Case Study: Redesigning Sales Coverage to Capture Post-M&A Growth

A strong growth strategy is only as good as the operating model behind it. Without clear roles, clean handoffs, and incentives that reinforce the right behaviors, even the best-laid plans stall at execution.

With a broad client base and an expanding product portfolio, our client, a leading benefit solutions provider, had built a strong reputation for delivering flexible, technology-driven benefits solutions at scale. Following the acquisition and integration of additional businesses, they entered a new phase of growth with a broader portfolio and greater commercial ambition. At the same time, leadership identified clear gaps against performance goals, including limited penetration into enterprise accounts and underdeveloped cross-sell within the existing customer base.

To support this next stage of growth, they engaged RevenueShift to redesign their commercial foundation to enable stronger execution and performance.

Identifying barriers to sales team success  

Before making any recommendations, we ran a full diagnostic. We interviewed sales leaders, reviewed past performance and pay data, and assessed how roles operated in practice versus as defined on paper. We also mapped the sales process and customer lifecycle to identify gaps and friction points at each stage. Three themes emerged:

Blurred ownership across the lifecycle 

Roles across new business and account management were not always clearly separated. As a result, sellers often operated like account managers, diluting their focus on hunting for new accounts and limiting new-logo growth.

Inconsistent handoffs between teams 

Handoffs between teams were inconsistent, leading to overlapping responsibilities and confusion about ownership. Account executives frequently stayed involved longer than necessary after close, while account management resources were underutilized for expansion activity.

Incentive design was out of step with strategic priorities 

The incentive structure was not fully aligned with the company's strategic priorities. It did not adequately reward cross-sell activity, reinforce the desired focus on larger customers, or support new account growth.

A principles-led redesign

We worked with the leadership team to redesign how the commercial organization was structured, deployed, and rewarded - aligning roles, processes, coverage, and incentives with the company's growth strategy. Three principles guided every decision:

• Simplification. Across every workstream, we stripped out complexity that had accumulated over time. Focused structures with fewer, well-chosen components consistently outperform layered ones, whether that's role design, coverage mapping, or incentive plans.
• Built for the future, with room to flex. The model needed to grow with the organization without requiring a full rebuild. We designed for adaptability from the start.
• GTM-aligned. Each role's plan had to reflect its distinct motion and commercial priorities, not a generic structure applied uniformly across very different jobs.

Step 1: Clarify role definitions 

The work began with defining clear accountability for each role across the full customer lifecycle, from the first conversation through to renewal.

Step 2: Redesign the handoffs and coverage model 

An end-to-end view of the sales process informed a cleaner handoff protocol, clarifying when the Sales-to-AM transition occurs, who owns each stage, and how deal credit is allocated.

Step 3: Build incentives that reinforce the model 

Six role archetypes anchored the incentive design, each with its own pay mix and measures tied to its distinct commercial motion. Quotas were then modeled using Monte Carlo simulation across 100 performance scenarios to confirm that targets were achievable and financially sound.

Embedding a new approach for long-term growth

The engagement gave our client what it had been missing: a commercial foundation where roles, process, coverage, and incentives all worked in sync. The redesign aligned the operating model and plan mechanics with the company's growth strategy, sharpening role definitions, closing the account management gap, and strengthening the cross-sell and upsell motion.

It also created a clearer standard for execution. Defined role profiles and expectations gave teams a shared understanding of what good looks like, improving consistency across hiring, onboarding, and day-to-day performance management.

Just as important, the model was built to evolve. Plans were designed for straightforward updates, allowing quotas and structures to adapt as the business grows without requiring a full rebuild. 

"RevenueShift approached our project with thoughtfulness, respect, and a genuine focus on doing what was right for our people — not just the buyer. They responded quickly, framed the work clearly, and delivered on an expedited timeline without losing quality. We landed in a great place, our CFO was happy, and we'll absolutely work with them again."

Chief Executive Officer

For organisations navigating growth, the real opportunity lies in building the infrastructure to support it. If you're ready to bring more clarity, consistency, and control to your commercial engine, get in touch: [tom.hill@revenueshift.com]