When identifying the real issue changes everything

Commercial reset in a long established technology business

When I joined a long established technology company, leadership initially believed the only way to reset performance was to replace the entire sales team.

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Instead, I spent time speaking with sales, operations, finance and leadership to understand how the business was really functioning.

What became clear was that the problem was not the people but several structural blockers affecting how the sales team and the commercial side of the business operated.

By identifying and addressing those issues, the company was able to rebuild momentum without losing valuable experience within the team.

Challenging the brief to unlock a much bigger opportunity

A consumer brand approached us through a formal tender process looking to build what they described as a brochure style website to support the marketing of a new product range.

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Rather than simply responding to the brief, I questioned whether the proposed approach would actually deliver the commercial outcome they wanted.

After spending time with the client’s marketing team and exploring the real behaviour of their customers, it became clear the opportunity was far more specific: young girls encountering the product category for the first time.

That insight changed the direction of the project completely and the solution evolved into a personalised digital platform designed to support and educate young users.

The result was a product launch that scaled significantly faster than expected, with demand growing beyond the initial commercial plans.

Resetting the relationship between sales and operations

A common issue I encounter when diagnosing commercial blockers is tension between sales and operations.

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Sales were seen as responsible for problems while operations were viewed as doing the real work.

That dynamic created friction and slowed progress across the company.

By bringing the teams together and helping both sides understand the pressures and realities each faced, we were able to reset the relationship and create a far more collaborative commercial environment.

Breaking a partnership bottleneck that blocked growth

In one business I joined, incoming enquiries were tied to a partnership structure where opportunities had to be shared before the internal team could pursue them.

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In practice this meant many deals were effectively lost before the company had a fair chance to compete.

By identifying the impact this structure was having on the sales pipeline and changing how opportunities were handled, the business was able to regain control of its own commercial momentum.

Shifting from Transactional Selling to Solution Selling

Another challenge I worked with was the way the company approached the market. The focus had been on selling small individual items in a highly competitive environment.
 

This created constant price pressure and limited the value of each engagement.

By reframing the offer around broader solutions and outcomes, the business moved away from purely transactional sales and began building stronger, higher value client relationships.

Moving from operational pricing to value based selling

The company had historically been very operations led, with pricing focused on ensuring nothing was left on the table.

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In consultative commercial environments however, value is determined by the client’s outcome and return on investment rather than internal cost assumptions.

By helping the team shift toward a more value focused commercial conversation, the business was able to approach pricing and proposals with greater confidence.