What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
The quality of work is fantastic, and their work ethic is second to none. CIENCE is an offshore team, but they’re available during US hours. We have weekly meetings based on my schedule, and whenever I give them a task, it’s typically done by the following morning. They’re also quick to answer questions at any time.
Compared to an internal team of sales development representatives (SDR), CIENCE is much more effective. They produce four times the outreach volume at a third of the cost. I’ve seen months where they’ve sent almost 6,000 emails, which is a crazy amount. Not only are they sending these emails, but they’re also converting them into appointments, and their conversion rates are at least two or three times higher than our internal SDRs.
How did CIENCE Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?
I’m super impressed with their approach. I’m the one who decided to extend our relationship after the trial period, and it’s because they managed the process so well. They’re flexible with requirements and always very responsive. Like I mentioned earlier, we have two business units that have independent contracts with them. That alone is a testament to the excellent work they do.
Our business point of contact is well-versed in the details of our contract. She’s great at maintaining our professional relationship. The CEO is behind the scenes, but we typically connect during quarterly or mid-year reviews. I can also escalate to him when I need to have more high-level conversations.
What did you find most impressive about them?
They deliver results, and they feel like a part of our team. We’ve had the same project manager throughout the engagement, and she understands our pitches and our ICP very well at this point. She’s able to answer emails and handle problems without my support because she knows our product inside and out.
We communicate with the team pretty regularly on Slack, and they very much operate as if they were internal, rather than a third-party entity. They’re also professional and collaborative, which sets them apart from other offshore service providers. Some vendors expect a ton of hand-holding, but CIENCE is proactive enough to get things done without our guidance.
CIENCE is also innovative. They test various subject lines and copy for email templates to see which ones work the best. They’ll also give me feedback about how the testing went, with specific metrics showing which templates performed well.
I’ve been working with them over a year now, and our working cadence is well established. They also understand our targets. We’re at a stage now where we can let them know about an upcoming event and trust that they’ll handle everything, whether it be templates, an event playbook, or just appointment setting.
Are there any areas they could improve?
They’ve improved a lot since we started working together. CIENCE is very methodical, and all of their data is easily accessible through a Google dashboard. I don’t even have to ask; I can look at the status of each campaign on my own time.
The dashboard shows everything, from overall performance to reply rates, conversation rates, and appointment cycle times. We started using the dashboard within the past three or four months. As long as that remains, I don’t think there are any improvements to make.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
CIENCE is a great fit if you’re trying to drive a part of your sales pipeline or test our new messaging very quickly for a small price. They’re a good alternative for companies who are looking to invest in services rather than hiring and onboarding internal people.
They can also complement your sales development team. CIENCE will do the grunt work to allow your in-house team to focus on pitching and closing deals. They can take care of the operational overhead that your internal team probably doesn’t like to do, even though it’s necessary.
New clients and opportunities have come aboard since CIENCE Technologies became involved. Their team is skilled in their field, providing a confident service. Their professionalism is also noteworthy. Customers can plan for a fruitful engagement while working with their team.