Case Study: How a Growing Business Shifted from Ad Hoc Selling to a Structured Sales Engine – Jolly Billboards
Industry: Billboard Media Provider
Client location: Wellington, New Zealand
Service: Sales Systems + Sales Leadership
Understanding the Challenge
Our work with Jolly began with a series of conversations with the founder and sales representatives to understand how sales were currently happening across the business. Jolly has a strong product and a capable team, but like many growing companies, the sales process had evolved organically over time. Different salespeople had developed their own ways of working, and while deals were being won, there wasn’t a clear system guiding how opportunities moved from first conversation through to closing.
HubSpot was in place as the CRM, but it wasn’t being used consistently, and there was limited visibility across the pipeline. Follow ups were happening in different ways depending on the salesperson, and there was no structured rhythm for reviewing deals or supporting the team in moving opportunities forward. The goal of the project wasn’t to change the people. The team already had strong sales ability. Instead, the focus was on building a clearer system around them that would support more consistent activity and results.
Building the Sales Framework
Over the following months we worked closely with the team to introduce a structured sales framework that could support the way Jolly sells advertising while still allowing individual salespeople to work in their own style. One of the first steps was defining a clearer sales process from the first enquiry through to campaign confirmation.
This included developing a framework for the initial conversation with clients so the team could better understand what businesses were trying to achieve with their campaigns, who they were targeting, and how billboard locations could best support those goals. From there we introduced a proposal review approach, encouraging the team to walk through campaign proposals with clients rather than simply sending them through by email. This allowed salespeople to explain the thinking behind recommended locations, reinforce the value of the campaign, and address any concerns in real time.
Alongside the sales process, we restructured the HubSpot pipeline so it better reflected the way deals actually progressed. Clear stages were introduced so opportunities could be tracked more easily, giving both the sales team and leadership better visibility of what was happening across the pipeline.
Creating Consistency
Another key part of the work was introducing a weekly sales meeting rhythm. These meetings created a regular opportunity for the team to review their pipeline, discuss deals that were progressing well, and work through opportunities that had stalled. It also helped bring more visibility to sales activity across the team and created a space for sharing ideas and coaching.
We also introduced a clearer follow up structure, helping ensure that opportunities didn’t get lost simply because the next step hadn’t been scheduled. Over time, these changes began to create a much stronger sense of consistency in how the team approached business development and deal management.
The Impact
As the new systems began to bed in, the level of activity across the sales team increased significantly. In the quarter prior to the project, business development activity was relatively low. In the first quarter after implementing the new approach, outbound activity increased by over 1,100%, reflecting a much stronger focus on proactive outreach. Meetings booked with prospective clients also lifted, increasing by approximately 50% over the same period.
Perhaps most encouraging was the shift in closed deals. Deal volume increased by nearly 200% quarter on quarter, showing how increased activity and a clearer process were translating into real commercial outcomes. This momentum carried through to revenue performance, with February becoming the highest revenue month in Jolly’s history, followed by another strong month in March.
| Metric | Result |
|---|---|
| Outbound business development activity | +1,100% QoQ |
| Meetings booked with prospective clients | +50% QoQ |
| Closed deal volume | +200% QoQ |
| Revenue performance | Highest revenue month in company history (Feb) |
The Bigger Outcome
While the improvement in activity and sales performance was encouraging, the most important outcome of the project was the installation of a repeatable sales system. The team now has a clearer structure for how opportunities are handled, a more effective way of using HubSpot, and a consistent rhythm for reviewing and progressing deals. With these foundations in place, the business is now far better positioned to maintain consistent sales performance and continue building on the momentum created during the project.
“Thanks for all the help this year, I’m already noticing positive changes not just for me but for Jolly as a whole.”
— Jolly Billboards
“You’ve been great. The results show – (Sales Person) is already at $xxk for March and heading towards an awesome month.” (Results have been removed for confidentiality reasons)
— Jolly Billboards
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