Our Specialties

AMO® Surgical Products
312% Return on Investment

The Problem:

AMO® was loosing sales of service contracts on their surgical equipment necessary for cataract eye surgery. Once a warranty had expired or a service contract was up for renewal a strategic vulnerability was created for competition to step in and replace the equipment.

This equipment displacement was jeopardizing the core disposable business and threatened a total loss of the customer. The issue was further compounded by the fact that a large number of these contracts had already expired. This was becoming a growing strategic concern to AMO®.

Two Failed Solution Attempts:

AMO® first attempt at solution was to educate their sales force about the problem. Even with new incentives after six months service contract sales were still dramatically short of expectations. In addition, since the focus was now upon the service contract sales the new product launched in the early part of the year and the core product lines were beginning to show lackluster sales.

AMO® second attempt involved marketing department and focused on a direct mail campaign offering customer incentives designed to drive service contract renewal leads and/or contract conversions. Unfortunately this solution also bombed.

Tens of Thousands of dollars were spent on sales education, sales focus, sales and customer incentives, plus the direct mail campaign. All efforts were falling vastly short of needed results.

NEW Solution:

Carson International was called in to assess the situation and develop a new solution strategy. After a brief but in-depth evaluation of AMO's® dilemma CI presented a recommendation that seemed radical at the time: business-to-business telemarketing.

AMO's® Executive Staff agreed to proceed and CI designed and implemented the project. When the ROI was measured the results were beyond everyone's expectations.

The Results:

312% ROI. The project resulted in sales vastly exceeding forecast and generated a 312% return on investment. In addition, the project was structured on CI's recommendation to include basic competitive research, prospecting, lead generating, and customer budgeting for the upcoming year. This additional information resulted in additional sales of equipment and disposables not uncovered by the traditional sales channels.

Fisher Rosemount Division, Emerson
Operating Income UP 6%
Operating Profit per employee UP 84.6%

"Transition from classroom to the workplace exceeded our expectations. We believe we have discovered a tool that differentiates us from our competition and one that allows us to cash in on customer satisfaction."
-Mike Scott Forbes, VP HR

The Problem: Company had been stable in sales and profits for years. Top Management of US and Canada Operations solidified a concept called "Services Led Selling" based on the premise that after the sale, the service group has the huge responsibility to hold that "customer for life." The problem before them was, "How do we do it quickly and with lasting results?"

The Solution: In 1997, Fisher hired with Mike Carson to develop a program specific to the goals and challenges. Mike interviewed local sales reps, customer service, field service technicians, managers, corporate managers, and customers to get the detail on how a Hidden Sales Force™ could be most effective. He then mapped out and quickly executed specific process improvements and training programs to drive measurable results.

The Result:

Visibly and audibly, management noticed changes in the behavior of many associates for the better; i.e., in teaming activities, problem solving, leadership, quality of work, inter-personal communication, and inter-departmental effectiveness.

Increased results in more concrete terms, performance increases documented in:

• On-time delivery, field repair processes, documentation, up front confirmation of repair requirements, and final inspection.
• Operating Income (O.I.) improved 6% per year.
• O.P. per employee has risen 84.6% from 1995 to 1999.
• Employee Opinion Survey showed positive results for salaried and hourly associates by 35%.
• Customer Satisfaction Surveys increased positively by 33%.

Huttig Building Products
Improved Sales and Gross Margin

"The week after training sessions, we would get feedback from customers and sales people that there was a noticeable improvement in the way that they were treated when they called the office. That was our objective… an immediate improvement in the customer experience."
-John Mullin, VP Operations

The Problem:

Huttig Building products wanted to increase inside sales performance, support outside sales, and improve the customer service experience despite location or size of facility. The objective was to accomplish the above in a short a time frame, receive an immediate ROI, and make it sustainable for the future.

The Solution:

Huttig senior management hired Mike Carson to help with the design and implementation of a project to meet the above problems. He helped determine the expectations and behaviors, skills, measurement methods, job tools and management coaching tools necessary for the successful execution of the project.

The Results:

Immediate feedback from outside sales and customers were beyond expectations. Immediate increase in sales and average gross margin was noticed. Sustainability objectives were met.
"Mike provided a lot of flexibility by scheduling weekend training sessions so that we could cover 150 employees in a period of five weeks. Expectations were high, but Mike delivered a program that really hit the mark.

DoAll Industrial Supply, Inc.
$750,000 Profit Achieved

"We are always concerned with how an outside consultant will be received by our tenured employees. Mike has a special ability to quickly break down barriers, and relate to people on their level. He took extra care to understand our environment before trying to present his ideas in the training sessions.

Mike is a good listener and pays attention to the input he receives. He made the training enjoyable by mixing up the format with audio examples and role play. Mike is a high energy presenter with a good sense of humor and scored very well on the feedback questionnaires. I have no hesitation in recommending Mike for a similar project."
-John Mullin, COO

The Problem:

DoAll was restructuring their distribution model. They needed to launch new methods to support customer service and update their selling model from a traditional outside structure to a combination of inside and outside selling tactics coupled with best-in-class customer service.

The move from stand-alone branches to a connected network of inside sellers represented a significant departure from past practices and the beginning of a cultural transition. The company was very concerned about retaining the hand-picked call center employees chosen to execute this new customer service and sales strategy.
The company was in the middle of other major changes, a fast and effective approach was needed.

The Solution:

Management realized that technology alone would not allow them to hit their profit goals. They retained the services of Mike Carson to develop a customized solution to this challenge. Mike helped identify and teach new skills, behaviors and processes to fully integrate the new technology and drive sales growth and increased profitability.

The Results:

The results of this project were measured by profitability, key employee retention, participant skill with the new system and skills required, and customer reaction. The most significant was the $750,000 profit gain first year. The other planned results were reached or exceeded expectations.