73 / 100
You can work with the assumption that
there is typically a two-week time lag between
orders going into production and invoices
going out the door in order to predict timing
for when those orders will hit the final goal.
This may seem really “mathy” but good
salespeople know their numbers cold and are
focused on hitting them. You’d be surprised
how much clearer it becomes for them to hit
those goals when they are broken down into
something achievable on a weekly basis.
The Result
The result for our team using this
process was nothing short of transformation-
al—sales went up by 30 percent in one year.
The team members achieved clarity on how
they were going to achieve their goals and
what the path was to get there. This plan
brought with it an intense focus on a limited
number of clients because each client had a
target and a plan.
The lesson in all this is that sometimes the
best tools are the simplest ones. Teach your
team how to plan, how to reverse-engineer
and how to get comfortable enough with the
numbers they can easily identify when they are
going off plan before it’s too late to course cor-
rect. Lay that foundation and then get out the
way so your salespeople can execute.
JULY 2015 •
PPB
• 71
Catherine Graham is the CEO and co-founder of commonsku and president
of Toronto, Ontario-based distributor RIGHTSLEEVE. She can simultaneously
compute complex excel formulas in her mind and protect her goaltender
from an odd-man rush.
PPB:
At what point in its growth did
CR decide it needed to hire an outside
firm?
Lipsett:
Following two years of strong, con-
secutive double-digit growth, we were at a crit-
ical transition point in our business. With the
appointment of a new VP of marketing,
Charles River is working to solidify a brand
identity in partnership with creative agency,
Full Contact, and public relations firm, 360PR.
PPB:
What criteria did you use to
identify potential firms?
Lipsett:
We narrowed down potential firms
looking at a combination of our budget,
alignment of expectations, the firm’s connec-
tions with publications and people, their track
record in delivering results, and our overall
chemistry together.
PPB:
What were the most important
elements to consider in hiring a firm?
Lipsett:
We needed a firm that would be
able to quickly get up to speed and required
a minimum amount of education about
Charles River. We also required the firm be
capable of adhering to a firm budget and be
able to help us demonstrate a strong ROI
for our communications operations. And we
wanted a partner that would be able to
work comfortably with our employees and
vice versa.
PPB:
How will the company evaluate
the effectiveness of using an outside
PR firm?
Lipsett:
We are a very metrics- and num-
bers-driven organization. We will be looking
closely at overall earned media impressions
numbers and target publications reached and
monitoring our share of the online conversa-
tion. Ultimately, we will be looking closely at
how these numbers impact our overall sales
and business growth.
–Tina Berres Filipski
The result for our team using this process was
nothing short of transformational—sales went up
by 30 percent in one year. The team members
achieved clarity on how they were going to
achieve their goals and what the path was to
get there.
“
”
Following two years of
strong, consecutive
double-digit growth,
we were at a critical
transition point in our
business.
“
”