Overview
A national B2B services provider faced a pivotal moment: a 50-person specialized sales team supporting adoption across 30+ enterprise clients—including Fortune 500 brands—was underperforming. Despite high activity levels and meticulous reporting across 10+ metrics, the team produced just $5M in revenue on a $6M budget. Leadership was ready to shutter the division.
We were asked to evaluate whether the unit could be salvaged—or if the planned shutdown was the right move.
The Challenge
- Overmeasured, underperforming: Reps tracked everything—calls, visits, events—but no one knew what actually drove outcomes.
- Dispersed focus: Managers were buried in activity reporting and firefighting, with no clear success framework.
- Sinking ROI: With costs exceeding returns, the team was on the chopping block.
What We Did
- Reframed success around a single number
We collapsed the noise. Everything—activity tracking, engagement efforts, internal reporting—was reoriented around one metric: end-of-month revenue by rep. - With so much focus on what WASN’T working, WE FOCUSED ON WHAT WAS WORKING.
- We looked at the team to identify signs of success. While less than 20% of the reps were successful, those 20% provided a path – and proof – to the organization that SUCCESS WAS POSSIBLE.
- Implemented ‘Management by Exception’
Managers were retrained to triage attention based on rep trajectory:- On target? Stay out of the way.
- Close to target? Monitor to get to target.
- Falling short? Dive in fast with targeted coaching or other action.
- Streamlined reporting, refocused leadership
Simplified dashboards freed up sales leaders to spend time in the field—traveling with reps, coaching underperformers, and replicating winning behaviors.
The Outcome
- Revenue grew from $5M to $19M
- Costs dropped from $6M to $5M
- Team morale and clarity surged
The organization wasn’t shuttered. Instead, it became a top-performing channel.
Why It Worked
This was a clear case of “working smarter, not harder.” The team was working hard, but wasn’t rowing together or in the right direction. By identifying the one metric that mattered and building a smart, simple framework for action, we unlocked capacity, accelerated learning loops, and gave leadership a reason to believe in the team again