Distribution & sales

Case study 2 - Distribution & sales

Background and problem

The Company had difficulties in recruiting the right calibre of sales manager to grow the business in line with the ambitious plans of the Managing Director. The MD has a hands-on approach, especially with regard to sales, as he was a salesman before he set up this business. This had created a lot of tension within the whole sales organisation. Over the last 3 years no one salesperson has stayed with the company, and they had already employed three sales managers over this period.

Not only are sales down on the previous year, but also he is threatened with the loss of one of his major customers because of poor service. There are also serious problems within the logistics and administration departments.

Actions Taken

The MD agreed that to save the business from collapse he required help, advice and support and it was agreed that a team of three Focus Business Advisers (FBA) be appointed immediately.

The first plan was to allow the MD time to re-energize himself by attending a very specific management course in the IMI, which was recommended by FBA. It was also agreed that one of the FBA team would act as a mentor and coach to the MD over this period.
A logistics and ISO expert from the FBA team took on the task of redesigning and restructuring this area of the business, with the emphasis on people, process, training and development.

The lifeblood of the company was sales, so a FBA sales expert was tasked with retention of customers, recruiting a new Sales Manager, motivating and retraining a flexible sales ream that could adapt to changing circumstances.
The first task that the FBA sales expert undertook was to meet all the major customers with the MD to establish their needs going forward. It also allowed the team to ask for some time while we restructured the company’s operations. Thankfully all these customers were supportive, especially when we showed them the realistic time frame we had in mind.

The next step was critical, we needed to recruit a talented Sales Manager that matched and exceeded the MD expectations. We identified seven proficiencies, which were needed by this person if he/she were to succeed.

• The ability to set clear, realistic sales targets
• The ability to create and develop action plans
• The ability to maximise the return on time invested
• The ability to communicate and motivate the sales team
• The ability to recruit sales people
• The ability to manage oneself

The Result

The MD is now managing the Business without spending his time on the day-to-day issues, giving him more time to be creative instead of fire fighting. The three departments are now working together as a team. The new Sales Manager has been appointed, with the most favourable of outcomes after 9 months. Sales have almost doubled with existing customers from €2.1 to €3.9 million, and an extra €80,000 from two new customers. The whole sales team has been retrained by an FBA recommended outside sales training company.The future indeed looks bright.