How a Private Equity-Backed Manufacturer Unified Sales, Increased Visibility, and Enabled Revenue Growth

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Overview

Industrial Service Group (ISG), a rapidly growing private equity-backed manufacturing platform, partnered with digitalJ2 to implement a scalable HubSpot CRM solution for manufacturing companies.

Facing fragmented systems, inconsistent sales processes, and limited visibility across 17+ acquired businesses, ISG needed a centralized platform to support growth, improve sales performance, and unlock cross-sell opportunities.

Challenge: Scaling CRM Across Multiple Manufacturing Entities

As ISG expanded through acquisition, it encountered common challenges seen in manufacturing CRM implementations, especially within private equity roll-ups:

1. Disconnected Systems Across Acquisitions

• No standardized CRM across entities
• Mix of spreadsheets, legacy CRMs, and manual processes
• No unified reporting or data structure

2. Lack of Sales and Revenue Visibility

Leadership lacked insight into:

• Sales activity across teams
• Quote volume and pipeline health
• Win rates and revenue performance

3. Complex Multi-Entity Data Structure

• 17+ companies operating independently
• Some were former competitors, requiring strict data permissions
• Need for both data separation and shared visibility

4. Inefficient Quote-to-Close Process

• No visibility into quote turnaround time
• Misalignment between outside and inside sales teams
• No tracking of quote approvals or stalled deals

5. Missed Cross-Sell Opportunities

• Multiple verticals with overlapping customers
• No structured way to identify or act on upsell/cross-sell opportunities

These challenges are highly representative of digital transformation in the manufacturing industry, particularly for organizations scaling through acquisition.

Solution: A Scalable HubSpot CRM for Manufacturing Organizations

digitalJ2 designed and implemented a centralized HubSpot ecosystem tailored to ISG’s complex structure and growth strategy.

1. Unified HubSpot CRM Across 17+ Brands

• Consolidated all entities into a single HubSpot CRM platform
• Structured using Business Units (Brands)
• Built advanced permission-based access controls

2. Standardized Sales Processes Across Teams

• Created a cross-entity governance committee
• Standardized:
  • Deal stages
  • Lifecycle definitions
  • Sales workflows
• Aligned outside sales (relationship-driven) with inside sales (execution-focused)

3. Optimized Quote Management Process

• Built a structured deal pipeline with quote stages
• Automated:
  • Deal routing to inside sales
  • Data collection via playbooks
  • Internal collaboration

4. Custom Quote Approval System in HubSpot

• Developed a multi-level approval workflow
• Created a custom object for:
  • Approval tracking
  • Stakeholder collaboration
• Increased transparency and reduced delays

5. Sales Pipeline Visibility & KPI Tracking

Introduced key manufacturing sales KPIs, including:

• Time to quote
• Quote aging
• Win rate
• Quote volume

Enabled teams to:

• Identify stalled opportunities
• Prioritize follow-ups
• Improve close rates

6. ERP Integration via Data Warehouse

• Consolidated multiple ERP systems into a central data warehouse
• Normalized and synced data into HubSpot
• Provided visibility into:
  • Customer records
  • Revenue and quoting data

7. Cross-Sell & Upsell Enablement

• Identified shared customers across verticals
• Built workflows to surface cross-sell opportunities
• Enabled revenue synergy across entities

8. Sales Activity Tracking & Reporting

• Enabled mobile CRM usage for field reps
• Tracked:
  • Meetings
  • Emails
  • Travel activity
• Delivered real-time sales performance dashboards

Results: Improved Visibility, Efficiency, and Revenue Opportunities

The implementation created a strong foundation for scalable growth and measurable performance improvements.

Key Outcomes

• Centralized CRM across 120+ users and 17+ companies
• Standardized and repeatable sales processes
• Full visibility into:
  • Pipeline health
  • Quote performance
  • Sales activity
• Improved ability to track and act on stalled deals
• Enhanced cross-sell and upsell opportunities

Performance Improvements (KPIs Established)

• Reduced quote turnaround time
• Increased visibility into win rates and deal velocity
• Improved pipeline management and forecasting

These improvements position ISG for continued revenue growth and operational scalability.

Impact: Transforming Sales Operations Across a Manufacturing Portfolio

Business Impact

• Established a single source of truth across all entities
• Enabled leadership to make data-driven decisions
• Supported scalable growth through acquisition

Operational Impact

• Improved alignment between inside and outside sales teams
• Reduced inefficiencies in quoting and approvals
• Increased accountability through measurable KPIs

End User Impact (Sales Teams)

• Greater visibility into deals and quote status
• Streamlined workflows and reduced manual work
• Improved productivity and organization
  

ISG Client Feedback

*Austgen, Steven  = Private Equity RevOps Expert

* Jenson, John  = COO of ISG

Conclusion: A Scalable CRM Foundation for Manufacturing Growth

By implementing a customized HubSpot CRM for a multi-entity manufacturing organization, digitalJ2 helped ISG transform fragmented operations into a unified, data-driven revenue engine.

The result: improved visibility, stronger collaboration, and a scalable foundation for long-term growth.