Examples of situations that would benefit from Top Line consulting:

Occasionally an organization needs to be redeployed to adapt to changing customer demographics. For example, a large athletic footwear manufacturer had it's organization spread evenly over it's thousands of accounts, when a closer look showed that one account represented over 25% of it's revenue, and less than ten accounts made up half of the revenue base. This situation required reassigning people and resources to the "mega" account and handing some of the smallest accounts through lower cost channels.

Retain or Hire Decisions

Sometimes the product becomes more sophisticated over time and the sales force does not. Management must weigh the risks and costs of training and the probability of success, versus bringing in technical specialists. As an example, a scientific instrument manufacturer made the decision that the current sales force was not competent to sell the new line of high-tech products and offered a buy-out to the veteran sales force. Not only did more people take the buy-out than expected thus increasing the costs, but management also failed to recognize the impact or long-term customer relationships. When the old sales force went into competition against the manufacturer, the customers moved quickly to their old friends. The mistake cost the manufacturer over 20% of it's sales and created serious margin erosion.

Manager Competency - Sales Turnover

Almost every sales person has a "war story" about leaving a job because of an ineffective manager. Typically the best sales people leave when faced with a manager who does not add value. The best sales people know they are marketable and do not suffer "jerks" for very long. In an age when there is such demand for competent people, the last thing a company wants is to see the best people running to the waiting arms of the competition. In the well-managed sales organizations, the non-performers are the only ones leaving. If your sales organization is suffering significant turnover, the first place to look is first-line management. Managing is a set of skills that is not innate, but learned. Management training is a wise investment that pays dividends over the long term.

Product Innovation

Too many companies sit on "cash cow" products and fail to invest in product innovation. The best companies know that constant product innovation is the key to success. The adage, "If its not broken, don't fix it," is outdated. Differentiation and scarcity drive sales margin. Successful companies think about what their customers would want if they knew they could have it. Then they invent it. Constant product improvement is the secret to maintaining margins and keeping the competition a step or more behind at all times.

Compelling Sales Compensation

The best sales compensation plans are simple enough to be written on half a sheet of paper and are self-funding, i.e., the company pays for performance. Yet, many compensation plans are hastily thrown together, and are de-motivating. In many cases the difference between the salary of the highest sales performer and that of the lowest performer is negligible. Often management spends more time contemplating the "downside," of a new comp plan, i.e., possible windfalls someone might receive, rather than the "upside" the results that could be driven by an inspired plan.

How have clients benefited from Top Line Specialists?

Some of the companies that have benefited form Top Line Specialists include Williams Learning Network, Zeigler Coal Holding Company, First Health Services Corporation, Forward Air Inc., and CORE Comm. To view the testimonials from these clients click here. Macromedia Flash 5 plug in required.