Private Equity Firm Identifies Improvement Opportunities at Portfolio Company
Situation: A private equity firm approached Alexander Group for help with one of its portfolio companies. A leader in the application lifecycle and business process management software segments, the software company was at a cross-roads with a dependency on getting the right sales engine in place. In an industry projecting growth in 2013, the portfolio company was experiencing negative new license growth. Cost of revenue and associated level of sales rep productivity appeared to be below industry benchmarks.
Challenge: The CEO, CFO and CSO sought to identify opportunities for change in the current sales model and develop and implement “quick hit” uplift opportunities to renew the company.
Solution: Utilizing our proprietary Sales Management SystemTM framework, Alexander Group assessed the company’s sales strategy and sales organization using both quantitative and qualitative methods, including a sales productivity & investment study, sales rep “ride alongs,” a customer survey, and account modeling & data analysis. As part of our assessment, we mapped the current sales process in order to best identify areas for
improvement. Through executive workshops with the client, we reviewed major gaps between current state and desired future state. We identified, prioritized and sequenced revenue uplift initiatives resulting in a sales effectiveness improvement roadmap with detailed recommendations to guide the design and building of solutions. One focal initiative emphasized the need to re-segment their current and prospective customers to improve overall account targeting, messaging and lead-generation campaigns.
Benefit: With a set of initiatives focused on short-term revenue uplift and a detailed roadmap for additional improvement opportunities, the company was set to have a successful turnaround. Executive management adopted Alexander Group recommendations to drive immediate growth in new license revenue. The company updated the lead management process, job roles, sales process and enablement programs to drive focus on prioritized sales opportunities.
