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Shape Executive · Sales & Commercial Growth

Growth that is designed,
not hoped for.

Revenue growth and margin expansion aren't opposites — when commercial strategy is properly designed, you achieve both simultaneously. Scott Foster grew revenue 43% at Polyflor while expanding EBITDA margin from 3.7% to 10.4%.

The Commercial Reality

Most sales problems
are structure problems.

Underperforming sales teams are rarely a people problem. They're a structure problem — no clear pipeline discipline, no meaningful probability weighting, no connection between the forecast and the operational decisions it's meant to drive.

And most pricing problems aren't about price — they're about a lack of architecture. When salespeople negotiate without guardrails, when discounts compound unchallenged, and when rebates outlive their original purpose, margin disappears deal by deal.

The fix is commercial design — building the pipeline framework, the pricing structure, the channel strategy, and the accountability model that make growth repeatable and margin sustainable.

“A credible forecast ultimately reflects the commercial team's proximity to market intelligence, customer engagement, and their sense of ownership for the number. When teams feel genuine skin in the game, forecasting discipline tends to improve significantly.”Scott Foster — Why Commercial Forecasting Fails in Industrial Businesses (LinkedIn)
What We Design

Six disciplines that make
growth sustainable.

01

Sales & Pipeline Management

Building the pipeline framework that connects commercial activity to financial outcomes — deal stages, probability discipline, pipeline ageing, and the cadence that keeps the forecast honest. When the pipeline drives operational planning, the whole business runs better.

02

Commercial Forecasting

A credible forecast isn't just a finance exercise — it's an indicator of commercial discipline. We build the process that connects frontline market intelligence to the numbers used for production planning, inventory positioning, and resource allocation.

03

Pricing Waterfall Design

From list price to net margin — every step where value leaks. Invoice discounts, volume rebates, freight allowances, payment term concessions, and returns. We map the full waterfall, size the leakage, and design controls that preserve margin at every stage.

04

Channel Strategy

Which channels to prioritise, which to rationalise, and how to protect margin and exclusivity across them. Scott negotiated and managed commercial terms with Carpet Court, Choices Flooring, Woolworths, Coles, ALDI, and Bunnings — protecting volume, margin, and channel access simultaneously.

05

Market Entry — ANZ & APAC

Strategies for entering or expanding in Australia, New Zealand, and broader APAC markets — channel selection, distributor management, pricing strategy, and local market positioning. Scott grew NZ revenue from AUD 8M to AUD 20M through a deliberate social housing sector strategy.

06

Revenue & Margin Growth

Growing revenue and margin simultaneously — not trading one for the other. Pricing discipline, product mix management, customer profitability analysis, and the commercial accountability structures that make improvement sustainable rather than episodic.

43%Revenue growth — Polyflor Australia over 10 years
10.4%EBITDA margin achieved (from 3.7%) — Polyflor Australia
57%Revenue growth in 18 months — Plascorp
AUD 20MNZ revenue achieved (from AUD 8M) — Polyflor NZ
The Pipeline Problem

Why most sales forecasts
can't be trusted.

In most industrial businesses, the commercial forecast has gradually drifted from reality. Not because finance teams are doing poor work — but because the pipeline feeding the forecast has lost discipline. Probability weightings reflect ambition, not evidence. Stalled deals stay open. Timelines keep moving.

The operational consequences extend far beyond sales. Inflated forecasts drive excess inventory for product lines that never sell. They trigger hiring ahead of revenue that doesn't arrive. They create the working capital problems that only become visible six months later — by which time the damage is done.

Strong commercial forecasting is a governance issue, not a sales issue. It requires leadership cadence, pipeline scrutiny, and a culture where commercial reality is valued more than optimistic reporting.

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The signs your pipeline isn't reliable

—

Deals that have been "closing next quarter" for three quarters

—

Probability weightings that don't change as deals age

—

Forecast built upward from leadership expectation, not pipeline reality

—

Excess inventory of products nobody ordered

—

Sales variance explained by "market conditions" every month

Want revenue growth
and better margin?

The two aren't mutually exclusive — when commercial strategy is properly designed, you get both. Let's talk about what's possible.

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