Strategic Sales & Marketing

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the national accounts manager for a water heater company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Strategic Sales & Marketing?

We lacked the staffing capacity to make outbound calls at the rate we needed to in order to hit our desired metrics.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Strategic Sales & Marketing assisted with our commercial outreach. They identified the problem as a lack of staff capacity, and augmented our sales staff. They helped us develop an outbound call script that fit our organization and utilized their expertise in the outbound sales field. They also helped make outbound sales calls.

Strategic Sales & Marketing and I each curated a list of sales targets, separated into an A and B list — A leads are contacts that requested information about our organization on the call. The lists initially consisted of plumbing contractors and morphed to include opportunities within the marine and government industries. I vetted their list, and they vetted mine. They mined data to identify contacts based on target companies or revenue ranges I provided. 

They conducted follow-up calls until they generated an appointment, which was when my team took over. In appointments, we spoke with contacts about our products and then set up an in-person or phone training. The training was where we further explained our services and placed leads in a sales conduit so they could make a purchase.

What is the team composition?

The total team was about 10–12 people. Jason (Director of Sales) was my main contact at Strategic Sales & Marketing. I also worked with a teammate in their accounting department, and there were a bunch of sales representatives. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement started in January 2018, and we paused it in January 2023 due to internal structural changes. The partnership is on hold at the moment, but this has nothing to do with their performance.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We saw an increase in sales and measured several other metrics, including the number of total calls made, and A leads developed. Strategic Sales & Marketing always exceeded the agreed-upon metrics by multiples of two or three; they were extremely successful.

How did Strategic Sales & Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

They stayed on budget perfectly, and the budget remained consistent throughout the project, which made it easy to budget for. They turned around new product segments, new product offerings, or script edits within 24 hours.

We had biweekly follow-ups with our Strategic Sales & Marketing account manager, who did a fantastic job. They ensured that the project was meeting the metrics outlined in our contract. We communicated via text, email, and phone calls. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their biggest strength was their database knowledge and ability to mine data. They were able to provide quality leads within each target sector and then develop appointments accordingly. It’s one thing to have a list of contacts, but they developed quality leads for each one of those sectors, which is amazing.

Their team always did an amazing job and worked well with us; it was a great marriage. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Clearly define the markets you want to pursue, and then provide clear and concise direction on what you want the script to look like; be mindful of setting expectations for the customer and your organization.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the office manager at Lane Associates, and we’re a heating and air conditioning contractor on Long Island. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Strategic Sales & Marketing?

We needed help generating new leads.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

SSM is helping our salespeople get appointments from various prospective clients across Manhattan. Initially, we met with Al (President) and Jeff (Program Coordinator) and told them our goals. We gave them a few items that we wanted to be mentioned, and they worked around it and built their script. 

From there, SSM has employed various efforts to generate leads and make appointments on our behalf.

What is the team composition?

We work with Al and Jeff.

How did you come to work with Strategic Sales & Marketing?

We found SSM through a Google search.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since May 2021, and our partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

SSM has been very good at getting us appointments, and we’ve had 4–6 meetings monthly.

How did Strategic Sales & Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

We have a fixed monthly budget. We communicate through Zoom.

What did you find most impressive about them?

SSM’s biggest strength is their ability to listen to their clients — they’ve understood what we want and know what to do with it. They’re very professional, too.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything. If I have any issue, I can mention it to Jeff, and he’ll address it immediately.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you want to increase your sales, use SSM — they’re good.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We provide refund solutions to businesses across the country, and I’m the CEO of the company. We’re located in Bellmore, New York.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Strategic Sales & Marketing?

We were based in New York together with most of our clients. However, we wanted to expand our geographic focus and serve more clients around the country. As a result, we hired Strategic Sales & Marketing to help us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Strategic Sales & Marketing helps identify new customers across the country. After that, the team reaches out to those businesses through a phone call in order to explain our services. They also convince businesses to talk to us further in order for them to know how we can help them. We've collaborated with them to create the final scripts.

What is the team composition?

I’ve spoken with three people from their team and there are 4–6 people doing phone calls on our behalf.

How did you come to work with Strategic Sales & Marketing?

I found them on Google. I also reached out to a few companies that had similar services. We felt comfortable choosing Strategic Sales & Marketing based on their success with other businesses. We also liked their proposed approach to the project.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing collaboration started in December 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve been very pleased with the leads that their team has generated, and we’ve made a number of sales through that. 

How did Strategic Sales & Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team communicates well, and they have a dashboard online that’s easy to access and monitor. They also take feedback very well, and they’re very collaborative. In addition, they’re very supportive, and they're capable of adapting to the changes in the project. We email frequently, and we usually have weekly phone calls to keep in touch with each other.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their expertise and experience have been impressive. They have competent resources who are doing the work we require, which enables them to meet our expectations. They work hard to solve our challenges, too. Above all, they’re very knowledgeable and easy to work with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any suggestions for improvements because they’ve been helpful all throughout.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Listen to their feedback because they’ve worked on a lot of programs similar to ours.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We review companies' past utility bills for refund opportunities. Our client's success rate in receiving refunds stands at over 70%. I am the VP of Business Development at NASC and the primary contact for Jason and his team.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Strategic Sales & Marketing, and what were your goals?

We hired Jason and his team to set up telephone meetings for our Refund Specialists. We were hesitant at first due to the lack of success we had with other telemarketers but we are glad we gave them a try. We started in 2018 and have been with them ever since.

SOLUTION

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

One of the strongest assets is their willingness to be flexible and understanding of our somewhat unique target market. To this day, Jason is in direct contact with me to ensure they are calling qualified contacts. This, in turn, has increased the responsiveness of our meetings.

Describe the project in detail and walk through their service package, including any calling tools used.

They provide the initial calls to our prospects and set up phone meetings for our Refund Specialists. There is a great online management tool that provides all the contacts and levels of contact they have with our prospects. The online tool makes it easier to track our progress and theirs. In addition, when a prospect misses the scheduled call, they will reschedule at no additional costs.

Who did you work with and what was the feedback process like?

Jason is my main point of contact and has gone above and beyond with the maintenance of our account. Jason has always put our needs first. Nicole is our other contact that manages the scheduling and is always on point.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the service?

After a slow start, Jason worked with us to tweak the list pulls for our prospects, and things started to take off. One of our main obstacles when we first speak to prospects is the fact our service seems too good to be true or the prospects think we are just trying to change their service. Once they become clients they quickly realize that is not the case.

Jason's team does a fine job of highlighting the benefits of our refund services to try and get over this initial obstacle. Otherwise, they would be scheduling too many phone meetings for us!

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

The online management tool helps the process be as smooth as possible. Although always quick to respond with direct/personal requests, the online management tool helps both parties manage the project.

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

The most impressive aspect is their attention to our specific needs. We feel our needs come first - even when it means extra work on their end to make sure of this.

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

As long as the phone meetings keep rolling in and they are the qualified prospects we turn into our clients - we have no complaints.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the Etch Advisors CEO, and I do consulting for early and mid-stage companies in technology.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Strategic Sales & Marketing?

Being a CEO, I am always working with clients on how to grow their business, which involves lead generation and helping companies scale and find more customers in the marketplace. I was looking for a complementary sales strategy that would allow us to grow certain clients that I’m working with today.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The project’s focus is predominantly on finding customers in untapped markets and industries, as well as leveraging tele-sales for our channel. The work we do has been very collaborative, in which we provide the guidelines around what we are looking for and what our ultimate objectives are, but we also welcome their input and have used a lot of their insights in the past.

We generally sort clients into warm leads and cold leads and then provide two different journey maps depending on what kind of relationship we can establish with them. They have been very helpful with homing in on our target market and appropriate expectations for each campaign.

What is the team composition?

We work closely with 3–4 members of their team, which helps a lot with overall consistency.

How did you come to work with Strategic Sales & Marketing?

They were referred to me by another person in the industry.

How much have you invested with them?

The project is paid for on a monthly retainer basis depending on output, but our total investment has been around $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We first worked together in 2014 and are continuing to do so on an ongoing basis.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our metrics for them are based on the number of calls they conduct and then how many of those are converted into potential leads, followed by how many of those are qualified and closed. As far as hitting those metrics, Strategic Sales & Marketing has been absolutely spectacular. I’ve worked with multiple different firms in this kind of work and they are by far the best at converting leads into actual work for our company.

How did Strategic Sales & Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team is easy to communicate with and always very responsive to questions or requests. They have a portal that I can go into and check results as they're coming through without having to ask for a report from them directly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The results that they generate are really far above the standard for the industry. I am completely satisfied with the level of work they provide.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t have anything I wish they did differently.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It sounds pretty basic, but just setting proper expectations up front goes a long way when you’re doing tele-sales or any marketing. It can be easy to have inflated expectations going into a project like this, so working closely together and figuring out what both teams need to do to make the project as successful as possible is really important.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the former head of sales of a contract manufacturing company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Strategic Sales & Marketing?

We had a relatively small outside salesforce, leading us to be consumed with existing accounts. We needed to develop a new pipeline of opportunities with new potential customers.

Without having a lead generating & marketing function or human resources to find new customers, I needed outside help.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

When I hired them, they were doing outbound phone calls for our business. When I spoke to Al (President, Strategic Sales & Marketing), he understood my predicament and the support I needed.

Together, we developed the phone opening pitch. We also selected the target accounts to call as well. Al had an interactive CRM in place that I could log into, see the calls they were making, and view the script. Whenever they spoke to someone on the phone, their team puts in a call report and explains what was discussed. I could go to the CRM and provide feedback.

If a question wasn’t answered correctly, I could go in the system and make corrections & suggestions for how to answer it. Al appreciated that, and it worked well for us.

There were four or five different markets we wanted to grow our business in. I gave Al all of the target titles of people, and then he would run the lists that had thousands of names. I would go through the list, crossing out those I didn’t want to be called or didn’t think would be good prospects. I would also look at the CRM to see how many actual connections were made by getting someone on the phone.

The goal for his team was to set up a follow-up call for me or a salesperson.

What is the team composition?

My point person was Al, but we also had two individuals on the account making the phone calls.

How did you come to work with Strategic Sales & Marketing?

I searched for B2B lead generation companies that included phone work on Google. A lot of them just offer digital, and it led me to Al and a few others. I liked what I saw on his LinkedIn, and he ended up reaching out to me.

A key reason why I chose them was because of their collaborative approach. Al and I speak the same language, and he understood my position. He knew what I wanted because of his previous sales experience. Right away, I felt that Strategic Sales & Marketing was the perfect company to work with. After researching and interviewing four or five other companies, I selected them.

How much have you invested with them?

The program was going so well, we doubled our investment in it within ninety days.

What is the status of this engagement?

I worked with Strategic Sales & Marketing from April–December 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In the end, they did a great job, winning us many high-quality connections. I looked through how many hits and phone calls they would get.

Outside of the niche markets that my previous company served, they weren’t well-known. Strategic Sales & Marketing made thousands of calls on the company’s behalf, so we received a branding value out of it as well. The business also won good new programs as a result of the leads.

Another reason why I liked working with them was that they had in-house telemarketers, whereas others I spoke to would outsource that work. Al has his team under one roof, and he remained hands-on. I also liked how they provided the contact lists, while other firms had that as an extra charge.

How did Strategic Sales & Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

From a project management standpoint, they were very good. Al would always answer my calls. If he was tied up, he called right back. He was my project manager. Their CRM helped me see everything in real-time. I knew when they would be on the phone, and I could see their success and the connections they were making. It was a highly visible program.

What did you find most impressive about them?

For me, it’s always honesty, integrity, and transparency when working with a company that’s the most important. The team at Strategic Sales & Marketing is easy to work with. Because of them, we were able to convert several new customers with promising programs.

I felt from the start that Al was an honest person with high integrity. It wasn’t a situation where I would be cheated. I knew that Al would put in his best effort. With Al and his business, I knew I could trust him right from the start. Beyond that, they were always open to suggestions and responded well to feedback.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of one thing. When work is being pitched to a business that’s never worked in the industry, there are always growing pains. We had the initial growing pains in the beginning. In an ideal world, there would be staff members that understood each industry implicitly, but I think that’s unfair to ask for. In terms of getting value for the money, reporting, and turning over good leads, I can’t think of anything they can do better.

I’ve done this several times through hiring an internal resource or hiring a third-party. The advantage of hiring someone as an employee is that they can learn your business, but there is a lot of cost and risk when hiring someone. Hiring an outside party means dealing with some growing pains at the start.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Over the past couple of years, I’ve given them a few references. They’re a great outside resource for this type of work. If you don’t put anything into an engagement and just think you’re going to get good results if you turn your back, you’re kidding yourself.

Pay close attention, provide feedback, work hard on the script, and choose target markets wisely. When Al sends a list of 6,500 contacts, be willing to take the time to go through the whole thing so you’re not wasting dollars on calling a company that you have no chance with. What I’ve told everyone is that you’re treating them like an in-house team and put a lot of time into it. The better you do that, the better the results.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

As SVP Sales & Marketing have Global responsibility for the sale of integrated physical security solutions for Commercial, Local, State, Federal, and International Government.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Strategic Sales & Marketing?

Utilized SSM for B2B lead generation and scripted telemarketing services that was customized per industry and geographic marketplace. Results were increased sales, and significant pipeline/forecast development for CRM.

What were your goals for this project?

Increased sales, and long term pipeline development.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Obtained 5 proposals from lead generation/telemarketing firms. Eliminated the bottom 2, and chose from the 3 finalists the firm/solution that we felt best worked for us.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

SSM basically became an inside sales support team for our sales reps through customized telemarketing and lead generation campaigns.

What was the team composition?

Worked closely with SSM Principal and representatives that were assigned to our sales reps. Each sales rep had their own account type representative and ongoing dashboard of metrics to work from.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Significant increase in pipeline opportunities, and closing of generated leads in key vertical markets. (ie.) Transportation/Logistics/Distribution marketplace.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Working relationship was excellent, as SSM employees became an Inside Sales Support mechanism for our organization.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Very flexible and customer centric approach. They met all of our needs and were willing to adjust strategies whenever needed for success.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Everything was great and a pleasure to work with.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I formerly ran sales and marketing for a global embedded software engineering services company. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Strategic Sales & Marketing?

We didn’t have a huge marketing team, so we were trying to find ways to quickly and effectively bring in leads and opportunities into the organization.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had weekly calls with them where we’d talk about weekly targets and industries. From there, we would devise strategies and solutions to grow our marketing. They took it from there, but we were in constant communication. Additionally, we had a system that tracked metrics, which allowed us to move or adjust on the fly. 

They conducted outbound calls for us. In that effort, we collectively came up with a script together. We put in some technical information from our engineering team but kept it pretty high-level. 

What is the team composition?

There were between 4–8 people on their team. I worked directly with Jason (Sales Director, Strategic Sales & Marketing). 

How did you come to work with Strategic Sales & Marketing?

We chose them based on their pricing structure and their past successes with other companies. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $70,000–$75,000 each year. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them since 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We tracked monthly calls and revenue from them. Our total ROI was about 300%, which was fantastic. They helped us close almost $2,000,000 in revenue over the course of our two-year collaboration.  

How did Strategic Sales & Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicated with Jason over email and phone calls. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They built a very trusting relationship with us and understood our business. We always knew what they could and couldn’t do. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything. I’d give them an A-plus. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’re only as good as the information that they’re provided. If you demonstrate a strong, effective communication with them, you’ll be successful.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president and founder of Giamboi Partners. We work with businesses across different industries to help them reduce their overhead without changing the way they do business.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Strategic Sales & Marketing?

We hired Strategic Sales & Marketing for lead generation services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Along with providing cold calling services, their team set up appointments for my business. For the calls, their team would try and speak to a mid-level manager first, building a rapport that would grant them access to owners, controllers, and CFOs. They would then place a call to one of those individuals, testing for interest.

If there were interest, they would send them a piece I created regarding the service we were leading with. The team at Strategic Sales & Marketing would call back after a few days and see if they were interested in an appointment. During that initial discovery call, they took notes and put that information into a CRM that allowed us to view the notes from our end. Before their next call, I viewed the notes and gave them insights to help them tailor the call.

What is the team composition?

I had two dedicated individuals that worked on my campaign.

How did you come to work with Strategic Sales & Marketing?

A competitor referred them to me. I’ve used other companies in the past with dismal results.

How much have you invested with them?

The services cost between $10,500–$11,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Strategic Sales & Marketing in January 2016, and the campaign concluded in April 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their services were worth the expense. I received three of my largest clients because of Strategic Sales Marketing. Everything that Al (President, Strategic Sales & Marketing) discussed with me before engaging with them was spot-on. This was in terms of how many meetings I would get and how many deals I would close. The numbers were almost perfect for what he figured would happen.

How did Strategic Sales & Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

I was delighted with everything Strategic Sales & Marketing did. A lot of work went into the campaign to make sure we were on the same page and going after the right companies. Before the campaign started, we had to come up with a script, ensure we had the right lists, and targeting the right industries and spaces.

We had several strategic sessions that looked into the services I offer. The way they maintained their data was perfect. Everything I needed was there, and it was broken down well within the CRM. It was all categorized.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The numbers that Al predicted were almost 100% accurate. More than likely, I’ll be reengaging with Strategic Sales Marketing within a month or two.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I tell Al all the time that he should offer a smaller package. Fifty hours a month at the price point was a bit high for me. It looks that he will actually provide a smaller offering, so I’m glad he listened to my suggestions.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’ve referred a number of people to Al. That’s how confident I am in their services. I’ve had awful experiences working with prior companies, which made me skeptical about making another big investment. I don’t have anything bad to say. It was a great experience working with Strategic Sales & Marketing.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder and president of a video and event planning company. Later, we transitioned the business to online development and corporate training. We offer sales, marketing, and agency-related training. CVC Communications has been in business for about 38 years.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Strategic Sales & Marketing?

We reached out to them after negative experiences with our former lead generation company. Our sales staff is small, so we wanted to boost our lead generation through an outside source.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They sourced a list of our audience demographics, companies that go to market through dealers, reps, and distributors. From there, they helped us write a specific call script to accurately explain our services. Then, they called hundreds of potential customers, pitching them on our company. 

What is the team composition?

Greg (VP Sales & Marketing, Strategic Sales & Marketing) was our primary contact. We worked through others in the beginning stages of development, but he was our main contact. 

How did you come to work with Strategic Sales & Marketing?

I believe that we did an online search and interviewed them. We vetted them pretty thoroughly before selecting them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent roughly $3,500 each month for their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started our contact in November 2018 and stopped our engagement around January 2020. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their calls were very successful. Within a year’s time, we had about 500 leads and prospects. That’s about ten prospects each week. They were working on a very short timeline, with 20 hours dedicated to this effort each week. We ended up with so many leads, that we needed to set the effort aside to address them.   

How did Strategic Sales & Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

We met with each other weekly, and they proved to offer a very organized service. They were great at adapting to the audience markets we were focusing on. For instance, we targetted a medical audience for awhile. During that time, they tailored their calls to fit that need. We’ve worked with several other lead generation groups, and they were the best at follow up and follow through. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their effectiveness and follow-through was the best part of the relationship. I’m after results, and that’s what they gave me. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

The brought an expertise that we didn’t have. I  can’t think of an area of improvement for them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Ask them for real case studies and success stories for the field in which you’re working. They offer that in most fields and can find sales opportunities in different industries across the board.