Strengthening Sales & Marketing for a Family‑Run Wholesale Retailer | Case Study
Consistently generated £12- £20k in sales month after month
I was brought in as a Fractional Sales and Marketing Consultant to help a family-run wholesale retailer improve checkout performance and recover lost sales. By improving CRM segmentation, introducing automations, and running targeted re-engagement campaigns, I helped the business generate consistent monthly sales of £12 - £20k. The results led to an expanded remit across sales and marketing, and later the hire of a part-time marketing assistant.
CLIENT
A small, wellestablished, family-run wholesale retailer, Nottinghamshire
PROJECT SCOPE
Sales and marketing optimisation to increase monthly wholesale revenue
ENGAGEMENT
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Sales & Marketing Consultancy: 10–15 hours per week for ~14 months
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Sales & Account Management (Sales Associate): 20 hours per week for ~ 4 months
PROJECT OVERVIEW
I was initially brought in by the owner of a small, family‑run wholesale retailer to improve abandoned cart performance and streamline the checkout experience. I began with a short telesales and customer support project, then onboarded one of my Sales Associates to continue the work after a successful two‑week trial.
During a review meeting, I identified a major opportunity: the business had over 80,000 contacts in its database but only a few hundred active wholesale customers. I recommended re‑engaging their lapsed customer base as a fast, cost-effective way to generate additional revenue. The client was unsure how to approach this, so they asked me step in as an ad‑hoc Sales Consultant to lead this initiative.
I began by identifying all customers who had purchased within the last six months and sent a simple four‑line re‑engagement email. Within four hours, this generated over £2,000 in additional sales, prompting the client to expand my remit to include full sales and marketing consultancy.
THE CHALLENGE
The business had clear sales potential, but several operational and marketing issues were holding it back:
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Zoho CRM, as part of the Zoho One suite, was in place but lacked meaningful segmentation, automation, and cross-suite integration.
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Customer and business data sat in silos, limiting visibility and reducing the value of the tools already available.
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The website was the main sales channel, but it was not properly connected to search insights, social media activity, or the wider CRM ecosystem.
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The owner had very limited time available - typically only 30 to 60 minutes every two to three weeks for input and feedback.
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There was no in-house marketing expertise.
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Our target was to deliver £12–£20K in monthly wholesale sales while improving customer experience and internal efficiency.
OBJECTIVES
The project focused on a set of practical, revenue-led objectives:
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Generate £12-20K in monthly sales.
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Improve abandoned cart performance and reduce lost sales opportunities.
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Segment the CRM and customise the sales pipeline to reflect the real customer journey.
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Introduce workflows, automations, and reminders to improve follow-up, accountability, and customer communication.
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Integrate the website, social media channels, and Zoho One tools for unified insights.
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Design and launch email newsletters, offers, and product updates via Zoho Campaigns.
MY APPROACH
I took a hands-on, commercially focused approach that combined sales execution, systems improvement, and marketing strategy.
1. Led the abandoned cart project directly
I started the abandoned cart calling project myself before handing it over to a sales associate. This allowed me to understand the process in detail, test the messaging, demonstrate what good performance looked like, and create a model that could be repeated consistently.
2. Identified quick-win sales opportunities
During regular review meetings, I looked beyond the original brief and identified an immediate opportunity within the existing customer base. By analysing recent customer activity and re-engaging previous buyers with a simple, low-friction email approach, I helped unlock additional revenue quickly without needing a large marketing budget.
3. Improved CRM structure and segmentation
I reviewed how Zoho CRM was being used and recommended clearer customer and lead segmentation. This created a stronger foundation for more relevant communication, better visibility of opportunities, and a more targeted sales process.
4. Built a more connected customer journey
I mapped the customer journey from multiple entry points, including search, social media, and email, through to checkout. From there, I introduced workflows and automations to reduce manual admin, improve communication, and create a more joined-up customer experience.
5. Strengthened sales forecasting and pipeline visibility
I segmented leads within a clearer sales pipeline so the business could better track progression, identify likely sales outcomes, and improve visibility of future quarterly revenue.
6. Introduced better marketing insight
I implemented Google Analytics and the Facebook Pixel to give the business better visibility into website behaviour, campaign effectiveness, and conversion performance. These insights helped inform both email marketing and social media activity.
7. Designed reusable marketing assets and campaigns
I created newsletters, product launch emails, and promotional campaigns, while also organising templates and brand assets so future campaigns could be updated quickly. This improved both consistency and efficiency, while helping maintain stronger brand presentation across customer communications.
8. Worked autonomously within tight client time constraints
Because the owner had limited time available, I took an accountable, proactive approach to delivery. I kept momentum moving between check-ins, reduced the need for day-to-day oversight, and ensured work progressed despite capacity limitations within the business
9. Managed and supported delivery capacity
I held regular meetings with my sales associate to review progress, provide support, and maintain strong performance throughout the delivery period.
WHAT I DELIVERED
The project resulted in practical improvements across systems, sales activity, and marketing execution:
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Better integration across the Zoho One suite, creating a richer customer picture and more useful business insight.
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CRM clean-up, customisation, and the introduction of workflows and automations.
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Abandoned cart follow-up activity supported by outsourced sales expertise.
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Blended sales and marketing campaigns across email, Facebook, and Instagram.
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Customer re-engagement activity targeting previous wholesale buyers.
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Reusable campaign templates and marketing assets for ongoing use.
RESULTS
The project delivered measurable commercial and operational improvements:
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Consistently generated £12- £20k in sales month after month.
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Produced more than £2,000 in additional sales from a simple customer re-engagement campaign.
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Improved customer experience by making communication and follow-up more timely and relevant.
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Reduced abandoned cart losses through more proactive sales follow-up.
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Streamlined internal processes through better workflows, automation, and visibility.
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Improved consistency and engagement across email marketing and social media communications.
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Marketing results were so strong that the client hired a permanent part‑time marketing assistant, improving product staging, photography, and listings - further boosting sales.
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Contributed to broader business growth, including investment in a new storage and logistics arm of the business.
CLIENT FEEDBACK
“..The service was fantastic, would highly recommend”
- Google Review
TOOLS, METHODS & EXPERTISE USED
Sales Consultancy • Sales & Marketing Strategy • Digital Marketing • Social Media • Customer re-engagement campaigns • CRM segmentation and pipeline design • Workflow and automation design • Email marketing • Zoho One • Google Analytics • Facebook Pixel
This project began as a focused abandoned cart and customer support initiative, but quickly evolved into a wider sales and marketing transformation. By combining practical sales activity, smarter CRM use, stronger marketing execution, and a highly autonomous delivery approach, I helped the client generate consistent monthly sales growth, improve internal efficiency, and create the confidence to invest further in the business.
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