Repositioning Businesses
Corporate Visions is a leading marketing services company that provides sales messaging, tools, and training to help global B2B companies create more sales opportunities, win more deals, and increase profitability by improving the conversations salespeople have with customers. Clients engage Corporate Visions to develop differentiated messages that concentrate on customer needs, deploy tools that support critical steps in the buying cycle, and deliver sales skills training that enables salespeople to capture more value.
Background
Under previous private equity ownership, Corporate Visions completed three acquisitions, more than tripling the size of the business. In 2014, Corporate Visions was put up for sale in a process managed by an investment bank with which Sentinel has a strong relationship. Sentinel was selected as buyer due to our experience investing in the corporate training sector and the strong chemistry we developed with management.
Through the three acquisitions under prior ownership, Corporate Visions had built a collection of sales and marketing training products representing distinct brands sold through separate salesforces and delivered by different in-person trainers. Each brand’s results achieved excellent customer satisfaction, but the brands and their distinct teams did not operate cohesively.
Opportunity
To integrate the brands, unify the platform, and then make transformative investments to develop virtual training capabilities, which we believed could create a differentiated industry leader
Accomplishments
Promoted a New CEO: When the initial integration did not go smoothly and performance suffered, we promoted a new CEO from within the organization. This change was made collaboratively with senior management and was received positively throughout the organization. Under new leadership, the integration was successfully completed.
Invested in New Product Development: Together with management, we focused on developing a unique set of innovative research capabilities. This research produced insights into B2B buying processes that were incorporated into Corporate Visions’ IP and helped drive further product innovation. This suite of capabilities was built through partnerships with academia, new hires, and a tuck-in acquisition.
Developed e-Delivery Capabilities: We recognized that having a virtual offering would be transformative in competing in a highly distributed work environment. We worked with management to develop e-Delivery capabilities whose results would at least match those of in-person sessions. This investment paid dividends during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown, when all in-person training was cancelled. Corporate Visions successfully pivoted to 100% digital delivery and grew throughout the crisis. Importantly, customer acceptance was exceptional, which has well positioned Corporate Visions for sustainable growth.
Outcome
During our ownership, we helped management integrate the Corporate Visions platform and develop a world-class virtual training offering that has enabled the company to become a clear industry thought leader. In 2021, having held the investment for more than six years and having achieved Sentinel’s investment objectives, Corporate Visions was sold to a financial buyer in a successful management buyout transaction. Sentinel remains an investor in Corporate Visions.