Case Study
Nevco SportsBuilt a fast growth strategy and re-engineered a regional sales coverage plan and re-skilled the entire sales force – 60 sales representatives.
Situation
Nevco Needed to Double Their Sales in Four Years
Nevco, owned by Dominus Capital, a private equity firm, is a leading manufacturer of scoring systems (score boards, controllers, and video jumbo displays) for high schools, colleges, and park & req organizations. Their new president was challenged with doubling sales in four years and to get the company ready for sale. He heard me speak at a Dominus CEO event in Jackson Hole and moved quickly to retain me to help him design and implement this growth journey. The company had great potential but was not ready for growth. Their products were solid but beginning to lag behind Daktronics, their biggest competitor. Their sales force was mostly new and unskilled and had little leadership support. There was no strategic plan, and their manufacturing processes and equipment were lagging the industry. Dominus agreed to support my consulting engagement, and the work began.
Details
Leading the Development of a World-Class Sales Organization
Action taken
I began with a deep assessment of marketplace opportunity, competitive positioning, product mix, research and development, manufacturing, leadership skills, and finally sales competence. This assessment resulted in a 60-page Position Paper outlining, observations, current state, future state desired, the gap for getting there, the investments required, ROI, and specific short-term recommendations to launch a fast start plan. Next, I led 15 executives through a formal strategic planning off-site resulting in an “Article One” document defining the underlying initiatives and actions to be taken. This plan was baked into a set of integrated project charters that I provided, and I helped them to establish a formal Program Management Office – which are highly detailed and integrated charters needed to achieve a successful outcome. I quickly realized there was little sales leadership and spotted a talented gentleman that I strongly recommended he be promoted to VP of Sales. The sales organization has flourished under his leadership. I also recommended the hiring of a new research engineer to guide new product development. His role was to deliver controllers and software to convert scoreboards into powerful computers significantly expanding their capabilities and ease of use.
Result
From planning I was asked to lead the development of a world-class sales organization. This initiative, combined with the 200 % plans led to 20 % year over year sales growth for five years. I was able to show the teams how to compete. They now have a solid structured selling model, planning process, and a way to measure performance of their teams. The coverage plans shifted to a regional model providing significant territory penetration. R&D quickly developed world-class controllers allowing a score board to be operated by a high school student using an app on his cell phone. These engineering initiatives helped them leapfrog the industry and assisted with growing there market share. The PMO that I implemented helped the team plan, organize, and control their organization through the series of charters. This led to a highly organized and professionally managed organization. The culture improved dramatically, and the company achieved sustainable growth. I remained with them for three years. They are now being positioned to be sold and are likely to see a powerful return.
YEARS SUPPORTED
3y
Growth Period
5y
Sales Increase YOY
Testimonial
“As CEO of a sports manufacturing company, I engaged Mike Kerrison to bring a standardized proven sales process to our company. Mike did a tremendous job facilitating a diverse group of salespeople with various levels of experience and varied backgrounds. He got them to focus on “how” they individually and collectively could transform and grow the revenues of our organization by creating and implementing the 200 % sales plans. I recommend Mike and his structure to any organization that wants to increase revenue. Start with the book, then get him involved!”
Mike Lane
CEO, Nevco
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