Fairview is a leading provider of aesthetically pleasing and safe façade products to the built environment and construction market through a focus on compliance, innovation, and education.
Background
The large, family-run business experienced strong growth over the past three years and required engagement of a CFO to review and analyse accounting processes, reporting, internal capabilities, and risk management.
Following delivery and implementation of a financial Discovery Roadmap, a strategic Discovery Roadmap was delivered by a Chief Strategy Officer to define the business strategy. An implementation plan outlined steps to double business revenue within four years.
The Solution
Deployment of a Chief Sales Officer to lead implementation of the Roadmap’s sales plan.
The Process
The CSO commenced a three-month term in July 2019 to implement the Roadmap’s sales plan. An expanded remit continued for six months. Specific deliverables included:
- Sales process and process improvements:
- Reviewed current sales process and expanded focus to include lead generation and post-sales process steps
- Identified key success actions for each stage, roles, responsibilities, and KPI measures
- Embedded new sales structure and processes, reset KPI targets, and introduced performance tracking and internal communication rhythms (daily huddles, weekly meetings, monthly cross-functional meetings)
- Structure:
- Realigned management structure from siloed groups to collaborating customer-focused teams to improve accountability and alignment with strategy
- Restructured state-based teams to align with market potential and reallocated resources to focus on growth areas through market channel opportunities
- Developed a resourcing strategy for a national sales team capable of delivering revenue for a larger-scale organisation
- CRM and systems:
- Identified improvements to automate lead-generation data gathering, reporting, and task allocations aligned with the new process, and to improve opportunity knowledge to mitigate ERP integration issues
- Implemented CRM sales forecasting processes, dashboards, and pipeline projections
- Developed an Excel Sales Flow model to track the relationship between previously confirmed orders, new monthly incoming sales, and outgoing invoiced orders in a monthly cash-flow view
- Managed integration of Salesforce with NetSuite, including scope finalisation, partner appointment, project governance, and change management
- Resources:
- Defined competencies for each role and managed performance of managers and key staff
- Led each person through identifying strengths, development areas, and improvement plans
- Leadership:
- Provided direction for business-as-usual management and elevation to best practice for issues resolution, opportunity reviews, sales strategy, teamwork, and collaboration
- Introduced sales territory planning, reviews, and pipeline management
- Provided leadership to identify mid- to long-term pipeline gaps and action-plan development
The Outcome
- Structure: Transformed management structure and state-based sales teams to match market potential; YTD sales increased 12% and capacity by 30% without increasing headcount
- Strategy: Increased resource and focus on key growth markets; one sales channel’s contribution rose from 20% to 40% of monthly sales
- Customer management: Introduced a VIP programme, key account and opportunity planning, and quarterly customer reviews with monitoring and reporting
- Systems: Implemented new systems for lead management, conversion, pricing, quotations, and ERP integration
- Sales leadership: Improved confidence, adopted sales best practices, and strengthened teamwork and collaboration
Overarching results from engagement of Strategic Specialists Group include double-digit revenue growth in year one and achievement of margin and NPS objectives. Development and delivery of a Roadmap aligned finance, sales, marketing, people, culture, resources, operations, systems, processes, and procedures with strategy. The business is now in its strongest organisational and competitive position, with robust financial health in 30 years.