Case Study #1

Commodity Buster

A concrete ready mix company had a sales team focused on price rather than value. They needed help to beat irrational competitors willing to go below cost to win the business. And even when they won the business, the relationship was short-lived because the customer would switch when they found a better price. Our client needed a better sales process focused on building value rather than selling exclusively on having the lowest price.
  • phase-light-icon Analysis
  • phase-light-icon Changes Implemented
  • phase-light-icon Result
  • phase-light-icon Common Mistakes and Key Insights
phase-light-icon Analysis

Analysis:

We recommended a study to compare recently hired salespeople (hired within the past two years) who were considered top performers with recently hired salespeople who were not performing and were on their way out. We identified the attributes of the high performers and the differences between high and low performers, developing a tailored fit scale that could be used for future hiring criteria.
  • phase-light-icon Analyzed performance differences between recent top-performing sales hires and those underperforming.
  • phase-light-icon Created a tailored fit scale to guide future hiring decisions based on proven success traits.
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phase-light-icon Changes Implemented

Changes Implemented:

We worked on enhancing sales leadership skills, ensuring managers were equipped to coach and reinforce the new approach. Salespeople were trained to improve their selling competencies, focusing on gaining confidence in discussing money and adopting a consultative sales process. Additionally, we shifted the conversation towards the total cost per yard, which included not only material costs but also labor costs and efficiency gains, moving away from just discussing material costs.
  • phase-light-icon Improved sales leadership skills to enable managers to coach and reinforce the new approach.
  • phase-light-icon Helped salespeople gain confidence in discussing money and adopt a consultative sales process, focusing on the total cost per yard rather than just material costs.
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phase-light-icon Result

Result:

By shifting focus from material costs to total costs, average order value increased by $12 per yard, profits grew by 400%, and turnover improved across the sales team. This success also attracted top salespeople from competitors who saw the company winning higher-value projects.
  • phase-light-icon Average order value increased from $68/yard to $80/yard, with profit per yard rising from $3 to over $12.
  • phase-light-icon Focusing on total cost rather than material cost helped win better projects, leading to a 400% profit increase.
  • phase-light-icon Improved sales team turnover and attracted top salespeople from competitors due to better project wins.
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phase-light-icon Common Mistakes and Key Insights

Common Mistake:

Hiring salespeople is different. What works for other positions in your company typically will not work when it is time to attract, interview, select, and onboard high-performing salespeople. You must change your sales hiring approach to build your desired sales team.

Key Insights:

Ask Yourself. Does your sales team have a solid sales process?

Mike Caroll

Founder and CEO

Case Study #2

Sales Hiring Success

A network of franchise owners was growing frustrated with mixed results from hiring salespeople. They had come to rely on a personality assessment as part of their hiring process. While it produced interesting results when hiring operations team members to work in their business, it needed to be improved for hiring salespeople. It was taking too long to hire salespeople, too long for them to ramp up to generate consistent revenue, and at best, only 50% of the sales hires were still in place 12 months after their hire date (and in some cases, it was only 30%).
  • phase-light-icon Analysis
  • phase-light-icon Changes Implemented
  • phase-light-icon Result
  • phase-light-icon Common Mistakes and Key Insights
phase-light-icon Analysis

Analysis:

We conducted a study comparing top-performing and underperforming recent sales hires to identify key differentiators. Insights from the analysis were used to create a tailored fit scale to guide and improve future hiring decisions.
  • phase-light-icon Analyzed performance differences between recent top-performing sales hires and those underperforming.
  • phase-light-icon Created a tailored fit scale to guide future hiring decisions based on proven success traits.
sales-hiring-analysis-image
phase-light-icon Changes Implemented

Changes Implemented:

We introduced an Express Screen program to support franchise owners hiring salespeople. The initiative improved sourcing, job ads, and interview processes, and trained owners to use candidate insights effectively—starting with early adopters for maximum impact.
  • phase-light-icon Deployed an Express Screen license and collaborated with both recruiting firms and independent franchise owners.
  • phase-light-icon Enhanced hiring effectiveness by refining sourcing strategies, updating job scorecards, and training for interviews.
  • phase-light-icon Rolled out the program network-wide, beginning with early adopters and influential leaders.
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phase-light-icon Result

Result:

Franchise owners using our hiring methodology saw faster ramp-up (33 vs. 58 days), higher monthly order value ($2,275 vs. $1,550), and stronger 12-month retention (90% vs. 56%) compared to those using traditional methods.
  • phase-light-icon Created a natural comparison between two hiring approaches: traditional methods vs. our sales hiring methodology with pre-hire assessments.
  • phase-light-icon Sales people hired using our method ramped up revenue faster — in 33 days vs. 58 days.
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phase-light-icon Common Mistakes and Key Insights

Common Mistake:

Before you can scale performance, you need to understand where you stand.Hiring salespeople is different. What works for other positions in your company typically will not work when it is time to attract, interview, select, and onboard high-performing salespeople. You must change your sales hiring approach to build your desired sales team.

Key Insights:

If you are actively hiring or planning to hire salespeople, watch this video.

You can learn more about our programs here.

Mike Caroll

Founder and CEO

Client Success Stories

Real Results. Real Growth.

scott-picket-gth
Scott Picket
President of GTH

Relying heavily on Mike's methodologies and concepts, we grew from $62 million to $92 million with strong margins.

Mike Carroll is much more than a sales coach – his work has had a massive impact on our entire company and on me as a leader. Mike has been instrumental in helping us build our sales leadership team and a sales infrastructure that has helped us grow revenue at a level we never thought possible. With Mike’s guidance, we continue to make incremental improvements that drive top and bottom-line growth.

Greg Rosenblatt
Chief Operating Officer, Stark Carpet, New York, New York

Mike is a true sales professional, coach, and teacher. His clear and relatable style translates into actionable steps to begin implementing into your business.

Glen Dall
Business Coach and Advisor at Apex North Coaching

Mike single-handedly solved my sales gap. Today I approach sales with a confidence I never knew I had.

Keith Upkes
Success Lead at Metronome United