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Corrivo Building Products - Case Study
Building a Scalable Commercial Growth Engine
Corrivo Building Products is an established manufacturer and supplier of products and services to the commercial roofing sector. Operating from two separate manufacturing sites in Burton on Trent, Corrivo utilise the latest CNC folding and cutting technology to manufacture a wide range of gutters, flashings, copings, window pods and rainwater goods.
Since 2000, the business has built a strong reputation for customer service, with a particular focus on rapid turnaround times for both quoting and manufacturing of orders, leading to an extremely loyal and committed core customer base.
However, operating in a highly competitive and often price-driven market under constant pressure from external economic shocks meant that continued growth could not rely solely on existing customer relationships. To achieve an ambitious growth target which would necessitate a significant increase in monthly sales, Corrivo recognised the need for a more structured approach to business development, improved sales management disciplines and greater alignment between sales and marketing activity.
It was this challenge that led Managing Director Paul Foster to engage Firestarter.
Paul Foster – Managing Director @ Corrivo Building Products
“When we first engaged Firestarter, my initial focus was on improving our performance through a combination of sales training and optimising our usage of our Pipedrive CRM system. However, it became apparent very early on in our conversations that we needed to take a wider view, and create an entirely more structured and scalable approach to sales and business development. What impressed me most was their ability to quickly understand our business, our market and the challenges we faced, and then articulate a solution to address them.”
The Challenge
While Corrivo enjoyed strong customer retention and an excellent reputation within the industry, several commercial challenges were limiting future growth.
These included:
- Limited new business generation and connected marketing activity.
- A lack of formalised sales processes and sales management routines, with inconsistent use of their Pipedrive CRM system.
- A need for greater visibility across Corrivo’s sales pipeline and forecasting.
- A restricted focus on extracting maximum value from key customer accounts.
The objective was not simply to generate short-term opportunities. Corrivo wanted to establish a scalable commercial framework that would support sustainable growth for years to come.
Establishing Strong Commercial Foundations
Firestarter began by working closely with the leadership and sales teams to create greater structure, visibility and accountability across the sales process.
One of the first priorities was improving the use of Corrivo’s Pipedrive CRM system. Firestarter made changes to how the Pipedrive system was configured which allowed new processes to be introduced to ensure opportunities were recorded, managed and progressed consistently. Firestarter proactively supported the team through the transition to new ways of working, with regular hands-on sessions to help ensure successful adoption.
Alongside CRM improvements, Firestarter also worked with Corrivo to enhance its bespoke business performance dashboard, providing greater visibility of key commercial metrics and enabling more informed decision-making.
As Firestarter Account Director Adrian Danks explains, the foundations for growth were already present within the business.
“From the outset, it was clear that Corrivo had a strong reputation, loyal customers and significant growth potential. The opportunity was not about reinventing the business, but about introducing the structure and commercial disciplines needed to unlock that potential.”
These improvements gave the leadership team a clearer understanding of sales activity, pipeline performance and business opportunities than had ever previously been possible.
Introducing Sales Management Discipline
A key focus throughout the engagement was creating consistency around sales management.
Firestarter introduced weekly pipeline review sessions, attended by every member of the Corrivo team with a responsibility for managing quotes and orders, establishing a regular management rhythm that improved pipeline visibility, forecasting accuracy and accountability across the team.
These sessions quickly became a cornerstone of Corrivo’s commercial process, helping ensure that opportunities were actively managed and progressed, rather than simply tracked.
The result has been a more disciplined and predictable approach to managing business development activity, supported by improved visibility across the entire sales funnel.
Unlocking Growth Within Key Accounts
While generating new business remained a priority, Firestarter also recognised significant opportunities within Corrivo’s existing customer base.
Working closely with Sales Director Scott Quig, Firestarter undertook a series of structured account development workshops, reviewing key customers in detail and identifying opportunities to strengthen relationships, increase spend and expand service utilisation.
These account “workouts” resulted in tangible growth plans for strategically important customers and helped shift the focus from customer retention alone to proactive account development.
Scott Quig – Sales Director @ Corrivo Building Products
“Working closely with Adrian has added real value to the way we approach sales and account development. The structured account review sessions have helped us take a more strategic view of our customer base and identify real opportunities for growth that might otherwise have been missed, and put proactive plans in place to derive maximum value from them.”
Scott also credits the process with helping improve the broader commercial effectiveness of the team.
“Adrian brings a wealth of commercial experience and consistently asks the right questions. His ability to combine strategic thinking with practical actions has helped us improve both our pipeline management capabilities and our approach to growing key accounts.”
Aligning Sales and Marketing
To support both new business generation and customer growth objectives, Firestarter implemented targeted marketing activity designed to work alongside the sales process.
Using existing content wherever possible, campaigns were developed across email and social media channels, focusing on two key objectives:
- Increasing engagement and spend among existing customers.
- Converting prospective customers into active opportunities.
This ensured that marketing activity was no longer operating independently, but instead actively supporting commercial objectives and sales conversations. Prospects who showed heightened levels of engagement with marketing activity were proactively prioritised for follow-up by Corrivo’s sales team, making them more efficient by focusing their time on warmer leads.
Using Data to Drive Better Decisions
Another significant area of development was the introduction of more robust commercial analysis and reporting.
Through monthly and quarterly reviews of customer sales data, Firestarter helped Corrivo segment its customer base into distinct tiers. This allowed sales and account management activity to be prioritised according to customer value and growth potential.
Detailed reporting provided management with clearer commercial insight, helping inform decisions on resource allocation, customer strategy and growth opportunities.
These improvements, combined with enhanced CRM adoption and pipeline management disciplines, enabled Corrivo to move towards a more proactive and data-driven commercial model.
Delivering Lasting Results
The combination of improved processes, stronger sales management, targeted marketing activity and strategic account development has delivered significant benefits for Corrivo.
Outcomes have included:
- Year-on-year sales growth across the business, with 19% growth in year 1, and 15% growth projected in year 2.
- Significant growth in the overall sales pipeline.
- Improved pipeline visibility and forecasting capability.
- Enhanced business performance reporting and commercial insight.
- Stronger sales management disciplines and accountability.
- Better alignment between sales and marketing activities.
- Increased adoption and effectiveness of the Pipedrive CRM system.
The impact of the engagement was sufficient for Corrivo to extend the relationship beyond the initial project and into a second phase focused on embedding best practice across telesales, key account management and marketing. Following this success, Firestarter is now supporting a third phase designed to maintain commercial momentum, further enhance Corrivo’s digital presence and ensure continuity as internal resources transition into the next stage of development.
For Paul Foster, the decision to continue the partnership has been straightforward.
Paul Foster – Managing Director @ Corrivo Building Products
“The support has gone far beyond simply introducing new processes. Firestarter has become a trusted commercial partner, helping us improve visibility, strengthen sales management disciplines and create a much more coordinated approach between sales and marketing.”
“The results we’ve achieved, combined with the quality of the working relationship, have given us every reason to continue our partnership through multiple phases of support. The team has consistently delivered value, challenged our thinking in a positive way and helped put the foundations in place for continued growth.”
A Partnership Focused on Sustainable Growth
What began as a project to improve business development activity has evolved into a long-term commercial partnership focused on creating sustainable growth.
Reflecting on the journey, Adrian highlights the collaborative nature of the relationship as one of its defining strengths.
“What I’ve particularly enjoyed about working with Corrivo is the openness of the team and their willingness to embrace new ideas. Seeing stronger commercial disciplines become embedded in the business, alongside tangible improvements in pipeline performance and account development, has been incredibly rewarding. It’s a great example of what can be achieved when good people, good processes and clear commercial objectives come together.”
Today, Corrivo is operating with greater commercial visibility, stronger sales management disciplines and a more structured approach to both customer growth and new business generation, creating a platform for continued success in a highly competitive market.
