Rebuild the commercial operation
A recurring theme in my career has been rebuilding commercial performance: clarifying what a business offers, organising people around it and making sales, marketing and operations work together.
I’ve done this in research businesses, an agency group and a manufacturer. Some engagements involved stabilising a business in difficulty. Others involved restructuring the commercial function so it could grow more effectively.
The work can include:
- Diagnosing where demand, conversion, margin or delivery is breaking down.
- Sharpening the proposition and choosing which customers and work to pursue.
- Rebuilding sales activity, account development and the pipeline.
- Restructuring teams, responsibilities and parts of the offer that no longer make commercial sense.
- Introducing pricing, quotation and margin discipline.
- Putting processes, CRM and management information in place, then helping people use them.
Four different businesses. A recurring responsibility.
DRG / Interim leadership / 2016–2019
Restore focus and return to growth.
The situation. Several research businesses had declining revenues, fragmented identities and an operating model that needed to change. The panel business was run separately; my responsibility was the wider research operation.
The change I led. I consolidated the agencies around a clearer proposition, with emphasis on understanding people, methodological choice and commercially useful research. Alongside business development, I examined the economics of the offer and recommended closing a fieldwork operation that no longer justified its cost. I then led restructuring, consolidated the businesses and developed the team.
What changed. Sales returned to growth after a period of decline. Staff retention improved following restructuring and training. The business attracted acquisition interest and was later sold to Norstat.
Visuality / Research & Planning Director / 2019–2021
Rebuild an offer worth buying.
The situation. A research business with substantial shopper expertise had suffered a severe loss of revenue. The immediate need was to win worthwhile work and rebuild delivery around a credible offer.
The change I led. I won a £100,000 Heineken programme early in the engagement, then developed further relationships with brands and retailers. The proposition connected behavioural understanding to practical commercial questions, supported by methods such as shopper tracking, tablet-based observation and virtual store trials. I led both business development and delivery, adapting programmes through the pandemic.
What changed. The new consultancy offer grew to £600,000 in gross profit through the COVID period. Client relationships expanded into larger programmes, including Arla’s broader shopper research and segmentation.
Spark & Audience Collective / Commercial leadership / 2021–2023
Give the offer direction and the sales function discipline.
The situation. Spark needed a clearer proposition. The wider agency group needed a shared commercial approach across businesses with different specialisms, systems and ways of working.
The change I led. I developed Spark’s “Human Truths” positioning. At group level, I brought sales and marketing into a central function, defined the operating process, restructured roles and implemented a shared HubSpot system for more than 200 people. Reporting tracked performance through the funnel, alongside a shift towards in-house lead generation.
What changed. New business volume more than doubled. The shared CRM and dashboards became the board’s primary commercial view. This was commercial consolidation and growth, rather than a distressed-business rescue.
Walker Brothers / Managing Director / From 2024
Reconnect sales, margin and factory delivery.
The situation. A retail-display manufacturer had lost a substantial share of revenue and needed to stabilise its commercial and operational position.
The change I led. I rebuilt the pipeline, recovered lapsed accounts and introduced pricing discipline, quotation control and margin governance. Restructuring reset the cost base, while clearer departmental responsibilities, production controls and management information connected the commercial promise to factory delivery. I also developed a longer-term growth plan covering customers, capability and commercial controls.
What changed. Gross profit grew alongside sales, production variances improved, and the business stabilised before its sale in 2026.
This engagement concerned leading and improving the manufacturer. FactoryOne remains my independently developed software product, with a separate development history and identity.
Start with the commercial reality
A sharper proposition matters only if the business can sell and deliver it. A better pipeline matters only if the work makes money. Restructuring matters only if it creates an operation capable of doing the right work well.
I look at those connections together: customers, the offer, people, activity, margins and delivery. The priorities depend on the business. Sometimes the first job is to restore sales momentum; sometimes it is to stop pursuing work that cannot be served profitably.
Need someone to lead the change?
I can help with a defined commercial reset or discuss an interim leadership engagement. Tell me what isn’t working, what needs to improve and where you need someone to take responsibility.
Discuss a commercial turnaround