Case Study: The Discount Nobody Approved (Client Wins)

A distribution CEO swore his margins were fine — the P&L said 34% gross. Then we pulled invoice-level data.

Sales reps had standing authority to discount up to 15%. Nobody tracked it. The average discount had crept to 11% and three reps were living at the cap on their biggest accounts.

What we changed:

• Any discount over 5% needed a second signature

• Every rep got a monthly "realization" scorecard

• The three worst offenders had their cap cut to 7%

Realized margin recovered 280 basis points in two quarters — roughly $1.6M to the bottom line. Same customers, same products. Just discipline.

Who in your company can lower a price without asking anyone?