaborative, team-driven sales culture.
- Improved internal alignment significantly strengthened new revenue pursuits.
Operational Performance Improvements
- Reduced lead time from solution to shipping from 3–4 weeks to 1–2 weeks.
- Semi-annual internal audit cycles were reduced from 5 days to 1.25 days, improving efficiency and freeing operational capacity.
Financial Outcomes
- Enabled outside sales and business development teams to spend more time pursuing new customers and strengthening existing relationships.
- Achieved a 25% increase in revenue, with a net gain of 7%.
- Projected an additional 12% revenue increase over the next 12 months.
Outcome Summary
Built a scalable foundation for sustained growth
Reversed revenue decline
Restored sales accountability and role clarity
Compressed sales and fulfillment cycles
Improved operational efficiency
Seeing revenue decline despite strong market demand?
Start with a Business Execution Assessment.