Agence de Parfum, established in 2008, has become a premier distributor of luxurious, niche perfumes, fragrances, skincare, bath & body products across Australia and New Zealand. The company showcases 60+ brands and caters to its clientele through retailers, its 3 Libertine Parfumerie storefronts, e-boutique, and regular in-person and online masterclasses. With a workforce of 100, including a dedicated 10-person marketing team, they strive to set the benchmark in their industry.

Challenges: 

• Flat or falling sales   
• Manage fast-growth marketing team   
• Deepen & develop leadership skills 
• Address performance issues  

Solution: TripleGoal  Vertical Growth & 1:1 Coaching Program  

Results: 

• 10% increase in sales  
• True collaboration delivers results 
• Reflective vs reactive management style  
• Stellar performance reviews

In just a few months, sales grew 10% thanks to Alexane Mongreville’s leadership transformation. Soon TripleGoal will be rolled out company-wide.  

“Do this program and get coaching!” says Nick Smart, CEO and founder, Agence de Parfum. “We saw how much Alexane changed and the impact that her new approach had on her team and our company’s sales.”   

In just 2 years with Agence de Parfum, brand marketing manager Alexane’s direct reports quadruped (1 to 4) and her marketing team doubled to 10 employees. To support that growth, Alexane knew she needed formal training to deepen her leadership and management skills and bring out the best in her team. After assessing multiple classes and courses, she turned to TripleGoal for its one-on-one coaching and Vertical Growth Program for leadership development (6 modules, 40 hours over 7 to 9 months).  

Specifically, Alexane was onboard with TripleGoal’s triple goal: maximising performance, pace of learning and joy at work. To consistently perform at their best, people need to learn constantly and quickly. To maintain that pace and attitude, they need to be passionate about their work and comfortable with their senior leaders, teams and peers.  

The program provided the proven, systemic, formalised approach to development that Alexane needed to grow her team and sales in a fast-paced environment.  

“With TripleGoal’s one-on-one coaching, you learn that everything you say and do affects the people around you, and, how they think and behave affects the company and its performance,” says Alexane, a self-described younger manager, who at 29, had already practiced personal development solo for years. 

React or Reflect – How do You Behave? 

TripleGoal’s 360 Leadership Assessment and Alexane’s team identified the red zone (reactive) behaviors that affected her direct reports’ and colleagues’ performance, pace of learning and joy at work. While Alexane truly believed she was collaborative and open to her team’s ideas, she discovered her “red zone” behaviours did the exact opposite. When humans face challenges and threats, their reactions tend to be fight, freeze or flight. It’s basic neuroscience but in most business situations, those amygdala-based reactions are counter-productive.   

When Alexane felt her ideas and strategies were being challenged or threatened, her insecurities kicked in. As a result, she tended to overreact. She regularly interrupted and cut people off mid-sentence without stopping to think and reflect. She inevitably implemented her own ideas and rejected her team’s strategies. 

“My fear of not being good enough made me insecure about my own team and that made my  team feel they weren’t good enough – that’s not how you empower and support your team,” says Alexane.  

One Big Practice – Putting It All Together  

Empowerment was identified as the “One Big Practice” Alexane had to demonstrate every single day to get better results from her team. For Alexane as for most people, empowerment is a is a whole series of collaborative attitudes, actions and behaviours.  

Alexane learned to listen and acknowledge what her team said in meetings with eye contact, a nod, or a simple yes. She encourages them by asking direct questions and requesting additional examples and explanations. Body language, from facial expressions to gestures, also make a difference. 

As importantly, true collaboration means Alexane gives their ideas the same respect she’s always given her own. Everyone’s top ideas are tested in market to see which strategies boost engagement and sales. In just one example, her team recently launched sample sets to help consumers discover new fragrances – they’re now one of Agence de Parfum’s bestsellers. As a result, her direct reports’ and colleagues’ ideas and strategies are better than ever because they know their ideas have a chance.   

“I still need to know why the ideas make sense for Agence de Parfum, but I don’t need as much data and tangible proof,” says Alexane. Today, Agence de Parfum employees, from the c-suite on down, recognise Alexane’s team has changed as much as she has. As Lee Coleman, customer service manager & copywriter specialist, sees it, Alexane now discusses and negotiates rather than simply telling team members “This is going to happen!”  

“She gives us space to express our ideas and we’ve earned our reputation as the team that brainstorms the most and is being really creative,” says Ophélie Dervillez, E-commerce & marketing coordinator, Agence de Parfum.  

Role-Modeling, Rituals, Rewards  

Alexane is learning and using green zone (reflective) behaviors when she operates from the pre-frontal cortex, the seat of conscious decision-making, planning and judgement. She’s fully supporting the triple goals of performance, learning and joy and using the 3Rs – role modelling, rituals and rewards – to do it.  

Role modeling is a priority because positive or negative, employees emulate their leaders’ behaviours and attitudes. Now that Alexane collaborates and uses her team’s strategies and ideas, she knows they’ll do the same for the people around them. Direct reports like Lee have also noticed how much Alexane has amplified her willingness to help. She’ll drop what’s she’s doing to step up for them. That has earned their trust and respect, as has asking for feedback on her performance and acting on their suggestions.   

“Alexane is different and now, she’ll admit it when she’s wrong,” says Ophélie Dervillez, E-commerce & marketing coordinator, Agence de Parfum.  

She also created customised rituals for her team. Those rituals, also known as deliberate, repeatable, daily, weekly or monthly processes or events, deliver results. Alexane’s meetings always start the same way. She asks her team how she did that week, what worked for the team and the business, and what didn’t.  

Alexane’s new, reflective approach proved critical when her CEO suddenly demanded marketing’s promised results twice as quickly. When he questioned Alexane’s approach to her job as well as her skills, Alexane reflected instead of reacting – green not red. She asked her team for ideas that would deliver quick wins and they delivered. When the CEO saw the results, he realised his marketing team knew exactly what they were doing. Before long, the original strategy delivered the expected 10% sales increase.  

“It was a big, tough moment, but I’d learned from TripleGoal – I stopped, took a breath and went to my team for help,” says Alexane. “In the past, I would have totally overreacted and rushed to solve it alone.”  

Now more than ever, rewards and recognition are a habit for Alexane and her team. Express your appreciation tangibly, face-to-face, digitally, or even via a handwritten note. People need to know they are valued as individuals and for their efforts!   

“Our sales have been going really well and Alexane is keen to incentivise us to hit targets and introduce KPIs,” says Lee. “It feels good to get appreciation for our workload and intensity – before it was really off the cuff – now it’s now more systematic.”  

Two months into Alexane’s Mindful Leader journey, her CEO had feedback to share. Of course, she assumed the worst, but to her surprise, a top Agence de Parfum executive and a significant client gave her accolades.  

“Other people saw the changes before I did,” says Alexane, who has become even more committed to giving her team the kudos they’ve earned because she knows how it feels.  

Could Alexane have achieved comparable results with a different kind of program? Alexane believes TripleGoal’s specific depth, insight, research and disciplined processes are what supported her leadership transformation and has such a profound impact on her  team’s performance.  

“I trusted Julien and TripleGoal because they understand the human brain and behavior and their processes and systems are based on that knowledge as well as their work with companies around the world,” says Alexane. “Because of TripleGoal, I know how to avoid the big mistakes that could have cost me my career.”