Decision record · Illustrative
Northgate Freight
Sector
Regional logistics
Company size
140 people
Length
7 weeks
Situation
Growth had been flat for six quarters. The leadership team believed the fix was more sales hires.
What we found
Most of the margin came from one customer segment the company had quietly stopped marketing to.
The decision
Pause new segments for a year and rebuild the offer around the customers who already paid best.
Illustrative example. Names and details are fictional.
Context
Northgate is a regional freight business with a loyal base and a sales team that had doubled in three years. Revenue had not followed.
Why the team thought it was a sales problem
Pipeline reviews showed plenty of activity but slow conversion. The obvious answer was more people and more outbound.
What the interviews and account data showed
Around two-thirds of gross margin came from mid-sized manufacturers with time-critical loads. Marketing had shifted to e-commerce shippers, who bought on price and churned quickly.
Options considered
Hire more sales staff and keep the current mix.
Compete on price for e-commerce volume.
Narrow to the manufacturing segment and rebuild the offer around reliability.
The decision
Option three. It was the least comfortable choice and the only one the numbers supported.
What changed
Sales targets were rewritten around the core segment
Two planned sales hires were redirected to account management
The board agreed to review the decision after two quarters
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