In the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry, offering great products has always been important. That hasn’t changed, and it never will.
But in today’s highly competitive marketplace, product innovation alone is no longer enough to guarantee success. To stay ahead, CPG brands must also focus on achieving commercial excellence.
Commercial excellence is all about optimizing the way your business sells to maximize impact. It involves aligning the right people, refining processes, and equipping teams with the tools they need to compete and win.
One of the most critical tools in that toolkit? The right CPG sales enablement solution.
In this post, we’ll unpack what commercial excellence really means in the CPG industry, explore common challenges in achieving it, and show how the right CPG sales enablement platform can empower your team to sell smarter and deliver real, bottom-line results.
What is commercial excellence?
The phrase “commercial excellence” is one that’s thrown around a lot. But its meaning often varies depending on who you ask.
With that in mind, let’s start by defining what commercial excellence really means for consumer packaged goods brands.
Commercial excellence, defined
Commercial excellence is a CPG brand’s ability to drive consistent, sustainable growth by optimizing how the business goes to market. It isn’t as simple as selling more products. Instead, it’s about building a high-performing commercial organization that connects strategy to execution, and execution to measurable results.
To achieve commercial excellence, consumer goods organizations must get three things right:
- People: Teams must be aligned, have the right skills, and the will to deliver results.
- Processes: Commercial activities must be planned, executed, and measured in a streamlined, repeatable way.
- Tools: Teams must have the data, insights, and platforms to be effective and efficient in their roles.
Why is commercial excellence a top priority for CPG brands?
Commercial excellence matters in every industry. But it’s particularly important for CPG brands.
But why?
Because in the world of CPG, competition is fierce, margins are razor-thin, and consumer expectations are constantly in flux.
Sure, the CPG market makes up a sizable chunk of the global economy. In fact, the global CPG industry is predicted to grow to nearly $245 billion by 2030.
But the life of a CPG seller isn’t easy. Front line teams face enormous challenges. They’re juggling multiple priorities, territories, and accounts – all while being asked to do more with less.
Simply telling sellers to “work harder” isn’t enough. These reps are already stretched thin as it is. And leaning too heavily on promotions and discounts isn’t sustainable, especially when up to 70% of trade promotions fail to break even.
Instead, CPG organizations must ensure they have the right combination of people, processes, and tools in place to drive predictable, scalable success. That’s exactly where commercial excellence comes in.
What does sales enablement have to do with commercial excellence?
Sales enablement is a critical piece of the commercial excellence equation. But why?
A sales enablement platform bridges the gap between strategy and execution. It equips revenue teams with the tools, content, and insights they need to engage the right customers, at the right time, with the right message.
With the right CPG sales enablement platform in place, sellers can work smarter, not harder, and do it consistently across markets and teams.
Think of it this way: commercial excellence is the goal. Sales enablement is how you get there.
Top challenges in achieving commercial excellence
Commercial excellence is often a priority at CPG brands. But often, achieving this goal is easier said than done.
While the concept of aligning people, processes, and tools seems clear, the reality of bringing it to life across a large, fast-moving organization is often challenging.
Here are four of the most common roadblocks that stand in the way of achieving commercial excellence.
#1 Inconsistent training and coaching
Well-trained, well-coached teams are essential to achieving commercial excellence. But without consistent, personalized onboarding, reinforcement, and coaching, CPG sellers are often left to figure things out on their own or rely on tribal knowledge. This leads to slower ramp times, inconsistent performance, and missed opportunities in the field.
#2 Gaps in rep skill development
CPG sales reps are constantly faced with change – whether it’s shifting buyer expectations, new competitors, evolving selling environments, or some mix of those factors. Achieving commercial excellence requires a culture of continuous learning, where teams are empowered to grow and adapt in the midst of change.
Yet, many organizations lack a structured approach to skill development. Without it, even top-performing reps can easily fall behind the curve.
#3 Disorganized sales content and messaging
CPG sellers rely on sales content to engage their buyers throughout the sales cycle. But when content is outdated, difficult to find, or inconsistent across teams, it impairs productivity and weakens your message in the market.
CPG reps shouldn’t spend more time searching for content than actually using it. To scale commercial excellence, content must be accessible, relevant, and aligned across teams and territories.
#4 A fragmented sales tech stack
Modern CPG sales teams rely on a number of digital tools, including CRM systems, sales content management tools, and analytics dashboards – among others. In fact, more than 63% of sales organizations indicate they have 10 or more tools in their sales tech stack.
But often, these tools don’t play well together. This results in siloed data, duplicate effort, and a lack of visibility into what’s actually driving results.
A modern, integrated tech stack is foundational for commercial excellence. It gives go-to-market teams a unified view of the customer and the sales process and empowers leaders to make smarter, data-based decisions.
How can an AI sales enablement platform like Mindtickle help CPG brands achieve commercial excellence?
The CPG industry is evolving at break-neck speed, and CPG sales teams face mounting pressure to do more with less. Achieving commercial excellence in this environment isn’t as simple as offering great products. Organizations must also equip sales teams with the right training, tools, and insights to consistently deliver great results.
That’s why CPG sales enablement – fueled by an AI sales enablement platform like Mindtickle – is a critical driver of success.
Sales enablement drives commercial excellence in the CPG industry
CPG sales training is essential to achieving commercial excellence. But one-time onboarding and static, one-size-fits all training and content aren’t enough.
Today’s CPG sellers need continuous skill development, personalized coaching, and easy access to relevant sales content – all delivered through a modern AI sales enablement tool.
Mindtickle meets this need by centralizing CPG sales training, coaching, content, and analytics into one platform. That means sellers can easily find everything they need to engage buyers confidently and close deals effectively.
AI sales training and coaching accelerates results
While CPG sales training and coaching have always been important, traditional approaches often fall short – especially when it comes to personalization and scale. AI capabilities with a CPG sales enablement platform can help you bridge that gap.
Mindtickle’s AI-powered capabilities supercharge CPG sales enablement through intelligent, adaptive learning. The platform continuously assesses each rep’s strengths and weaknesses to deliver personalized AI sales training paths that accelerate skill development.
With AI sales coaching, sales reps also receive real-time feedback on their performance in role-plays or sales calls. This helps ensure sellers are using best practices and consistent messaging – and getting guidance on how they can improve their interactions with buyers.
Meanwhile, AI-driven analytics give managers visibility into individual and team performance so they can identify trends and intervene strategically. This fosters a culture of continuous improvement, which is an essential component of sustainable commercial excellence.
Mindtickle is the right choice for CPG brands
Mindtickle is purpose-built to meet the needs of the CPG industry. It integrates seamlessly into your existing tech stack and sales processes, centralizing CPG sales training, coaching, content, and insights into one user-friendly platform. This ensures your CPG sales reps always have what they need, right when and where they need it.
By combining personalized CPG sales enablement with AI sales training and coaching, Mindtickle helps organizations create a culture of continuous learning and commercial excellence.
Ready to achieve commercial excellence with Mindtickle?
In today’s competitive CPG landscape, commercial excellence is essential. In order to thrive, CPG brands must equip their sales teams with the skills, tools, and insights needed to confidently and consistently engage buyers throughout the sales cycle.
That’s exactly what Mindtickle delivers.
Mindtickle helps CPG brands transform how they train, coach, and empower their teams. With AI sales training, real-time coaching, and deep performance analytics, Mindtickle enables CPG organizations to close skill gaps, accelerate sales cycles, and drive measurable business outcomes.
Commercial Excellence with Mindtickle
Ready to see how top-performing CPG brands use Mindtickle to build high-performing sales teams and achieve commercial excellence?
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By Christian Pieper
By Helen Waite