Many companies embrace a valuable opportunity: evaluating their sales performance at the end of each quarter. Often, this introspection highlights potential areas for growth and development. Addressing these areas swiftly and effectively is essential for ongoing success. Twigsee, an innovative software provider for pre-school organizations, exemplifies this proactive approach. Our case study explores our collaboration with Twigsee in refining their sales strategy, compensation structure, and planning processes, showcasing innovative solutions that drive sales success.

Navigating the sales landscape

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Focus area 1 

Twigsee’s first step towards transformation involved sales operations. They recognized an opportunity to enhance sales processes by introducing more structure. As most companies quickly discover, the ability to effectively track and optimize sales is hindered without a systematic approach. This can lead to suboptimal results and missed conversions. 

Solution

We introduced a comprehensive new sales process tailored to Twigsee's needs. The new process included advanced techniques for need discovery, identifying buying personas, and understanding the timeline and processes required to close deals effectively.

A critical component of this new strategy was the incorporation of the BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, and Timeline) framework into their demo structure.

Outcome

• The lead to won conversion rate jumped from 28% to 48% in the following quarter.
• Enhanced clarity and efficiency were achieved in managing diverse customer groups within a unified pipeline.

‍Reflection

By moving to a more strategic and data-driven method, Twigsee improved their conversion rates and gained a better understanding of their customer base. 

Revitalizing sales motivation

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Focus area 2 

Twigsee's second strategic move was an innovative overhaul of their sales compensation structure. This evolution was aimed at not only encouraging high performance but also providing a structured approach to support and elevate every team member.

Solution

New compensation scheme more aligned with performance metrics. Key features of this scheme included "kickers." These were extra payments for overachievers who exceeded 120% of their sales quota. The scheme also introduced measures to address underperformance when sales fell below 70% of the quota. Automated and secure, it was integrated into a real-time tracking dashboard.

Outcome

• The new scheme was a key factor in improving the lead-to-won conversion ratio
• The new strategy resulted in significant time savings for the Head of Sales, alleviating the burden of many manual tasks.
• Compensation became more data-driven and performance-based
• Flexibility in the compensation scheme allowed for easy adjustments to changing parameters

‍Reflection

The introduction of a performance-based compensation scheme was a critical move in enhancing Twigsee's sales efficiency. This shift not only streamlined the compensation process, but also aligned it more closely with the company's strategic goals.

Crafting a comprehensive sales plan 

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Focus area 3 

Twigsee's next strategic initiative focused on enhancing their sales planning process as they sought to synchronize their sales efforts more closely with their growth objectives for 2024.

Solution

We collaborated with Twigsee to develop and iterate a comprehensive sales plan. This plan encompassed both revenue and cost considerations, integrating unit economics and a hiring plan that aligned with the join dates of business development representatives (BDRs) and sales personnel.

Additionally, the plan incorporated marketing conversion metrics and a new metric for BDRs, focusing on the conversion from calls to demos. This metric was instrumental in planning resources for BDRs and account executives (AEs). This helped to enhance the accuracy of forecasting and with setting realistic expectations across the company.

Outcome

• Alignment between the sales and finance teams on the plan was achieved, ensuring a clear cash flow plan and forecast
• The finance team gained a deeper understanding of the sales process, facilitating more informed financial planning and decision-making.

‍Reflection

The development of a structured sales plan marked a pivotal moment in Twigsee's strategic growth. This comprehensive approach not only aligned their sales and financial planning but also brought a level of precision and foresight to their operations.

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