SMarketing Solutions

Expertise

Commercial investment is not turning into profitable growth.

Brand, trade and innovation budgets get spent, but revenue, market share or margin fall short of plan. Leadership sees the gap in the numbers, but the reports do not always show where performance is breaking down or what needs to change.

The symptoms

Where it shows up

Illustrations of how each report reads when execution is behind plan

  • Monthly business reviewRevenue or volume behind plan, quarter after quarter
  • Market share reportShare flat or declining despite investment behind the brand
  • P&LTrade and promotional spend rising without the expected return, putting margin under pressure
  • Innovation reviewLaunches building below expectation and taking longer to pay back
  • Stock reportsSell-in running ahead of sell-out, leaving inventory sitting with distributors or in the trade

What it costs

  • Missed targets.
  • Margin pressure.
  • Cash tied up in inventory.
  • A harder case for next year's investment.

And increasing pressure on the leadership team to explain why the commercial plan is not delivering the expected return.

Who this is for

Managing directors and senior leaders in established consumer goods companies

Across commercial, sales, marketing, customer development, trade marketing and capability. Leaders typically bring me in at moments like these.

Market share has declined for three consecutive quarters.

You have inherited an underperforming brand and team.

The numbers are behind plan and you need to know where to focus first.

A high-bet new product launch is coming.

Significant growth and investment are riding on it, and execution needs to be right from the start.

Trade investment is not delivering a clear return.

Spend is going up, but the incremental sales and margin impact are difficult to demonstrate.

You have changed your go-to-market approach.

A new sales structure, distributor model or route to market is in place, but execution has not caught up.

Your capability agenda is not landing consistently in market.

The frameworks and training exist, but behaviour has not shifted enough, or your internal capability team needs additional senior support to make it stick.

If one of these sounds like your business right now, let's start with the commercial problem.

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Three ways in

Three ways to work with me, depending on the problem you need to solve.

I help established consumer goods companies close the gap between commercial plans and execution in market. I work with leaders and teams across sales, marketing, customer development, channels and field execution, to strengthen the capability, routines and proof that turn business priorities into consistent customer, channel and shopper execution.

The core of the practice

Diagnose & Build Commercial Capability

I don't start with a course list. I start with the commercial problem.

I use business data, customer and channel realities, field observation and leadership input to identify where performance is breaking down, and whether the gap sits in People, Process or Proof.

I then build around the real work teams need to do better, typically 30% structured learning and 70% application and coaching with real customers, channels and territories.

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Outcomes

  • ExecutiveA clearer link between the commercial problem, the capability gap and where to invest to improve performance.
  • OperationalPriority selling and execution standards applied more consistently across teams and territories.
  • OperationalManagers equipped to coach against real execution gaps and correct them earlier.

For leadership teams

Executive Workshops & Commercial Working Sessions

Bring the business question, not a training topic.

Focused working sessions for leadership and commercial teams facing a live decision, challenge or opportunity, from declining share and channel growth to launch readiness, customer strategy and commercial planning.

I structure the issue, bring an experienced external perspective and turn the discussion into decisions, actions, owners and follow-through.

  1. The business question
  2. The working session
  3. DecisionsActionsOwnersFollow-through

Outcomes

  • ExecutiveLeadership aligned on the commercial decision, priorities and what happens next.
  • OperationalOne shared view of the problem across the functions responsible for solving it.
  • OperationalClear actions, owners and dates that move the work forward after the session.
Book a conversation
Motunrayo Babalola speaking to a conference audience
Speaking at a conference

For commercial teams

Practical AI for Commercial Teams

Use AI on the commercial work your team already does.

Not generic AI training, and not another software implementation. I identify repeatable commercial tasks where approved AI tools can help teams work faster and more consistently, while keeping commercial judgement with people.

Where I apply it

  • PrepareBuild stronger first drafts of customer briefs and call plans, using the information teams already work with.
  • AnalyseTurn sales, distribution and execution data into a clearer view of the customers, outlets, SKUs or issues needing attention.
  • PlanAccelerate first drafts of customer plans, territory plans and commercial review materials.
  • ReportSpend less time turning routine commercial information into weekly or monthly reports, so managers have more time to decide what to do about it.
  • PractiseUse AI-supported scenarios to rehearse customer objections, selling conversations and negotiation between coaching sessions.
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How it works

Short, hands-on sessions built around the team's own commercial tasks, using AI tools the organisation has already approved.

Teams leave with repeatable use cases, tested prompts and practical templates, together with clear boundaries around what information should and should not be used with AI.

Outcomes

  • ExecutiveMore capacity from the existing commercial team, by reducing time spent on repeatable preparation and first-draft work.
  • OperationalCustomer preparation, commercial planning and routine reporting completed faster and to a more consistent standard.
  • OperationalCommercial and field information turned into actionable first drafts more quickly, within the organisation's AI and data-governance requirements.

Coverage

Where I build capability

The capability follows the business problem. I do not start with a pre-set curriculum.

Plan

Customer and channel planning

Segmentation, channel priorities, customer plans, volume assumptions and commercial planning

Sell

Customer development and selling

Customer preparation, selling standards, objection handling, negotiation and customer development

Execute

In-market execution

Availability, visibility, price, pack, promotion, launch execution and store standards

Lead

Territory and field leadership

Territory management, field accompaniment, manager coaching, performance routines and follow-through

Where the work sits in the commercial chain

I work across the commercial chain, where strategy has to become action.

  1. Brand and commercial prioritiesClarify the growth choices, category opportunities, priority products, channels and measures that matter.
  2. Customer and channel planningTranslate business priorities into customer plans, channel standards, resources, volume assumptions and activation choices.
  3. Sales and field executionStrengthen selling, negotiation, territory management, field accompaniment and the discipline to execute consistently.
  4. Distribution and in-store executionImprove the standards and routines behind availability, visibility, price, pack, promotion and replenishment.
  5. Shopper experience and performance reviewUse field evidence and commercial measures to see what shoppers experience, what is working and what needs correction.

I have done this work inside Guinness/Diageo, Unilever, Lipton, Philip Morris International and Nestlé.

See my career results

Next step

Book a conversation with your commercial leadership team.

Tell me about the commercial problem you need to solve. Every engagement starts with a conversation and is scoped by proposal.

Book a conversation