When growth slows, the instinct is always the same
...do more
The real risk is acting before understanding what’s actually driving performance.
The Commercial Problem
Most businesses don't stall because sales stops working. They stall because activity and outcome quietly disconnect.
Sales can be busy, targets achieved and revenue moving forwards.
Yet confidence drops, forecasts missed, margins tighten, and decisions feel harder than they should.
Not because people are doing the wrong thing — but because decisions are being made with partial visibility.
Symptom → Cause → Effect → Commercial Impact → Desired Outcome
Sales Performance shows symptoms,
Commercial performance reveals causes.
Sales is where symptoms show up
but rarely the root cause of commercial problems
When decisions upstream lack clarity, the impact shows up downstream:
stalled deals, extended cycles, inconsistent follow-up, margin erosion, unpredictable outcomes.
Sales feels the pressure first and often carries the consequences — even when the root cause sits elsewhere in the commercial system.
This is where Commercial Performance breaks ...never in isolation
Commercial performance rarely fails because of one bad decision or one weak function.
It breaks when multiple parts of the system drift out of alignment — often slowly, often invisibly.
The pressure shows up in sales — but the cause usually lives across the commercial system, not inside a single team.
Each of these influences the others.
Optimising one in isolation rarely fixes the problem — it often hides it.
Commercial Performance in Practice
What small, informed decisions change — and why they compound
More Leads + More Activity + More Conversations
≠ More Conversions
It feels logical. Especially when leads are coming in, sales are converting, and targets are being met.
But average performance still hides leakage.
This is why commercial decisions fail long before performance does.
When results slow, the instinct is often to add more volume — more leads, more activity, more spend.
If the problem is downstream — in qualification, follow-up, pricing, or how decisions actually get made — pouring more into a leaking system doesn’t fix it.
It accelerates the waste.
Most teams don’t realise it's happening. They suspect. They guess.
They blame the market, the product, or the people before they ever question the system.
A true Sales and Commercial Performance Diagnosis shows where revenue is being lost, even when headline results still look healthy.
Decision Area
Average B2B Reality
What Changes With Clarity
Enquiry → Deal Conversion
~5% of all enquiries convert
Improving this by just 3-8% points can mean 60-160% more deals from the same demand.
Qualified Win Rate
20-30% of qualified enquiries convert
A 5-10% point lift means materially more wins without more pipeline
Deal Cycle Length
100+ days to close
Reducing cycles to ~60 days allows significantly more deals per year
Sales Effort Efficiency
~40% of activity doesn't move deals forward
Redirecting even half of this creates more output without more effort
Pipeline Accuracy
Pipelines often overstated by ~30%
More accurate forecasts lead to earlier action and better cash control
What Commercial Control Actually Looks Like
Commercial control isn’t about certainty.
It’s about knowing what matters — and acting with intent.
When performance is controlled, decisions stop being reactive.
Trade-offs are visible. Risks are understood. Effort is applied deliberately.
Nothing is optimised blindly. Nothing is left to instinct alone.
Without Commercial Control
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Decisions made on partial information
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Forecasts explained after the fact
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Margin pressure blamed on the market
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Capacity stretched reactively
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Activity mistaken for progress
With Commercial Control
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Decisions grounded in current reality
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Forecasts used as decision tools
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Margin understood before it erodes
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Capacity planned, not strained
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Activity aligned to outcome
Control doesn’t mean rewriting the rulebook.
It means seeing the system clearly enough to apply pressure in the right places.
Small, informed decisions compound.
Uninformed ones compound too — just in the wrong direction.
What decision-grade clarity
changes in reality
Average impact seen after a Sales & Commercial operations
These results don’t come from working harder or adding volume.
They come from removing distortion across the commercial system — so effort, pricing, capacity, and decision-making are finally pulling in the same direction.
This is what happens when decisions are made with full visibility instead of instinct alone.
01
+ 30-40% Revenue Uplift
from the same demand
Across service-led businesses
02
+ 7–10pp
Conversion Improvement
better qualification and follow-up discipline
Not more activity
03
- 5-10%
Deal Cycle Reduction
fewer stalls, fewer non-decisions
clearer next steps
04
- 20-25%
Decision Drop-off
improved control of live opportunities
less "ghosting"
05
+ 15-20%
Deal Value Integrity
pricing and margin discipline restored
profit erosion stabilised
Results observed across our commercial engagements following a Sales & Commercial Performance Diagnosis. Outcomes vary based on execution, market conditions, and internal capability.
What happens next
1
Book a call
You book a short, no-pressure call to understand each other’s world.
We’ll cover:
→ what’s driving the diagnosis request now
→ how your commercial system is currently set up
→ whether a Decision-Grade Diagnosis is the right next step
This isn’t a pitch and it’s not a commitment.
It’s a fit check, both ways.
Time required: ~20 minutes
Disruption: none
2
Calibration
If there’s mutual fit, you complete a short calibration questionnaire.
This gives us context on:
→ business model and revenue range
→ team structure and decision authority
→ current priorities and pressure points
It’s not an intake form and not a strategy exercise.
Just enough insight to aim the diagnosis properly.
Time required: ~8 minutes
Disruption: none
3
We run the diagnosis and walk you through the findings
We spend focused time inside the business to understand how the commercial system is actually operating.
This includes:
→ observing how opportunities move through the system
→ reviewing live and historical deal data
→ pressure-testing forecasts, margin logic, and capacity
→ mapping where decisions slow, distort, or compound risk
We’re not assessing individuals.
We’re diagnosing the system.
You receive a clear, prioritised diagnosis of:
→ what’s leaking
→ what’s masking it
→ what matters now vs later
On-site time: typically spread over 5–10 days
Outcome: confidence to act with intent
This is for you if...
✓ You’re selling, but revenue isn’t rising in line with effort
✓ Activity is high, but confidence in forecasts is low
✓ Deals are closing, yet growth feels capped or fragile
✓ You’re winning new business, but retention or renewals are slipping
✓ Your pipeline looks healthy, but outcomes keep surprising you
✓ You don’t want more tactics — you want clarity before acting
This isn't for you if...
✗ You’re pre-revenue and still shaping a business plan
✗ You want sales training, scripts, or motivation
✗ You’re looking for a quick fix, not diagnosis
✗ You’re not ready to examine how decisions are really made
Ready to see what’s actually driving your performance?
A Decision-Grade Commercial Performance Diagnosis
built to replace instinct with clarity — before you act.
Clarity comes before action.
This diagnosis shows where performance is distorting
and what to fix — before decisions compound in the wrong direction.
No obligation before calibration.
Scope and final pricing confirmed after the 8-minute questionnaire.
Frequently Asked Questions
No.
Sales is where symptoms show up, but commercial performance is shaped across the whole system.
We review the commercial chain end to end, including:
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Marketing intent and lead quality (what demand is being created and why it converts or doesn’t)
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Sales process and deal control (qualification, progression, follow-up, velocity)
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Deal maximisation (upsell, cross-sell, expansion logic, renewal behaviour where relevant)
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Pricing and margin logic (discount behaviour, profitability gaps, where revenue fails to translate into profit)
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Delivery alignment and client experience (where the promise breaks in delivery and drives churn or stagnation)
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Measurement and decision-making (what’s tracked, what’s missing, and where reporting creates false confidence)
The output is a commercial diagnosis, not a sales critique.
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This engagement is the Decision-Grade Diagnosis. Its job is to give you clarity you can act on immediately.
Implementation is a separate step. Depending on what the diagnosis reveals, some businesses execute internally. Others ask us to support execution through:
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Fractional Commercial / Sales Leadership (embedded support over time)
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Interim leadership (hands-on turnaround delivery)
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Targeted consulting engagements (clearly scoped support against specific commercial issues)
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1:1 Sales Leadership Coaching (focused support for team members responsible for sales and commercial performance)
The diagnosis stands on its own. Any implementation support is optional and discussed only after the findings.
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There will be minor disruption, while we’re working inside your operation, not guessing from the outside.
We keep disruption low by:
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requesting key information made ready for when we arrive
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keeping any interviews structured and time-bound
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working around live operations wherever possible
You should expect some time from your team for discussions, data access, and follow-up questions.
The aim is minimal interruption, with maximum clarity.
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You receive a decision-grade commercial diagnosis that shows:
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where performance is distorting
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what’s driving it
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what is commercially material versus noise
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what to address now, later, or not at all
You also get a walkthrough session where we take you through the findings, pressure-test assumptions, and clarify implications across growth, margin, capacity, and delivery.
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Yes.
Businesses use the diagnosis for different reasons, including:
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underperformance or stalled growth
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market expansion or new product/service lines
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leadership change or restructure
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pre-investment, pre-listing, or pre-sale preparation
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margin pressure despite stable revenue
Even when performance is “good”, hidden distortion still limits scale and predictability. This is about control and confidence, not just fixing problems.
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Then you still leave with clarity.
The diagnosis is designed to stand alone, with no obligation to proceed further, and no dependency on us or anyone else to make it useful.
Most consultants and coaches start with ideas, frameworks, and best practice.
This starts with commercial truth.
The Decision-Grade Diagnosis shows you exactly how your commercial system operate today, where things are distorting performance, and what is actually driving outcomes. It replaces assumptions with evidence, so any strategy, coaching, or consulting you do next is aimed at the right problem.
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