EBQ

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an executive at a digital marketing agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with EBQ?

I needed assistance with prospecting through cold calling and also on closing deals. We hired EBQ to support our sales department.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

EBQ provides us with outsourced sales services. They work remotely through HubSpot, doing cold calls and helping us close deals. We provided them with materials and cooperated in setting up the processes.

What is the team composition?

I've worked with five people from EBQ: a primary account manager, two people doing the work, and two teammates managing them. 

How did you come to work with EBQ?

I found them through Clutch because a friend told me they had interviewed many vendors from the platform. I talked to several providers, and EBQ clicked with me. 

How much have you invested with them?

We've been spending around $11,000 plus a certain level of commission every month. In total, we've spent around $200,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together in February 2021, and the engagement is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

EBQ closed their first deal for us last year, and since then, we've sold and retained several new qualified accounts. The team is numbers-driven, and they have a framework they've been able to teach me about how they work pipeline. They've helped us mature our sales department a lot. 

How did EBQ perform from a project management standpoint?

They run very smoothly and perform all their hours on the execution level. On the management level, they followed up with me weekly at first, and then I pulled it back to biweekly. They give me a ton of time and assess our relationship every quarter, giving me a grade on it for approval.

Even though they're a Salesforce company, their management took the time to implement HubSpot, which is the tool I requested. As for communication, they use RingCentral and meet over Zoom. They were also flexible because we use Google Workspace internally. Overall, they've been really receptive. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

What distinguishes EBQ from the competition is that they have highly competent people and a strong team.

Are there any areas they could improve?

When I give them constructive feedback, they hear me and adapt to it, so I can't think of anything they need to improve. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You need to be consistently engaged with EBQ. I've stayed very engaged in our meetings and made it a priority to collaborate with them. Additionally, if you're going to outsource sales or marketing, you should recognize that you need to wait at least half a year for a vendor to get their footing and start getting results.

I gave EBQ seven months to get their footing, and I was holding my breath on month three. However, I gave them the benefit of time, and I'm so glad I did. I advise you to try to be in it for the long haul and be patient with them. However long you'd give someone in-house to figure sales out, you should give them that time.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the head of sales for our company and our platform support the SMB market with getting paid on their past due accounts receivables.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire EBQuickstart?

We need to fast-track an SDR to support with our initial cold calling volume and customer qualification while gaining key insights and supplementing our pipeline.

SOLUTION

How did you select this agency and what were the deciding factors?

We were referred to EBQ and based on their reputation and that they were local to Austin TX, we decided to move forward.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

They provided an outsourced BDR to assist with the initial cold call volume, sales qualification, and insights while we were able to build our internal sales team and sales playbook. Additionally, they provided a list building service that helped us narrow down key industries.

Describe the recruitment process in detail.

We discussed our project with the VP of Sales and the Head of Sales Development, who were great guides with what to look for and who set expectations.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

With their support, we were able to build additional sales pipeline during a crucial time, apply insights gained to our playbook, and helped structure our internal sales onboarding.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We had simple and efficient workflow. We were set up with their BDR having access to our CRM and calling down lists they built and imported. Additionally, we evaluated and adjusted approach every 2 weeks in our bi-monthly meetings.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

They provided high-end sales B2B services at a reasonable cost as compared to the market. Additionally, they are able to onboard relatively quickly which was of great value to our organization.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Hindsight is 20/20 but I think some more feedback and insights on from them in regards to playbook, pitch, and what generally is/isn't working would have been appreciated but as an early stage startup, they still helped us learn a great amount. Really depends on how granular or micro you want to get.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of product marketing for a global tracking and asset management company. We provide our services to different industries such as the construction, agriculture, and oil and gas industries.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with EBQuickstart?

We were looking to generate leads and meet with prospective clients to establish a business partnership with our company.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

EBQuickstart provided us with call center services. We gave them a list of campaign engagement prospects who they will call as part of a rigorous cadence, with the goal of setting an appointment for our internal sales team — whether it’d be through phone calls, in-person meetings, or even a demonstration.

What is the team composition?

Our main point of contact was Stuart (VP of Sales), and we also worked with 3 account and relationship managers, as well as six telesales representatives.

How did you come to work with EBQuickstart?

Our company already had experience working with EBQuickstart from the past.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested roughly $200,000 USD over the course of the engagement.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from May–November 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The biggest metric we had was the number of meetings and appointments they were able to generate, and the monthly goals they were committed to accomplishing. We also tracked their activities and met with them on a regular basis to evaluate the quality of the calls.

The integration was relatively painless. We built some sections within our CRM system, and they did a great job of completing that information to make sure we had 100% visibility into their progress and activity.

How did EBQuickstart perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management was outstanding, as they were always available for us if we had any new information, needed to make some changes in the personnel, or shift the focus on a new campaign.

We just used Salesforce as our main CRM platform to track every activity and performance.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were impressed with their leadership and account team. They were always open to feedback and asked great questions — they really tried to get engaged and learn about our business as best as they could.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Obviously, we would’ve loved for them to understand and communicate the intricacies of our business more effectively, but I know it’s really hard to find anybody that can do that. Nonetheless, we were still able to improve and maximize their understanding.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Share as much information about your business, goals, and objectives as possible to get a dedicated team trained and assigned to your campaign. Clearing that up from the get-go will help you maximize the effectiveness of the project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We provide software and services for local governments to support their water & wastewater compliance programs in order to protect public health and the environment. I am in charge of business development, including sales & marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire EBQuickstart?

We were looking for marketing expertise to hone our expansion in the US and Canada. We focused on marketing content and digital presence.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

After deciding to contract vs. hire, we received recommendations from peers and start-up coaches. We shortlisted 3 and selected EBQ as they could provide the full marketing competences, well defined project management process and straightforward contractual arrangement.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Major items included:

1. Redefine our collaterals for each product line (format and content)
2. Optimize our website for faster response, mobile friendly and improved navigation.
3. Improve our lead generation campaigns

What was the team composition?

1 exec, 1 project mgr, 1 lead for each area: content, digital marketing, design, website.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Website navigation much faster, and mobile friendly. Collaterals delivered for each product lines. CRM improvements for email campaigns.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We used a collaborative task manager to plan, see progress and communicate between individuals on both organizations. We also met every week, 1 week with a working session, the other with an exec review. Project management was very effective.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their availability and responsiveness. They adapted very well when we needed urgent deliverables and changes of plans.

Is there any area for improvement or anything that could have been done differently?

not at this time

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an executive at a product life cycle management company, and we provide software solutions to processing industries.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with EBQuickstart?

We needed to generate leads for our business.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

EBQuickstart has been helping our company by providing lead generation services. They enhance our database to get good coverage and penetration into our core markets in both the US and Europe. Their efforts include cold-calling and emails to achieve their primary functions, which are delivering appointments and providing business intelligence, among other essential tasks to our daily operations — all that by adapting to our CRM.

What is the team composition?

We’ve been working with three people from their team, including two people doing PLM for the US and Europe and another focused on our subscription services.

How did you come to work with EBQuickstart?

We found them through a discovery process back in 2014; they were able to yield the results we were looking for and that other providers couldn’t deliver, so we’ve been working together ever since.

How much have you invested with them?

We invest around $180,000 with them every year.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July 2014, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve opened several doors for us to find potential clients, which has helped us get great numbers to justify the program we’re implementing.

How did EBQuickstart perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re great in that aspect; we have meetings with them constantly, and they also know how to adapt to the changes that come naturally with people when doing lead generation. In terms of communication, we use our CRM system and email to handle day-to-day activities.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their training and motivating skills are superb. In addition, they respond to feedback and recommendation changes, which speaks well for the experience in this market — I’ve worked with other firms that don’t perform anywhere near to EBQuickstart.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything they can improve on — they’re also quick in solving staff issues thanks to their vast resource pool of people.

Any advice for potential customers?

Get the database and scripts in order. Also, pay attention to training the PDR and take advantage of it.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Enquizit, a 19-year-old business with 100 employees and about $20 million in revenue. We’ve been focused on AWS cloud application development, cloud migration, and disaster recovery (DR) for the last 10 years. 

Some of the big customers that we’ve worked with include Common App, which is used by graduating high school students who are applying for colleges or universities. We’ve worked with Commonapp.org on design, development, and deployment collaborations, and we’ve been operating with them for over a decade. We’re also working with the Government Services Administration (GSA) to build Login.gov, a single sign-on website for users to access multiple US government sites. 

We focus on the public sector, so our projects have something to do with education, nonprofits, and governments, which can be federal, state, or local. I’ve been with Enquizit for over two years, and prior to that, I had a seven-year run at AWS. Before that, I was at Microsoft. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with EBQuickstart?

We’re growing by 40%–50% year over year. We’ve had dedicated sales and contracts teams, and a couple of us have been focused on marketing. We’ve run marketing campaigns and received inquiries from people who’ve expressed interest in our business. As a result, we needed help following up on emails, phone calls, and LinkedIn connections — and that was why we turned to EBQuickstart. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

In the beginning, we set up a kickoff meeting with EBQ’s senior manager and one of their consultants who helped us with the calls and outreach. We set expectations and figured out what success would look like, how many meetings we needed per week, how many leads we were going to provide them, what our messaging would be, and what type of campaigns we were going to run.

At that time, we wanted to focus on DR in the southeast. I ran a webinar, built some marketing collateral, obtained leads, and turned those leads over to EBQ. Then, we helped them create a script of what the outreach would look like, what the emails and phone calls would be, and at what point it made sense to bring someone in from Enquizit to continue the discussion. 

We did that on DR for about 3–4 months. Then, we started working on cloud migrations, and that was what we worked on with EBQ for the last 2–3 months. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with Paul (Client Success Manager) and Symone (Business Development Manager). I worked with Symone on drafting the content and scripting the calls. Then, our marketing team worked with her on delivering the leads. 

How did you come to work with EBQuickstart?

EBQ was referred to us by Amazon. We asked them for the best company if we were going to outsource inside sales, and they said we should talk to EBQ. 

How much have you invested with them?

We invested around $20,000–$70,000. 

What is the status of this engagement? 

This engagement lasted from October 2020–March 2021. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our goal was to have a regular cadence of between 2–4 meetings with clients each week, and for the most part, EBQ kept up with that, except during the holidays. There were fits and starts; there were weeks when we had four meetings, and then there were weeks when we only had one.

Anecdotally, the EBQ team was true professionals, and we felt they were a part of our internal team. They very quickly integrated into our Salesforce system and Office 365, had access to all our leads and data, and sounded very convincing when they introduced themselves as part of Enquizit. In other words, they integrated so tightly into our company that we felt like we were one organization — I didn’t feel like they were outsourced. They also weren’t super expensive. 

How did EBQuickstart perform from a project management standpoint?

They were complete professionals throughout the entire experience. Every time the EBQ team had calls, they’d show me the people they’d talked to, their role in their organizations, and the services they asked for. Then, EBQ would ask me whether they met my expectations and what they could do differently. I’d give them my feedback, and they’d take it and get on the phone to re-script. 

We used ZoomInfo to pull some of the leads we needed, but Salesforce was our main collaboration tool. Then, we had a lot of Zoom meetings. I had regular calls with Paul and Symone every Wednesday.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their professionalism and ability to represent themselves as an extension of our company distinguished them from other providers. It didn’t feel like we were dealing with EBQ; it felt like we were dealing with actual Enquizit employees.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there weren’t any. We did have turnover, but I think everyone’s had turnover, and the EBQ team handled themselves pretty well. We could hope for more consistency, but that wouldn’t be fair because we had the same senior manager during the entire time. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

We had some quick results, but I had unrealistic expectations in terms of delivering revenue rapidly. As such, my advice is to not judge EBQ in their first three months; judge them after 6–12 months, because it takes time to close business.

On top of that, make sure that you have qualified interest. There were some meetings scheduled with the same individual who repeatedly didn’t show up. In this case, my advice is to double- or triple-check whether that individual is really interested in the business and they’re not simply blocking their calendar so their boss thinks they’re working. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are an independent P&C insurance agency located in Kansas City. I am the Executive Vice President for Strategy.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire EBQuickstart?

Lead generation to assist us with our M&A strategy.

What were your goals for this project?

Annually generate 5,000 qualified leads; make initial contact with 100; complete discovery with 15 - close 4.

SOLUTION

How did you select EBQuickstart?

We went through an extensive interview process with 15 firms. We selected two firms as finalists. The decision came down to my relationship with Donte and the quality of the generated leads.

Describe the project in detail.

The project is simple - EBQ provides qualified domestic leads based on my ideal customer profile for M&A activity and we solicit the lead to determine interest.

What was the team composition?

The team is also simple - Donte is my main contact, Chris manages Karim who researches all the perspective leads. It's a close knit team, we meet weekly to discuss progress, expectations, quality and overall status.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have generated over 4,000 qualified leads and we're concluding our due diligence with 2. These will hopefully close over the next few months. We're expanding the project to now include a scoring model to prioritize the leads on a standardized scale. This will help my team surgically focus on the leads with the highest close probability.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

There is no distinction between "them" and "us" — it's just "we". All the work is collaborative. In fact, an outsider listening in to one of our calls would believe we all work for the same company.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

1. Professional People
2. Quality of Work
3. Value Proposition

Are there any areas for improvement?

None.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CMO of a software company. We provide software that helps enterprises find information within their organizations and space.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with EBQuickstart?

We were trying to find ways to fill our pipeline with top of the funnel opportunities.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

EBQuickstart has done a few things for us. They built out a contact list using our target market criteria. Then, they helped develop scripts — both written and verbal — to reach out to the contacts with. They also implemented an outreach campaign and reached out to the contact list they’d built, via both voice and email. The key deliverable is scheduling meetings with key contacts at companies within our target market.

What is the team composition?

We work with three people: an overall strategy manager, an operations manager, and a BDR (business development representative), who is actually doing the outreach every day. 

How did you come to work with EBQuickstart?

Initially, they reached out to us. They did exactly what they do for their customers: they sent us a soliciting email. The timing worked out because we were considering outsourcing some business development. I responded to the email and scheduled a meeting with them. We had a number of conversations and then decided to give them a try.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in mid-March 2020, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

One key metric is that they’ve handed a number of opportunities to us that have made it to our pipeline. One of those opportunities is on our forecast for next year, and then five others have potential. We plan to keep working on and nurturing those.

Another key metric is that they’re getting us meetings with the right people at the right companies. Now, it’s just a matter of whether or not these organizations are willing to move forward with or have an initiative, but it’s really up to us by that point.

How did EBQuickstart perform from a project management standpoint?

They perform really well. One thing that I really like about EBQ is that they’re proactive in coming forth with ideas on how they feel they could better impact the business, get more qualified meetings, and reach our market. They try to come up with different ideas, whether it’s focusing on a particular segment, trying different messaging, or finding different contacts. 

The other thing I really like about them is that they do a good job qualifying the opportunity, so we have really good notes about an organization’s needs and challenges, as well as a little background on the contact that they scheduled the meeting with. This helps us to be better prepared going into these meetings. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They proactively come forth with ideas on how they feel they can get better results for us. Not a lot of organizations do that, so that’s something that differentiates EBQ. I also feel that they do a lot of phone outreach, whereas many of these firms tend to focus on email. EBQ is very phone-centric, and I think that also sets them apart.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We have a very wide audience and a lot of potential industries we could go after. With only one rep, it is challenging to cover it all, but they could perhaps do a bit of a better job balancing breadth versus depth of our audience segments to see if opportunities exist in places they haven’t explored deeply.

Any advice for potential customers?

Training is key. Make sure you give them plenty of examples because they really absorb the information. Keep in close contact and do a lot of information sharing, whether that be customer wins you’ve had in the past or examples of the types of contacts you’re targeting and why. They really leverage any information that you provide in their day-to-day activities. Work very closely with them and treat them as if they’re an extension of your team. The more information you give them, the more successful they will be.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Vice President of Centripetal. My responsibilities include all global marketing and PR functions as well as spearheading the lead generation programs to create awareness, qualified leads, and expand the sales pipeline.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire EBQuickstart?

We were looking for a multi-faceted lead generation program that included outbound calling and email. The EBQuickstart offering met all our needs.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goals were to create sales opportunities and grow the sales pipeline without placing a burden on internal sales resources.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I knew of EBQuickstart for years and decided to use their services.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

They create a target list based on our criteria and start the calling/email process. We also supply them with an additional intent list that they work on as well. Once the prospect agrees to a call/meeting, they will contact the respective internal sales manager and make the introduction to move forward.

What was the team composition?

We work directly with the team leads to determine targets and have bi-weekly calls to share any issues, updates, etc.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have had great success with EBQuickstart and they have booked several meetings that have lead to POCs and eventually closed deals.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They are excellent, our calls address any concerns, etc. to which there were very few and minor. They are extremely proactive.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their team is easy to work with and ensure that we are satisfied.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not at the moment, they are one of the best lead generation firms I have worked with.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work at a web services company. I’m a partner development manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with EBQuickstart?

I was working on a lead generation program for partners that I work with in Canada. The specific challenge was generating quality contact lists for lead generation campaigns. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

EBQ provided us with a contact list specific to a particular vertical in public sector for our partner’s solution.

What is the team composition?

We worked with three people. Paul C. (Client Success Manager) was our primary contact and liaison with EBQ. We also worked with Chris V. (Director of Data Operations), our project manager, as well as someone who did the work gathering the contacts. 

How much have you invested with them?

It was approximately $2,500.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project was from May–June 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re in progress with lead generation campaigns, so the metric we have is how many warm leads will come back to a specific partner based upon that contact list. It’s still early, but I can tell you that one of the contacts we called asked us to present on the specific solution to their membership, which includes over 400 active members. We gathered about 300 contacts with a 95% accuracy rate in under 30 days.

How did EBQuickstart perform from a project management standpoint?

They were beyond exceptional. I’ve never worked with a company that was so on top of their game yet non-irritating. They maintained regular cadence and kept everybody on task from our company, the partner company, and their side. They adhered to the very strict format of contact gathering that we required. They were just a pleasure to work with. We communicated through a web conference platform.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their speed was impressive. They not only turned around quotes for getting the work done very quickly, but the actual completion of the work was incredibly quick. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I honestly can’t think of anything they could’ve done better. 

Any advice for potential customers?

Just do it. It was the single most effective thing that I’ve done in my current role.