Revolutionizing Sales Mastery: How Herculite Inc. Skyrocketed Success, Escaped Spreadsheet Shackles, and Dominated Goals with Profit.co’s OKR Magic

Herculite, the largest manufacturer of flexible textile composites in the United States with a rich history spanning over six decades, takes center stage. Over the years, the company has solidified its reputation by consistently delivering products that excel in aesthetics and stand the test of time, ensuring a substantial return on investment for its valued clients.

Herculite’s enduring success is deeply rooted in its relentless pursuit of innovation and a steadfast commitment to delivering outstanding results. Profit.co shares Herculite’s passion for achieving peak performance and unwavering excellence.

Recently, we sat down to chat with Chad Twombly, the Vice President of Direct Sales at Herculite Products Inc, who shared his experience with Profit.co. Chad brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to his role, with a proven track record of collaborating with businesses to craft customized product solutions. He plays a pivotal role in Herculite’s ongoing journey of success.

Join us as we spotlight Herculite’s transformative journey with Profit.co

Can you provide some background on how OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) originated at Herculite, their evolution, and the reasons behind their implementation?

Chad shared, “It all began about 15 years ago when I read “Getting Things Done” by David Allen. It started as a personal workflow management system, very formative to my career. I wanted to apply it to our sales team. So, we began with group implementation of “Getting Things Done” and then progressed to goal setting and management. My introduction to OKRs came through reading “Radical Focus” by Christina Wodtke, which aligned well with the principles of “Getting Things Done.” After that, I delved into “High Output Management” by Andrew S. Grove and “Measure What Matters” by John Doerr. These resources provided us with the knowledge for laying the foundation for OKRs at Herculite.”

How do OKRs compare to other strategy execution frameworks you’ve encountered, and why were you particularly drawn to OKRs?

Chad replied, “Well, what appealed to me about OKRs was the focus on Key Measurable Results, or KMRs as I like to call them. The emphasis on measurability is crucial because it clarifies whether a goal has been achieved. OKRs break down objectives into quarterly objectives and further into actionable steps. This aligns perfectly with the philosophy of ‘Getting Things Done,’ which is all about identifying what’s actionable and how to know when it’s done. That caught my attention and drew me to the OKR process.”

What business challenges did you aim to address when implementing OKRs at Herculite?

Chad explained, “There were a couple of key challenges. From a sales perspective, our team struggled to focus on the most impactful activities quickly. We had lots of sales leads, opportunities, and tasks, but the challenge was prioritizing them effectively. Many team members were busy, but often, their busyness wasn’t translating into moving the needle as effectively as we wanted. So, I wanted people to be able to prioritize their activities based on what would have the biggest impact.”

How did the transition to using software for OKRs take place at Herculite?

Chad replied, “When we decided to implement OKRs in the sales group, we initially used a manual spreadsheet. It worked well for tracking performance against objectives and key measurable results bi-weekly and for check-ins with my staff. However, it fell short when it came to cross-department activities and visibility across the organization. As we wanted to expand OKRs deeper into the organization, I wanted to increase visibility. That’s where Profit.co came in. It’s incredibly user-friendly and provides excellent visibility across the entire organization, helping break down silos and align work with the company’s larger objectives.”

How did you finalize the selection of the OKR software tool, and did you consider other products during the evaluation?

Chad replied, “We initially used a performance review tool called Halogen, but it didn’t effectively blend performance reviews and OKRs. It was clunky and not suitable for OKRs. Meanwhile, I was experimenting with spreadsheets for OKRs. Our Vice President of HR found Profit.co and thought it could be a suitable solution. We revisited Profit.co when looking for a combination of performance reviews and OKRs.”

How was the implementation experience of transitioning from Excel to Profit.co, and what was the team’s response to the implementation process?

Chad said, “We started the OKR implementation with the direct sales team, which had the most experience with OKRs. It went very smoothly. We then rolled it out to different segments of our organization, including HR, operations, and engineering. In the following quarter, we extended it to the entire organization.”Chad was really happy and expressed, “I’ve got to say that with all the software that I’ve dealt with, including ERP and CRM launches, there has never been a company that has been more responsive and capable of helping us and willing to help us through the implementation process, as Profit.co has been. So that’s been just extraordinary.”

Did your team members question the need to use OKRs and Profit.co in addition to the CRM for recording sales activities and results?

Chad explained, “Not directly, but indirectly, I understand the concern. The CRM focuses on managing interactions, estimates, opportunities, and lead development with individual customers, while OKRs provide a higher-level view. OKRs are a business management tool that looks at larger objectives beyond individual customers. It helps us ensure we spend our time in the right areas to have the biggest impact on our corporate objectives and key measurable results.”

How long has your team been on the OKR journey with Profit.co?

Chad replied, “The sales team has been on it for almost a year, and the whole team has been on it for one quarter. We’re just preparing for our first full quarter with the organization, starting in 2024. This will involve management level and up, producing their objectives and key measurable results, and aligning them with our corporate objectives. So, it’s been one year with the sales team and one quarter with the entire organization.”

What notable changes have you observed in your organization since implementing OKRs?

Chad listed some impressive outcomes they’ve experienced. He mentioned, “Our sales team has sharpened their skills in forming and evaluating their objectives. It’s become a key part of our culture, with consistent check-ins and discussions focused on OKRs.”

He also highlighted their progress with their Key Measurable Results or KMRs. These have been steadily improving, becoming more relevant and meaningful. Moreover, the teams are increasingly adept at refining these KMRs, ensuring they align well with their objectives over time.

Chad, please highlight some key OKRs for your sales team that are particularly relevant to your context.

Chad replied, “Certainly! Here are some key OKRs that matter in our sales context:

• Meeting revenue targets broken down by segments and regions.
• Generating a specific number of leads quarterly.
• Conducting a defined number of discovery meetings per quarter.
• Adding opportunities to our sales pipeline.
• Achieving quarterly targets for closing deals.
• Meeting marketing-related OKRs, like creating social media posts and case studies.”

He added, “These objectives align with our sales funnel and keep us focused on essential performance indicators.”

How have OKRs impacted your team’s productivity and resulted in measurable outcomes, such as time-saving or improved achievements?

Chad replied, “Yes, OKRs have positively impacted our productivity. Using the meeting functionality in Profit.co for check-ins has been particularly helpful. It lets us have our objectives and key measurable results right in front of us during meetings and jot down notes for discussion. The OKRs provide clear, measurable topics to discuss, making our meetings more focused and effective. This tool and OKRs have improved our ability to track progress and move things forward.”

What does the future hold for OKRs at Herculite?

Chad responded, “I don’t see a future for Herculite without OKRs. It’s become an integral part of our senior management planning tools. We will continue to develop corporate objectives and align them within our organization. OKRs are part of our DNA now. I want everyone at Herculite to embrace OKRs just like Google does – as something that drives who we are, where we’re going, and provides clarity on our roles within the organization.”