Commercial analysis for B2B service firms in Greater Manchester
When sales activity, customer relationships, delivery effort and reported profit do not tell the same story, the first task is to establish what changed. Unsnag examines the evidence behind the result before recommending changes to processes, reporting or CRM.
When the figures do not explain the business result
Similar figures can arise for different reasons. The distinction matters because it determines what management can usefully change.
More sales activity, few additional orders
Check lead mix, buyer readiness, qualification and the decision to purchase before judging a new sales channel or individual performance.
Higher revenue, little additional profit
Reconcile selling terms and order mix with delivery effort, exceptions and capacity costs. The point where the cost arose determines who can prevent it.
Established accounts are not buying more
Separate contract renewal from a new buying decision. Test what changed for the customer and whether further work would be profitable to deliver.
When Sales, Delivery and Finance have different answers
Sales may report contracted value, Delivery may report work completed, and Finance may report recognised revenue and cost. The figures can all be accurate while management still cannot reconstruct what happened to one order.
Establish the links between customer, agreement, promised service, actual work, approved changes and costs. Then ask who can approve non-standard terms, change the operating process or correct the record. A common dashboard without shared definitions and decision rights does not resolve the problem.
First agree what management needs to decide
The scope follows what the business needs to decide and how much evidence is available.
Agree what needs explaining
Identify the observed result, the expected result and the management decision that depends on understanding the difference.
Examine competing causes
Review a suitable sample of deals, customer histories, contracts, service records or cost data. Record what the evidence establishes and what remains uncertain.
Identify a proportionate response
Distinguish a commercial-policy issue from a process, information or system issue. Set out the next evidence requirement and the authority needed to act.
Where sufficient historic information does not exist, the first useful outcome may be agreement on what to record for the next decision. A new CRM is not the default recommendation.
Examples from earlier professional work, including the limits of the available evidence →
Different questions require different reviews
Commercial Diagnostic. When an important result differs from expectations and several plausible causes need to be tested against evidence.
Revenue Visibility Review. When management cannot reliably connect customer activity, commercial commitments, delivery work and results from the records currently available.
CRM decision or proposal review. When a business is considering software or has received an implementation proposal, but needs to clarify the requirement, operating responsibilities or supplier scope first.
Greater Manchester, with remote work across the UK
Unsnag is based in Urmston, Greater Manchester. Interviews and evidence reviews can be carried out remotely. An on-site discussion within Greater Manchester can be considered where it adds something material to the analysis and is agreed in the scope.
The work is independent of CRM vendors and implementation partners. Findings may point to a small process change, a clearer decision rule, further measurement or a properly defined system requirement.
What result is different from what you expected?
Describe what changed, the decision you are facing and the evidence you currently have. There is no need to select a product before establishing the question.
Email Unsnag