CIENCE Technologies

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO of a biotechnology company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CIENCE?

We needed help with increasing our number of qualified leads.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

CIENCE researched potential leads, performed the initial outreach, set up meetings, and managed the follow-up process. 

What is the team composition? 

We worked with a few people on their team, including a sales rep and project manager.

How did you come to work with CIENCE?

A friend of mine recommended them.

How much have you invested with them?

We probably invested about $60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them about a year ago and wrapped up the engagement in January 2019 after deciding to move their services internally. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Overall we were relatively happy with the services they provided, but felt that the ROI was not significant enough to continue the engagement. We also wanted to expand our outreach to include more content strategy. 

How did CIENCE perform from a project management standpoint?

They worked quickly and were responsive throughout.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They offer a more personalized, human approach rather than just a software as a service. We enjoyed being able to communicate directly with their team and schedule meetings to go over any feedback and suggestions they had. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

If their pricing was a bit lower we might not have tried to internalize their services as quickly as we did. In terms of performance, it would help if they had more of a feedback loop regarding the success of the meetings we had. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be very specific about your ideal customer and request additional feedback after meetings. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the vice president of Tuxedo Air America. We are a micro-airline serving the energy industry in Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. We are a membership airline providing scheduled flights.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CIENCE Technologies?

We connected with CIENCE Technologies for lead generation services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We rely on CIENCE Technologies to quantify and qualify leads for us. Each week, they bring us a list of potential customers for us to review. CIENCE Technologies finds the appropriate leads, and they make the first contact with the decision-makers so that we don’t have to do any cold calling ourselves. They schedule appointments once the lead has been qualified, and we have a salesperson take over at that point. I fully consider CIENCE Technologies to be a part of our team.

What is the team composition?

We work closely with Andrew (Team Lead, CIENCE Technologies) and Vladimir (Customer Success Team Lead, CIENCE Technologies).

How did you come to work with CIENCE Technologies?

CIENCE Technologies does a good job with similar services for another company we operate in Houston. Based on that success, we decided to use them for this project as well.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $10,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement began in October 2018 and remains ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

By the time that we’re talking to a lead, we’re speaking to a person who makes these high-level decisions. CIENCE Technologies introduces us to the personnel we need to speak with to be successful. We’ve had several leads take advantage of our trial flight opportunities and eventually purchase memberships. CIENCE Technologies’ value has been phenomenal.

How did CIENCE Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

Andrew and Vladimir work very well together. If they have a question, they don’t hesitate to ask. I couldn’t ask for better service.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They find the right customers and the right contacts at each company. The quality of leads they bring is above and beyond what I expected.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They initially made us a landing page that we didn’t feel genuinely encompassed who we are. This has since been addressed, and we otherwise have no complaints about their service.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They can only be successful if you’re willing to teach them about your business, so it’s essential to communicate with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the director of business development at OfficeSpace Software, a facility management software application.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CIENCE Technologies?

We engaged with CIENCE Technologies to generate more leads for our company.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Every week, we identify a target industry and a customer base we want to contact. The team at CIENCE Technologies then researches to find contact information for personnel at various companies we want to connect with. CIENCE Technologies sends a list to approve, and then they proceed with cold-email outreach efforts.

What is the team composition?

We have weekly calls with our account manager and our business development representative to review any leads or answer any questions.

How did you come to work with CIENCE Technologies?

They cold-emailed us, and we liked their approach. What they offered was presented clearly. We had already spent time developing our other channels, so our ears were ready to hear their message.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $40,000 a year.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement began in August 2016 and remains ongoing. We opened the project with a three-month pilot test and saw some promising results. We decided to continue from there.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Because of their efforts, we’ve added an average of 1.5 customers per month, and that’s been a valuable boost to our company.

How did CIENCE Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate well—we’re on Slack together and have scheduled weekly calls. They keep us engaged so that they are always prepared. It’s refreshing to have a partner that is organized and continues to push us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We appreciate their approach and their experience. They have an effective method for contacting prospective customers in an array of industries.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We decided to bring the template writing in-house because we felt more comfortable having our writer establish those materials. It was worthwhile to have them start that process, but we decided to put the final polish on it because we know our industry best.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s important to get your templates sorted early. I’d recommend A/B testing different subject lines and having separate emails for different job titles or roles that you’re contacting.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of sales at Jane.ai. We’re an AI company that provides a virtual assistant designed for business environments. Its functionality resembles the Amazon Alexa. The system makes company intelligence accessible through a simple chat interface.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CIENCE Technologies?

We didn’t have internal sales support when I first started at Jane.ai. I needed a vendor to satisfy our short-term needs like securing meetings with key players and introducing our product to the market.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

CIENCE Technologies helped us find leads through social media platforms like LinkedIn and other various listed they’ve aggregated internally. They set up an email marketing system and connected it to HubSpot, our marketing automation platform. Now, interested parties can schedule meetings directly on my calendar.

What is the team composition?

They provided a researcher, a marketer, and a project manager to work on our project. There was a bit of turnover in the role of project manager.

How did you come to work with CIENCE Technologies?

They initially reached out via email. I reviewed their portfolio and met with one of their current clients, who provided excellent feedback on their skills. From there, we signed an agreement.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from February–November 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

With the help of CIENCE Technologies, we’ve met with several senior executives from Fortune 500 companies. In total, they secured about 30 meetings throughout the partnership, one of which resulted in a six-figure transaction. From that perspective, partnering with CIENCE Technologies paid for itself. We still have a number of opportunities that their team secured waiting in our pipeline.

How did CIENCE Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very responsive and cooperative. Their team would address my questions and concerns in a consistent and timely manner. Generally, we spoke on a weekly basis, and they would provide a report that detailed their performance, effectiveness, and next steps. These interactions were primarily via phone or email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Looking at the benefits we received for our investment, the CEINCE Technologies team offered a competitive price. Because we’re a startup, financial factors played a significant role in our decision.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The language barrier was a minor inconvenience. They were fantastic in managing our email marketing efforts, but we couldn’t reach out with a follow-up call until one of our team members was available. I recommend that they staff a native English speaker to that they can expand their services to include phone calls.

Additionally, we continued to use our own prospect list service, and we found that those contacts were better than the ones CIENCE Technologies was providing. I’m not sure what sources they were using, but there is room for improvement.

Any advice for potential customers?

Clients should be proactive in weekly strategizing. I could’ve done a better job of giving them specific guidance.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the marketing manager at a biotech startup. We specialize in high-throughput library preparation solutions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire CIENCE Technologies?

We hired CIENCE Technologies for lead generation and email marketing. Since we have limited manpower and operate under a cost-efficient model, we wanted to maximize our outreach at an affordable price.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal is to set up targeted meetings with potential customers. 

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We found them through word of mouth. A trusted industry friend recommended them and mentioned that they could be a great asset.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

We run campaigns to generate leads. Our sole purpose is to set up conference calls with a high close rate. They handle the first stage of our lead funneling process, then transfer leads to us when they're ready to meet.

For the general campaign, they use keywords we gave them to build lists of leads and identify ideal customers. Our targeted campaigns focus on conference attendee lists. They use email templates to set up meetings around key trade shows.

What was the team composition?

We have a team manager, an email marketer, and a lead generation expert.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We average a 40% open rate, a 10% reply rate, and a 1% appointment rate. This allows us to generate two to four meetings a week. It's a strong driver of customer adoption.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Our team leader orchestrates a smooth workflow by designing ideal campaigns and efficient templates. The lead generation expert and email marketer communicate with our team as necessary and handle their responsibilities sufficiently.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They're friendly, flexible, and open to feedback. 

Are there any areas for improvement?

Their weekly reports were almost useless at the beginning, but they accepted our feedback and made the necessary improvements. We now receive informative metrics to evaluate their performance.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the business development director at GROW, a digital advertising agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CIENCE Technologies?

We contracted with CIENCE Technologies to generate leads and increase the quality of the leads we receive. If we have more meetings with our target customers, we are likely to make more sales. We wanted to increase that meeting volume while still meeting with the right types of clients and companies.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They're at the very top of our sales funnel. They identify leads through their own research methods based on a customer profile that we provide. We then review and approve each of those leads. Those leads are then imported into a workflow that we use to reach clients—either with cold calls or email campaigns.

What is the team composition?

I primarily interface with a project manager but will sometimes meet with an account manager, as well.

How did you come to work with CIENCE Technologies?

They contacted us through an email campaign. It happened to be good timing because I knew I was looking for someone like them, but I hadn’t yet started that search.

How much have you invested with them?

We pay about $7,500 per quarter. We’ve worked together for about a year now, so that totals almost $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve worked together on an ongoing basis since November 2017. We renew our engagement every quarter.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Using quarter comparisons from 2017 to 2018, the number of meetings we take with clients per quarter has increased by at least 150%. Our high-water mark, comparing Q1 2018 to Q1 2017, is a 367% increase. At this point in 2018, we’ve already seen a 148% increase in meetings from all of 2017. In conjunction with these increases in meetings, we’ve seen similar growth in our sales.

How did CIENCE Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

I interact with our project manager almost daily. He is responsive and has a great attitude. We communicate primarily through Slack and Google Drive, where we’ll share and comment on different documents. CIENCE Technologies takes feedback well and makes appropriate changes to implement that feedback.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Our business is improving, and I’m also saved a lot of stress because of their work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We love our project manager, but it was unfortunate when he went on vacation. His stand-in was great, but we did not click as well with him.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The more you're involved in giving them instruction and feedback on a daily basis, the more successful you're going to be. I wouldn't let them run solo and expect everything to be smooth and successful. The client has to be actively involved.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of operations at a biotechnology company. We provide a suite of technologies to analyze a particular type of genomic data. Our proprietary platform applies to several verticals. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CIENCE Technologies?

We were at a point where we didn’t need to hire a significant sales and marketing team. As a startup, we weren’t necessarily able to, either, so we hired CIENCE technologies to provide these services. Our primary goals were to drive more traffic to our booths at conferences, expand our brand awareness, and meet potential new clients. We needed help with identifying new sales leads in our space. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

CIENCE Technologies ran massive email campaigns leading up to conferences we planned to attend. The booths we host at these events are our main form of marketing. They found attendee lists and conducted research to parse guests down to our most qualified leads. Anywhere from 4–6 weeks out, they’d generate a three-part email campaign to ping these people and set up our meetings ahead of time. 
 
We also used CIENCE Technologies on a more general scale for research. They wrote content and created templates for our email campaigns. We did most of the tasks on the list, but it was nice to have them facilitate that process. Since we’ve expanded our team a bit, we’re starting to wrap up the engagement. We realized we were paying them and our employee to do the same work. 
 
What is the team composition? 

We interfaced with a point person who acted as a liaison between our two teams. CIENCE Technologies also has a copywriter and a teammate who ran the campaigns. 

How did you come to work with CIENCE Technologies?

Another company we knew had used CIENCE Technologies and recommended them for lead generation. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from March–October 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

CIENCE Technologies spurred a noticeable, significant increase in the number of attendees who visited our booths. Based on these results, we used them at six different conferences. Having them set up meetings kept everyone from our company very busy at conferences. Our improved brand awareness is also apparent. More people are definitely starting to know about our business.

The amount of research CIENCE Technologies conducted was huge. Even when we told them we needed 1,000 emails, they had a high success rate. Showing us how they ran email campaigns was educational for our team. Now, we can replicate this success.

How did CIENCE Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

I give CIENCE Technologies an A+. We used email and Zoom to stay in touch. Their working hours ended at 11:00 AM for us on the west coast, so we usually emailed them in the morning, and they’d respond at night. Our point of contact held a weekly phone call or Skype meeting to go over progress and answer our questions. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

CIENCE Technologies conducted successful, highly accurate research on a very fast turnaround. It would have taken us a considerable amount of time to find all of those emails. They were always willing to work with us. Whenever we asked them for something, they’d figure out how to make it work to the best of their abilities before returning with a solution. It was a very collaborative experience. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only issue we had was the staff turnover, which wasn’t a huge deal but slowed things down occasionally. We went through three liaisons, three email campaign people, and two copywriters.

Our work is technical and niche. It felt like as soon as we got accustomed to somebody and they figured out our business, we’d lose them to another project or they’d move companies. That being said, CIENCE Technologies was very good at getting the next person up to speed. We never experienced too much of a lag. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

CIENCE Technologies was very open to the ideas we came up with. Even when we decided to end our engagement, they came back to us with proposals for services we hadn’t known to ask for. Continually pushing them and asking what else they could do would have been useful in the beginning.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the Senior VP of Sales for a company that has a patented UV technology that sanitizes water. I’m also head of worldwide marketing efforts.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CIENCE Technologies?

We hired them to build out our database and increase familiarity with a disparate group of people in the nursing home and senior living community. We decided it was cheaper to leverage CIENCE Technologies’ resources than hire a team in-house.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built a database along with two outbound campaigns to get us appointments. In addition, the databased served to ascertain contact information in an industry with high turnover.

What is the team composition?

I interacted with Daniel (CSM, CIENCE Technologies) about two or three times per week.

How did you come to work with CIENCE Technologies?

One of their salespersons was a friend of mine. I reached out when I saw on LinkedIn that she worked at CIENCE Technologies. She told me what they did and I decided that I needed those services for my business. I didn’t interview anybody else because I trusted her.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $40,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from August 2017–September 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

The database was great and generated 99 appointments. However, we weren’t able to convert any of those meetings. Although that result wasn’t CIENCE Technologies’ fault, the lack of conversions led us to end the engagement.

How did CIENCE Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

I liked the people individually; the product was a great idea and they did a good job pivoting. However, the team’s level of acumen was not where I wanted it to be. I constantly coached them, which I didn’t mind, but I expected better content for the price I paid. For example, the emails needed to be more compelling. They weren’t emotive enough, which made them less effective. However, CIENCE Technologies did a decent job overall and I did approve the email text.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team was adaptable and willing to make whatever changes we needed to succeed. Since they weren’t subject matter experts, CIENCE Technologies emphasized creation and collaboration. While that approach appealed to me, it could have been even better if I had more time to dedicate to the project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I was under the impression that they had more of an integrated solution. I thought I would be able to see a dashboard seamlessly updating activity in real time. However, the workflow never lived up to that expectation. Perhaps I misunderstood, but again, I expected something less clunky for the amount of money I was paying.

Any advice for potential customers?

The team positioned the solution as something that was mostly built, but still required customization and input from the client. Clients without the time or bandwidth to invest in that approach won’t get good results.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of the North American region for a company that provides school trips. We send high school students on life-changing experiences in developing countries.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CIENCE Technologies?

We needed help with lead generation.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

CIENCE Technologies works on various lead generation tasks, such as copywriting and landing page design. They also conduct research on the schools we want to contact to help us identify areas of interest and better market our services.

What is the team composition?

CIENCE Technologies provides a full sales development team. Our main contact is the subject manager.

How did you come to work with CIENCE Technologies?

Last year, I looked into a specific agency to manage our lead generation but didn’t follow through. When I looked again this year, CIENCE Technologies had bought that firm, so I contacted them. Because we're located in the same area, I was able to meet with them in person. Ultimately, I hired them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend $13,000 per quarter.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been partners since April 2018 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We currently have very little brand awareness among our U.S. prospects, but CIENCE Technologies is generating a lot of activity. They’ve helped us promote specific events and achieve a high response rate. We’ve been inundated with responses, and I’ve seen enough results in the first three months to invest more in their services.

How did CIENCE Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re fantastically responsive, often getting back to me within minutes of sending an email, even if it’s after hours. I speak to the manager once a week, and we email regularly. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their copy is excellent.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’ve had a few project management concerns as we’ve started the partnership, and they could probably conduct research a bit faster. There have been a few times when they’ve sent out emails that aren’t filled out correctly, and that didn’t reflect well on us.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Just because you’re outsourcing doesn’t mean you have no responsibility. Invest time in the partnership, especially in the beginning, and build a good relationship with their team. Make sure they understand your goals and expectations and you understand their process. Follow up on your plans, keeping a clear objective in mind.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the vice president of sales in the Americas for Beijer Electronics. We manufacture visualization and human-machine interfaces in the industrial sector.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CIENCE Technologies?

We wanted to increase the number of prospects at the top of our sales funnel. Because we only have about half a dozen salespeople scattered around the United States, we needed to be more efficient in generating leads. We wanted a partner to help us find leads, make initial contact, and introduce customers to our product.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They have access to several databases that are somewhat proprietary. The team also uses LinkedIn, internet databases and various other references. Through these channels, CIENCE Technologies identifies potential clients based on general criteria regarding company industry, size, and sector. Then, they target these leads through email to establish initial contact and encourage a response. Soon after, they follow up via phone calls to solidify appointments with my salespeople.

What is the team composition?

The team size varies between five and six members. They provide a researcher, who generates leads and submits them for review each week. We review each prospect before they initiate contact. We also work with an account relationship manager, who we speak with on a weekly basis, as well. For day-to-day contact, there’s a full-time telemarketer who handles phone calls and sets our appointments.

How did you come to work with CIENCE Technologies?

I looked into several firms that were using similar lead generation services and decided that it was something we wanted to add to our business. I found CIENCE Technologies and was impressed with the sales rep I spoke with. He gave clear and concise answers, process descriptions, and a detailed explanation of the results I should expect. He also assured me that I could be as involved in the process as I pleased. I was comfortable with their approach and ultimately chose them as a partner.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend $4,500 each month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2018 and the partnership is ongoing.