Commercial Excellence & M&A: How to Maintain Growth in the U.S.

Written by Thomas Flarup (CEO, HEIMDALL)

Introduction: The Intersection of Commercial Excellence and M&A

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are powerful engines of growth in the U.S. economy. Each year, thousands of companies merge or acquire competitors, suppliers, or innovators to expand market share, enter new territories, or accelerate innovation. Yet, despite their strategic intent, most M&A transactions fail to deliver their expected commercial results.

Why? Because while financial synergies and operational efficiencies receive significant attention, commercial excellence — the discipline of aligning go-to-market, pricing, and revenue operations to maximize performance — often takes a back seat during integration.

This oversight can be costly. Without a deliberate focus on maintaining and scaling commercial excellence throughout the M&A lifecycle, businesses risk losing customers, eroding margins, and stalling post-deal growth.

In this article, we explore how organizations can sustain commercial excellence before, during, and after M&A transactions — ensuring that deals don’t just close successfully but also create lasting commercial value.

As HEIMDALL – Commercial Excellence Partner, we help organizations design, implement, and sustain world-class commercial systems that support growth and profitability across every phase of their transformation journey.

What Is Commercial Excellence in the Context of M&A?

Commercial excellence refers to an organization’s ability to translate market opportunities into profitable, predictable growth through best-in-class commercial processes. It integrates disciplines such as go-to-market (GTM) design, sales and pricing optimization, revenue operations (RevOps), customer success, and performance management.

When applied to M&A, commercial excellence becomes the bridge that connects two (or more) organizations’ commercial engines into a unified, scalable system.

In other words, commercial excellence during M&A is about:

Aligning go-to-market models and sales structures

Harmonizing pricing strategies and discounting policies

Integrating CRM and RevOps tools

Establishing a unified view of customers, pipelines, and performance metrics

Creating a shared commercial culture focused on growth

Without these elements, integration remains superficial. Teams may operate in silos, customers may receive mixed messages, and the value of the merger can quickly dissipate.

Why Commercial Excellence Matters in U.S. M&A

The U.S. remains the world’s most active M&A market, with trillions of dollars in annual deal volume across technology, financial services, healthcare, and other industries. But deal success rates tell a sobering story: depending on the study, between 50% and 70% of mergers fail to achieve their expected synergies.

Among the top reasons for failure are cultural misalignment, inconsistent go-to-market execution, and neglected revenue integration — all of which fall squarely within the scope of commercial excellence.

By embedding commercial excellence principles into the M&A process, organizations can:

1. Accelerate revenue realization

Streamlined sales operations, harmonized pricing, and unified customer management accelerate the revenue lift from combined portfolios.

2. Retain customers and top talent

Clear value propositions and consistent commercial behavior reduce churn among key accounts and minimize internal confusion.

3. Preserve margins during integration

Commercial discipline around pricing, contracts, and incentives prevents unnecessary discounting or margin erosion during the transition.

4. Build scalable commercial infrastructure

By aligning data, tools, and governance, organizations set the stage for long-term growth well beyond the deal horizon.

In short, commercial excellence is not an optional post-merger activity — it is a strategic enabler of M&A success.

The Three Phases of M&A Commercial Excellence

Pre-Merger: Laying the Commercial Foundation

Before the deal closes, organizations should evaluate both entities’ commercial maturity and readiness for integration.

Key actions include:

Commercial Due Diligence:

Go beyond financials. Assess customer segments, sales coverage, channel effectiveness, and pricing models. Identify overlaps and synergies.

Value Hypothesis Development:

Define where the merger will create the most commercial value — cross-selling, new market access, improved scale, or optimized pricing.

Leadership Alignment:

Establish a shared vision for commercial excellence between the executive teams. Ensure sales, marketing, and finance leadership agree on priorities.

Commercial Risk Assessment:

Identify potential conflicts in contracts, customer overlap, or incentive structures that may cause friction post-merger.

A structured commercial excellence pre-merger roadmap helps organizations move confidently into integration with clarity and purpose.

During Integration: Harmonizing and Executing

Integration is where most M&A value is lost — but also where commercial excellence can deliver outsized impact.

Key priorities include:

a. Unifying Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategies

Create a single GTM model that reflects the combined entity’s value proposition. Define clear segmentation, coverage, and channel strategies to avoid confusion among sales teams and customers.

b. Integrating Pricing and Offerings

Pricing alignment is critical. Mismatched discounting policies or product bundles can undermine credibility and profitability. Build a unified pricing logic, informed by customer data and value-based principles.

c. Aligning Revenue Operations (RevOps)

Consolidate CRM systems, pipeline definitions, reporting frameworks, and incentive structures. This ensures visibility across the entire commercial organization and eliminates friction in deal execution.

d. Change Management and Communication

Maintain transparent communication with both internal teams and customers. Explain how the merger enhances value and how commercial processes will evolve.

e. Quick Wins

Identify opportunities to showcase early success — joint deals, bundled offers, or customer success stories that reinforce confidence in the combined organization.

When executed with commercial excellence, integration becomes a growth catalyst, not a disruption.

Post-Merger: Sustaining and Scaling Commercial Performance

Once the initial integration is complete, the focus shifts to sustaining performance and embedding commercial excellence into the organization’s DNA.

Key actions include:

Performance Measurement:

Establish dashboards and KPIs to monitor sales productivity, margin performance, and customer satisfaction across both legacy and merged teams.

Capability Development:

Invest in ongoing training, coaching, and performance management to strengthen the commercial skills of your unified organization.

Governance and Continuous Improvement:

Create a commercial excellence steering committee that reviews processes, tools, and results — ensuring continuous optimization.

Data-Driven Insights:

Leverage analytics to identify new cross-sell opportunities, refine pricing strategies, and measure customer lifetime value post-merger.

At this stage, commercial excellence becomes the organization’s growth engine — enabling it to capitalize on the strategic intent of the merger and deliver sustained profitability.

Industry Perspectives: Tailoring Commercial Excellence in M&A

While the core principles of commercial excellence remain consistent, their application varies across industries. HEIMDALL tailors its approach to the unique dynamics of each sector.

Technology and Software

In software M&A, recurring revenue models, subscription pricing, and customer retention are critical. Integration should prioritize unified customer success frameworks, consistent renewal processes, and harmonized pricing architectures.

Financial Services and Banking

For banks, insurers, and fintechs, mergers often aim to expand market reach or strengthen digital capabilities. Commercial excellence focuses on aligning advisory models, integrating digital channels, and ensuring consistent customer experience across brands.

Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals

In healthcare and life sciences, regulatory compliance and market access shape the commercial model. M&A-driven growth depends on aligning market access strategies, consolidating account management, and ensuring clear value communication to providers and payers.

In every case, the guiding principle remains the same: commercial excellence is the mechanism that turns strategic intent into measurable, profitable growth.

HEIMDALL’s Approach to Commercial Excellence in M&A

At HEIMDALL, we partner with clients to embed commercial excellence throughout their M&A journey — from due diligence to full-scale integration and performance management. Our delivery framework combines strategic insight, practical implementation, and continuous optimization.

We deliver our services through four complementary modes:

1. Consulting and Strategy Creation

We assess your commercial capabilities, define integration strategies, and identify key value drivers that ensure commercial excellence throughout M&A.

2. Complete End-to-End Solutions

We design and implement integrated commercial systems — covering pricing, GTM, RevOps, and governance — tailored to your post-merger operating model.

4. Management and Planning

We help leadership teams plan, measure, and manage commercial performance, ensuring accountability and alignment across functions.

5. Staffing and Implementation

We provide experienced commercial excellence professionals to accelerate execution and sustain post-merger growth initiatives.

Our clients choose HEIMDALL as their Commercial Excellence Partner because we bring a blend of analytical rigor, industry experience, and implementation expertise — turning strategy into measurable results.

The Benefits of Embedding Commercial Excellence in M&A

Organizations that integrate commercial excellence into their M&A approach achieve superior outcomes across several dimensions:

Revenue Synergy Realization — Faster and more reliable revenue growth from cross-sell, up-sell, and customer retention.

Margin Protection — Consistent pricing and disciplined discount management protect profitability during transition.

Sales Force Productivity — Unified tools, training, and incentives increase sales efficiency.

Customer Experience Consistency — A coherent message and value proposition strengthen customer trust.

Scalable Growth Model — Standardized commercial processes enable future expansion and innovation.

The result: sustained growth, stronger customer relationships, and enhanced shareholder value.

Common Pitfalls — and How Commercial Excellence Solves Them

Even experienced organizations fall into common traps during M&A integration. Below are some of the most frequent challenges and how Commercial Excellence helps address them effectively.

Pitfall 1: Conflicting pricing structures
When two organizations merge, pricing policies often clash. Different discount levels, approval processes, and value perceptions can create confusion and erode profitability.
Solution: Implement a unified, value-based pricing framework that aligns customer segments, product positioning, and commercial policy across the merged entity.

Pitfall 2: Siloed sales teams and tools
Merged companies often struggle with disconnected sales teams and inconsistent data systems. This limits visibility, slows performance, and hinders collaboration.
Solution: Consolidate RevOps systems and align performance metrics to ensure everyone works from a single source of truth and toward shared objectives.

Pitfall 3: Customer confusion or churn
Customers may receive mixed messages or experience uncertainty after an acquisition, leading to lost trust and potential churn.
Solution: Create an integrated communication and account management plan that provides clarity, consistency, and reassurance throughout the transition.

Pitfall 4: Loss of top sales talent
During integration, unclear roles, misaligned incentives, or cultural clashes can drive high-performing employees to leave.
Solution: Establish transparent incentive programs, clear performance expectations, and career paths to retain and motivate key talent.

Pitfall 5: Margin erosion
Without strong commercial discipline, aggressive discounting or poorly managed contracts can reduce profitability.
Solution: Enforce disciplined deal governance and robust discount control to protect margins during and after integration.

By proactively addressing these issues, Commercial Excellence helps organizations protect and amplify deal value — ensuring that mergers and acquisitions deliver the sustained growth and commercial performance they were designed to achieve.

Conclusion: Sustaining Growth Through Commercial Excellence

In the U.S. M&A landscape, success no longer depends solely on deal structure or cost synergies. True success is measured by the ability to maintain — and grow — commercial performance after the merger.

Commercial excellence provides the framework for achieving this success. It enables organizations to integrate their go-to-market models, pricing structures, and revenue operations into a cohesive, high-performing system.

With the right partner, businesses can navigate the complexities of M&A with confidence, ensuring that every transaction delivers measurable commercial results.

Your Next Step Toward Commercial Excellence

Are you planning or undergoing a merger or acquisition? Ensure your commercial performance remains strong before, during, and after the deal. Partner with HEIMDALL to design and implement a commercial excellence framework that unlocks revenue synergies, safeguards margins, and sustains growth.

Contact HEIMDALL – Commercial Excellence Partner.