For many businesses, hitting a sales ceiling can feel like an unavoidable plateau—a point where growth stalls, and no matter how hard you push, breaking through seems impossible. That was the challenge we faced at PMG Tastings. However, the book Traction® was given to me by a business acquaintance which was a game-changer. I started by self-implementing the Entrepreneurial Operating System® (EOS) with the account team, we gained the structure, clarity, and discipline needed to push past our limitations. And, ultimately, this journey led to the awareness that we needed to take EOS company-wide, and we needed an experienced EOS Implementer to help us scale our brand even further.
Hitting the Sales Ceiling
Like many companies running on pure drive and intuition, we found ourselves constantly “fighting fires” within and across departments, with no clear way to scale sustainably. Our brand identity was excellent! We had a strong team, delivered great services, and a clear mission, but we lacked:
- A consistent way for clear and timely communication.
- A streamlined decision-making process.
- A unified vision that everyone fully understood and aligned with.
- Accountability across leadership and all teams.
No matter how much effort we put in, we kept hitting the same roadblocks. Growth stalled, and frustration grew. Something had to change.
The Decision to Self-Implement EOS
I had heard about EOS from a TAB Peer Group member and decided to take the plunge by self-implementing. With elements resourced from the EOS Toolbox from Gino Wickman’s Traction, we started applying the framework among the account team. Between establishing our Rocks, a Scorecard, and running weekly Level 10 Meetings®, combined with our Core Values and BrandCUE, the account team was able to close more business than we ever had before!
Breakthroughs from Self-Implementing EOS
Once the account team embraced the EOS elements being used, the impact was undeniable: they were driving a greater volume of business in which the other PMG departments were unable to service as accustomed, which negatively affected morale and potentially our brand.
The Next Step: Bringing in an EOS Implementer
While self-implementing EOS took us far, we soon realized that to embed EOS throughout our organization, we needed experienced support. We made significant improvements, but gaps remained. We recognized that:
- We weren’t leveraging EOS to its full potential.
- There were blind spots we couldn’t see from the inside.
- Some team members needed an external coach to fully embrace the process.
- Delivering on our brand promise meant everyone pulling in the same direction.
Bringing in a Professional EOS Implementer® helped us establish our V/TO®, refine our approach, push through lingering challenges, and ensure every level of the company embraced EOS effectively. The investment in expert guidance took us from good to great, accelerating our company-wide EOS adoption and making a lasting impact on our growth.
The Takeaway: EOS Is a Game Changer for Refining Your Brand
EOS allowed us to operationally support our brand promise – “to create memorable moments” – across 30 full and part-time team members as well as to our 500-plus sub-contractors. It elevated and differentiated us from our competition and reinforced and engrained the choice of PMG among our Brand and Retail Partners.
We sold PMG Tastings in 2024, and established PMG CBO which is focused on assisting companies with their brand strategy using tools such as our BrandCUE to drive sales and ensure the brand promise is delivered accurately establishing an emotional connection with their target consumers.