Catalyst Sales
Written by the Symplicity team
Maritime Resilience is a series of stories on how local organizations are adapting to COVID-19.
Catalyst flips traditional sales model to bring more value to customers, increase focus on sustainability
As an independent manufacturer representative, Catalyst targets end users, home builders, electrical engineers, designers, architects, contractors, distributors and lighting showrooms.
When COVID-19 hit the region and businesses were forced to shut down, Catalyst saw its business drop right away. In fact, Mark MacDonald, a principal with the company, said he and the team were preparing for a 30 to 50 percent drop in revenue.

Catalyst got to work to organize a series of knowledge-based webinars, instead of products or features. Since March 15, the team has offered more than 40 webinars bringing all levels of the industry together from all over Canada and beyond.
Their efforts are being noticed. Catalyst was featured in the largest US industry association monthly update and is the only sales agency to be added to the learning management portal for one of its key distributors.
The Catalyst team is committed to making a difference through sustainable electrical solutions, so the team took this time to amplify its efforts in this area. The company is working with national developers to roll out a new electric vehicle charging infrastructure and making it easily available to clients who are able to access subsidies for greener practices.
MacDonald remembers through all this he kept thinking of Winston Churchill’s well-known saying ‘Never waste a good crisis.’
“We cannot let this crisis set us back in the progress we’ve made on the environmental side. This crisis has already sped up the shift of many things, like working from home, doing more business online, and there is no reason for our environment not to be an issue that gets accelerated.”
MacDonald added his team has learned many lessons through the pandemic, but the main one is the importance of constantly improving the business and adapting to change.
Catalyst Sales is offering webinars and continuing their efforts in sustainability.
Visit their website or social media to see what they’re up to!
