The months are rushing by. Meanwhile, you’re wondering about your quarterly business review. Not only do you have to gather up your team at a time that suits all their diaries and plan the agenda, but also find a room that’s free. Couldn’t you simply skip the QBR this once? As a matter of fact, no! A QBR is a crucial component of your CPG company’s customer success program. So, it’s a great – if possibly daunting – opportunity to review performance over the quarter. And if you do, you can then set future goals, and strategize on how to meet them. First of all, therefore, we’ll offer a quick r ..read more

On the sports pitch, you position yourself before making the crucial move that brings success. It’s no different in business. The CPG market is cutthroat this year. You got yourself ready for a new year. So here are four steps to position your brand for growth. However, note that “steps” doe not imply a specific order! They should all happen in sync, just as the sports team positions themselves as a unit. 1 Leverage Data-Driven Marketing Strategies As the CPG landscape becomes increasingly competitive, harnessing the power of data analytics informs your marketing strategies and positions your ..read more

Granted the fast-changing vagaries of CPG customer preferences, you need to make sure your sales reps understand the balance between sales and finance priorities in your business. Get them to think like your CFO! Sales equals profit equals business success – but only if all the following three strategic business areas are understood by your sales teams and taken into account. Use our ideas and examples to help your teams understand how sales and finance issues need to be aligned. Strategic Revenue Management in Sales and Finance Sales strategy needs to consider business revenue management. It ..read more

In the world of consumer packaged goods, it’s easy to immediately imagine a scenario where your suppliers run out of essential materials and your retailers have empty shelves! So let’s look at a broader sales readiness definition, and what “ready for 2024” means in the CPG world right now. We can safely assume that to be ready for 2024 you’ll need a sales readiness checklist that covers at the very least: Strategic planning and market analysis for emerging trends and economic changes. Sales team readiness to address current challenges. Customer engagement and partner relationship plans. Some ..read more

Imagine a business where it’s optional to turn up for sales meetings, where meetings are boring with no agenda, and where they start late and finish whenever – leaving reps feeling they can be better occupied elsewhere! It doesn’t happen in your business, of course, because you know the importance of effective sales meetings. But do your reps? And moreover, how do you make those meetings not only regular and effective but also geared to the full range of reps you have on your team? Because getting all those aspects right is what makes effective sales meetings important: They grow your busines ..read more

Imagine for a moment all the different roles the members of your sales team undertake. We guess you already have a sales compensation plan for each role. Right? So in this post we’re going to focus on the overarching nature of a sales compensation program. What is a Sales Compensation Program? Your sales compensation program is a broader initiative that includes not only the sales compensation plans you have for each role but everything related to compensating your sales teams. This includes a sound framework, strategies for deploying it, policies abut monitoring and reviewing, and clear com ..read more

If you’ve ever sighed about how your distributor relationship management is going, and how it could be improved, keep reading! Organizational structures, as they evolve, can become haphazard over time. But your relationship with, and careful management of, your distributors is key to your brand’s success. So – we’ll summarize three main issues here – linking your own challenges to the challenges your distributors face, and how best practice can bring best results. 1 Distributor Relationship Management Depends on Building Strong Relationships Your challenge You’re looking for a strong relation ..read more

As a leader, you’ll be familiar with the nagging itch that tells you something’s not quite right. But if the itch is about sales and marketing alignment, it’s best to prioritize a solution in the current CPG marketplace! That’s because inflation is driving up manufacturing and supply chain costs. So efficiency and effectiveness in how your sales and marketing departments work together is now crucial. But what’s the exact problem about? Check out three suggestions and solutions below! Three Challenges for Sales and Marketing Alignment 1 Communication and Collaboration Between Marketing and Sal ..read more

Customer planning sounds as easy as deciding who will stock your household cleaner and then providing it! Unfortunately, it’s more complex than that, so we’ll break it up into: Creating an annual customer (retailer) plan Preparing for a retailer meeting Making an accurate forecast Customer Planning: Create Your Annual Plan There are several steps to this. 1 Set Goals Define your objectives for the year, such as increasing sales, expanding distribution, launching new products, improving brand visibility, or strengthening relationships with retailers. 2 Analyze Your Market Landscape Include C ..read more

Finding and retaining talent is one of the most important focus areas for any brand. To find and retain your best talent in 2023, you’ll need to rethink the capabilities you’re looking for, pay attention to the branding and culture you offer employees, and have a strong onboarding program and make them feel special on their first day There are two reasons: 1 Between 2016 and 2019 nearly three-quarters of jobs had more than 40% of their skills change! Traditional job profiles are no longer so effective for finding and retaining your top talent. 2 You should also take into account that w ..read more