Objective

In response to softened market conditions in 2023, a Large North American Flexible Packaging Supplier sought to reassess and revitalize their sales strategy. The challenge was to build upon consistent organic growth achieved up to 2022 and to establish a best-in-class industry approach that could adapt to changing market dynamics.

Approach

The project was structured in two phases: Developing the Plan, and Execute and Optimize. I played a key role in the ‘Developing the Plan’ phase, where our approach was to:

• Conduct a comprehensive sales strategy diagnostic, including leadership discussions, review of existing sales strategies, and analysis of current tools and team dynamics.

• Set a new strategy by designing a forward-looking sales strategy for 2024 and beyond, identifying potential markets, and establishing tool usage guidelines

• Undertake talent design by evaluating the current team structure and designing a future state organizational design, incentive program, and financial support models.

• Foster sales engagement through the establishment of team norms, defining key behaviors, and setting the 2024 targets.

In the ‘Execute & Optimize’ phase, the focus shifted to:

• Optimization by securing early wins through real-time strategy refinement and developing leadership cadence for reviewing sales performance.

• Strategy refinement to support strategic execution, ensuring alignment with the company’s overall goals

My Role

As an analyst, I was deeply involved in the information gathering and analysis process. My responsibilities included:

• Conducting and analyzing internal stakeholder interviews to extract insights and inform the strategy development process.

• Diligently recording notes during these sessions to ensure all pertinent information was captured and considered.

• Crafting detailed slide decks for weekly presentations to the client’s CEO, which involved translating complex data and insights into clear, actionable information.