CASE · PE-BACKED PRECISION MACHINING · MIDWEST · ~$17M DIVISION
From concentration risk to a $27M program pipeline.
The mandate from ownership: engine-sourced revenue with traceable first touch, named accounts, and new-logo diversification into growth markets. No marketing metrics.
THE SITUATION
A precision CNC machining division inside a private equity portfolio missed budget, ran at a loss, and carried a concentration problem the board could see coming: one legacy customer at roughly 58% of revenue, with the next-largest account down 42% year over year.
The CRM reported $77M in pipeline. When we reconciled it against the ERP, real pipeline was closer to $5M. Every quote was logged as a deal, so the pipeline measured quoting activity, not revenue probability.
THE INSTALL
Seven moves, one system.
01 · ICP DOWN TO THE PART NUMBER
We mapped ten high-growth industry segments against the shop’s actual machining capabilities and prioritized three: AI data center cooling, semiconductor fab equipment, and warehouse automation. Not at the industry level, at the component level. Cold plates, liquid-cooling manifolds, pump housings, heat exchanger plates, rack hardware. Sellers walked into new markets knowing exactly which parts the shop wins on.
02 · THE AI LEAD ENGINE
AI-powered list building and enrichment turned the ICP into named targets: 86 companies, 184 net-new decision-maker contacts across aerospace, defense, and data center cooling in the first wave. Sourced, enriched, verified, and loaded. Built once, repeatable every quarter.
03 · CRM REBUILT ON THE RIGHT UNIT OF ANALYSIS
We migrated the pipeline from one-deal-per-quote to one-deal-per-program: 53 anchor programs consolidated, 39 dead deals closed out, stage definitions with exit criteria live. The result: a $27M active pipeline where every dollar traces to a named customer and program.
04 · RECONCILED AGAINST THE ERP
One-way sync from the ERP into the CRM, with a Low, Expected, High valuation model built from actual quote-tier data. The forecast the board sees is the same data the shop floor quotes from.
05 · PERSONALIZED OUTBOUND, PER SELLER, PER VERTICAL
Sequences written in each seller’s voice, personalized by account and program. Engineering-first messaging, not brochure blasts. Live for both sellers across three verticals.
06 · COACHING, NOT CHECK-INS
Weekly deal walks, AI-powered sales simulation reps, and a manager-to-coach development track for the sales leader. The cadence runs on second questions and read-back commitments, not status updates.
07 · EXECUTIVE ADVISORY
Board flash reporting, a weekly commercial pulse briefing, and territory and role architecture defining three growth motions: protect, expand, hunt. One owner per account, no overlap.
THE RESULTS
$27M
ACTIVE PROGRAM PIPELINE, ERP-RECONCILED
3
NEW LOGOS IN TARGET VERTICALS
184
NET-NEW CONTACTS IN SEQUENCE, WAVE ONE
71
RFQS LOGGED IN A SINGLE QUARTER
A design-in program with a leading aerospace launch provider, now in production qualification.
Roughly 487 tracked buyer engagements and 40 customer meetings year to date, first-touch traceable.
A weekly operating cadence the owners can audit.
Pipeline the board can defend, in markets the company wasn’t in a year ago.
THE MODEL
Installed, then operated until it compounds.
MXL doesn’t deliver a binder. We install the system: ICP, lead engine, CRM, cadence, coaching. Then we operate it alongside the team until it compounds without us.
INSTALL · OPERATE · COMPOUND
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THE DIAGNOSTIC IS $15,000 · THREE WEEKS · CREDITS TOWARD THE FIRST INSTALL