Commercial Excellence

Imagine this: You’ve been tasked with getting your lead management process to a higher level. You will support all Sales teams in building and integrating a more consistent and data-driven approach. . You need to identify best practices, spread them across teams, and—can you also make sure Sales and Marketing are perfectly aligned?

Sound exciting? Congrats, you’d make a great Commercial Excellence expert!
Or maybe you’re thinking, “Isn’t that just the Sales Director’s job?” It often is, but should their focus be on this rather than on strategic direction and leadership? To free up top managers’ time, many companies are creating a dedicated Commercial Excellence function.

Let’s explore how companies are leveraging this role and why it might be a game-changer for your organization—especially if you’re struggling with internal complexity or looking for stronger commercial results.

What is it about?

Commercial excellence brings a systematic approach to improve how a company sells. It combines data-driven decision-making with continuous improvement in sales processes, while aligning sales, marketing, and customer service strategies.

Quote from interview with a Commercial Excellence Manager in beverages: “[Commercial excellence is] the optimization of commercial processes concerning sales by aligning different departments (higher management, sales, marketing…) to create cohesion and look for an as efficient way of working as possible.

What is key here?

A systematic approach – so we’re not leaving it to luck or individual talent only. It’s about bringing sales success into the systems and standards of the organization.

Quote from interview with a Commercial Excellence Manager in manufacturing: “Our Commercial Excellence team works to ensure that fundamental tools and processes are centralized, providing a consistent framework across the organization.”

Combining data-driven decision-making – the good old “gut feeling” coupled with real data and quantifiable insights. And that data is coming in faster than before, continuously and in real-time. So how will you manage a team that gets fed constant real-time data?

Quote from a Commercial Excellence Manager in FMCG we interviewed: “Based on the data we can collect and reports we create; we support the sales representatives to create their action plan for the next year. We don’t create the plan for them but give them the tools & insights they need to think about it themselves.”

Aligning sales and marketing and customer services – if you want to bring the customer experience that your clients are looking for, you will need to make sure to bridge the gaps between your main client-facing teams.

Quote from a Commercial Excellence Manager in FMCG we interviewed: “The main goal is really to have a holistic view and to build bridges between all of these three sales teams and then include marketing as well.”

Why Do You Need It?

Commercial Excellence ensures that your strategy aligns with your company’s sales processes and reflects the reality on the ground. It’s more than just streamlining; it’s about integrating systems and data with the everyday experiences of your Sales and Marketing teams. The goal used to be “doing things well and reducing deviations,” but that’s not enough anymore.

Why? You’ve heard it all before: fast pace of change and demanding, highly informed customers. But there’s more, and it’s right under your nose. It’s your people. Inside companies, things have gotten more complex—sales teams are juggling more tools, more data, and more processes than ever, and sometimes all that information doesn’t translate into efficiency.

A Commercial Excellence Manager, active in beverages, recently put it as follows: “There is a lot of data available, but a lot of companies cannot manage the data successfully and create benefit with it for their sales/business processes to optimize experiences for its customers. Can we still see the forest for the trees? […] We don’t use our full potential.”

Commercial Excellence helps cut through that complexity, streamlining operations and making sure all that data and tech actually work together to enhance customer experiences and boost performance.

The Role of a Commercial Excellence Manager

From our experience and interviews with industry professionals, here are the core responsibilities:

• Bridge between Sales and Marketing: Ensure these teams work in unison.
• Enable data-driven decision-making: Analyze data and market trends to guide decisions.
• Provide training to Sales teams: Help them understand and use tools and data effectively.
• Optimize sales processes and tools: Drive adoption and efficiency.
• Support Account Planning: Help Sales develop better customer understanding and strategies.

Some Commercial Excellence Managers also oversee pricing and value proposition development, requiring close collaboration with Marketing and Product Management. It’s a demanding role that blends strategic thinking, data analytics, and change management.

Quote from interview with a Commercial Excellence Manager in manufacturing: “This involves more than just collecting data; it requires making the data accessible and actionable for teams across the organization.”

Quote from interviewee in fashion: “Not only collecting data but also knowing how to analyze it and use it to inform business decisions.”

Challenges in the Role

Even with a clear mandate, Commercial Excellence Managers face significant hurdles:

• Skill Gaps in Sales Teams: Varying levels of analytical ability can be challenging.
• Limited Decision-Making Power: They often rely on other departments for approvals. Not having the right levels of authority or influence will make this an impossible task.
• Tool Adoption and Resistance: Convincing teams to embrace new tools can be tough.
• Centralization vs. Decentralization: Finding the right balance is crucial.
• Breaking Down Silos: Gathering and sharing data across departments can be difficult.
• Link with Customer Experience: Out of Customer Journey mapping, many opportunities may arise, so who prioritizes and decides can be unclear.
• Conflicts of interests and sensitivities: Carefully design the roles to avoid overlaps, but also to avoid deadlock situations in case of tension between Sales and Marketing Directors
• Having someone dedicated to manage these challenges may be just what helps your Sales and Marketing teams shine! (Or at least, keep them from drowning under the flood of data and work…)

Is It Right for Your Company?

If your strategy isn’t sticking because your Sales teams aren’t aligned internally, you might have a case for a Commercial Excellence function. Start by evaluating where the gaps are. You may not need a new role—just a clearer mandate and better collaboration between departments.

If you’re ready to explore this further, let’s discuss how you can bring Commercial Excellence projects into your organization. From setting up pilot projects to defining roles and training the team, we’re here to help you assess the situation, set up a plan or even pilot a new method – and bridge the skills gaps you may have identified.

Final Thoughts

The fast pace of change and demanding customers require more than just gut instinct. A dedicated Commercial Excellence function can be the bridge between your high-level strategy and on-the-ground execution, ensuring your teams are not just working hard but working smart.