Company Expert

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the COO of a software development company. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Company Expert?

We needed to have a foundation for marketing and a strategy to reach more clients. For context, we initially had no idea what we were doing. As a fairly young company, we tried marketing ourselves and weren’t so successful with it. As a result, we needed someone with experience to look into our efforts, tell us what we were missing, and guide us on how we could solve issues. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, we had an introduction meeting where Company Expert told me what they did and how they could help me. They then told us their evaluation of our company. From there, the team guided us on the steps we should follow to create a good foundation for our marketing campaigns. 

Moreover, they helped us figure out which people to talk to and how to talk to them to gain more sales. Overall, the engagement was focused on business consulting. 

What is the team composition?

Our main point of contact was a consultant, but we also worked with some people on his staff. 

How did you come to work with Company Expert?

I found Company Expert on the internet via Upwork. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $6,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement lasted from October 2021–March 2022. We haven’t renewed the contract just yet, but we plan to move forward with them.

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

We saw a huge improvement in our company direction; our team gained a completely new direction in terms of marketing ourselves. 

How did Company Expert perform from a project management standpoint?

Company Expert’s project management was great. We had weekly meetings. Every week, they would answer two questions from us. The team took their time to explain things and advise us. Overall, having them around was great. We mainly communicated via emails, though we also used a CRM-like platform. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Everything they presented to us was structured. During our first meeting, they had a presentation of what they were looking for, how they were going to evaluate us, and how we would proceed with various cycles of work — everything was so organized. As a result, we were able to see the tangible results we should seek. Moreover, they helped me create value propositions and personas for marketing. Because of that, we were able to build a customized way of reaching out to our target market. 

For comparison, the other companies we interviewed seemed to cater to dreamers. They used plenty of buzzwords, but they didn’t show me how we could truly work together. By contrast, Company Expert communicated with us clearly, and they were always there to answer our questions. Given that, I was truly happy with their services. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there weren’t any. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Come to the engagement with an open mind — let Company Expert guide you. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of SIGMA Assessment Systems. We research and develop psychological assessments, particularly ones that are used by businesses for hiring the best employees and developing leadership within organizations. Our company also provides consulting services to support such assessments. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Company Expert?

We wanted to take our sales to the next level. Specifically, we wanted to develop the idea of having account managers for our clients. They’d serve as client advocates and help us build closer relationships with our customers. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our partnership with Company Expert covered a lot of ground. Initially, they introduced us to various processes supporting our efforts. We learned about the process of rating the size and value of clients to SIGMA. Through this process, we could put our greatest resources to clients that had the most potential. Simply put, Company Expert helped us in categorizing clients. 

Moreover, they defined what the account managers would do for our organization. They conducted training sessions with the managers to help them understand how to perform in their position. These things prepared and helped us to differentiate our products and services from our competitors.  

What is the team composition?

We worked with four people from their team, and much of the work was done by Scott (CEO). 

How did you come to work with Company Expert?

We found them on Upwork. What got our interest was that they were sales consultants, but they specialized in professional services, which was what our company offered. In other words, they were specifically targeted to what we were doing, and nobody else had the same specific expertise they had for our niche. As a result, we hired them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $30,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement lasted from August 2020–July 2021. 

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

We just had a big milestone, and Company Expert provided us with a lot of useful information. 

However, since we’re still implementing the advice and training they’ve provided, success metrics aren’t available. Putting their recommendations into action will take around six months or more. We may have some questions along the way, so it’s possible we’ll have ad hoc engagements with them here and there. 

How did Company Expert perform from a project management standpoint?

Company Expert's project management was excellent. They were highly organized, and we could tell that they had done something like this before. Overall, their team provided actionable and specific recommendations for each of our challenges. To communicate, we used emails and video conferencing tools like Zoom. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Company Expert’s services were specifically tailored to our business needs, and that distinguished them from other providers. Apart from that, Scott was a highly experienced professional; he’d been around the block for at least a couple of decades in various sales roles while managing salespeople. As a result, he’d solved challenges in the past that were similar to ours. Overall, he had a highly relevant experience; he was a good communicator, too. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there weren’t any. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Engaging with Company Expert is a time commitment, so be prepared to invest in it. Have the appropriate executives at the organization and be ready to get behind it.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Innovu, LLC. We are an organization that identifies fraud and abuse in the healthcare plans of employees. We use data analytics to help employers save money and most importantly, help their employees have better healthcare outcomes.

What challenge were you trying to address with Company Expert?

Fully staffing a marketing team would be incredibly expensive and cost-prohibitive. We needed someone who can do the full breadth and depth of the marketing work — to support our distribution force, and make sure our brand is out in the market.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Company Expert helped redesign our website, messaging, and a lot of our marketing materials. In terms of social media marketing, they help grow our presence on LinkedIn and other social media platforms. They also connect our marketing efforts to our distribution efforts.

Sean operates as our CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) so he’s really embedded in our organization weekly.

What is the team composition?

Sean (Managing Partner) runs the point for the entire project candidly. All the work gets done through a variety of people who we don’t even interact with. I don’t exactly know how the work gets executed—all I know is that it gets done without the heavy lifting of my organization.

How did you come to work with Company Expert?

I met Sean at a Fortune 100 company that I used to work for. At the time, he was working as a consultant for a much bigger team. When I became the CEO of Innovu, he contacted me and told me about his new business model. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested somewhere between $100,000–$250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing partnership started in December 2019.

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

We’ve doubled our annual recurring revenue since working with Company Expert. Our partnership has resulted in very specific marketing activities like exposure and hits on our website. They’ve also given us the ability to increase prospects and proposal sales in our distribution fields — the return on investment has just been incredibly positive.

They gave our social media accounts like LinkedIn a much higher profile online. We’ve gained the ability to share the intellectual capital and success stories, as a size-based firm trying to change the industry. Without Company Expert, we couldn’t have made the progress we had in the last year.

Sean brings a lot of flexibility and agility that you can never get from a larger consulting firm. His new business model is extremely affordable and they’ve been really good at working within our budget — they have just been an invaluable partner to our organization.

How did Company Expert perform from a project management standpoint?

I communicate with Sean at least once a week.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re incredibly generous, but when they dive into a specific component in marketing, they bring an appropriate level of expertise. I don’t think you can underestimate them—they’re just really good people to work with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I honestly can’t come up with anything. They have far exceeded my expectations.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to be clear on what you want and what you’re trying to accomplish. Know what your important metrics are and if you’re prepared, they will always deliver.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the President of a professional services firm that provides consulting, auditing, and training to support the design, implementation, maintenance, and improvement of management system standards.

For what projects/services did your company hire Company Expert?

Our objective in hiring Company Expert was to create a business plan for the company that described exactly what needed to be done over a three year period in order for us to achieve our goals.

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

We reached out to the marketplace for several bids and narrowed it down to a handful of firms. During further discussions with the finalists, we found that Company Expert had the most relevant experience in the B2B professional services industry and could demonstrate a proven business planning process.

Describe the project in detail and walk through their service package.

Company Expert brought us through three stages that answered the following questions: Where are you at?, where do you want to be?, and how are you going to get there? They brought us through an extensive baselining exercise which include a SWOT analysis and a heat map of our 47 capabilities. Then we documented our goals and objectives. Finally, we scored all the projects needed to achieve our goals and then they put a three year roadmap together.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Two the CEO and Business Planning Analyst

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

Company Expert provided us with 46 recommendations to set the business up for success and to achieve our goals. They also provided a heat map of my firm’s capabilities and a three year plan.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

All of the deadlines were met. We had weekly meetings and Company Expert would send materials out 24 hours in advance of each meeting. Company Expert was great at providing objective feedback and candid advice.

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

They were able to add immediate value to my firm whether or not it was related to the project. I felt like it was a true partnership and they had a vested interest in my firm’s success.

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

No, we are very happy with the output and are continuing to work with Company Expert on the execution of the plan.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of a brand development firm focused on driving revenues via effective branding, messaging, and sales collateral.

For what projects/services did your company hire Company Expert?

In the past 3 years we have seen a big push and focus on driving client sales levels, and so, our workflow is far more aligned with sales development and growth than mere brand. in 2020 we have shifted our entire business focus to recalibrate our offerings and launch a new sales growth and development service.

One of the key deliverables is a world-class sales playbook. We hired Company Expert to vet the playbook and to give us expert feedback on enhancements.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal of the project was to identify areas of improvement, add tactical frameworks and models that are better suited at various points of the B2B sales cycle and enhance the overall impact.

How did you select Company Expert?

We interviewed 7 sales specialist consultants but when we spoke with Scott, it became apparent that he has both the strategic mindset, sales frameworks and tactical experience to help us build something powerful and so we made the excellent choice of working with Company Expert.

Describe the project in detail.

Playbook recalibration, recommendations, and enhancement insights.

What was the team composition?

Flat- one on one sessions.

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

Outstanding feedback on our challenge areas and need for full recalibration. Tactical insights on ways to improve the entire deliverable and fostering a new partnership collaboration for ongoing client work.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Excellent communication, direct unfiltered feedback. Flexibility and mindfulness on where our organization is at and where we are looking to get to. Felt like a vested partner for our success vs typical consultant 2 dimensional process.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their ability to identify the core problems, navigate through our very different structure/workflow/process/methodology and distill areas needing to be redone. The level of superior partnership and collaboration was exemplary and the foundation for a new working partnership moving forward. High integrity and bottom line impact thinking--they talked directly to the issues instead of dancing around them.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, this initial scope of work was fantastic and more importantly Scott showed me things i didn't know that i didn't know!

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a principal architect for a mid-size architecture firm that specializes in commercial, health, and science projects.

For what projects/services did your company hire Company Expert?

Marketing assessment, rebrand/brand refresh, marketing strategy, development of website requirements, and business development strategies.

What were your goals for this project?

Achieve clarity and alignment among partners to better position our firm to scale our practice over the coming decade.

How did you select Company Expert?

We posted a RFP via an online website, and we selected Company expert based on their methodical approach.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

The scope of work has included a deep dive into our firm's marketing habits, client personas, internal processes, goals, etc., in order to more clearly articulate our brand and develop a strategy to hone our strengths and shore up our weaknesses.

What was the team composition?

Team composition has included firm principals in collaboration with Company Expert team members.

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

The project is ongoing, but so far the results have been thorough, clear, and achieved quickly. All partners have been receptive to and aligned with results of the efforts made.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Workflow has been via online collaboration with regularly scheduled video conferences and emailed correspondence. This has worked pretty smoothly throughout the process, and I don't feel anything significant to be lacking in the approach.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The thoroughness and commitment to their process have been very helpful to keep the project moving forward while achieving alignment between the firm principals.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Could use a stronger design component to their services.