An emerging hardware vendor needed to spin up a new direct sales channel.  To develop demand to fill a new direct sales funnel, we used a 3-phase program.  It included a B2B target account list, an outsourced SDR plan, and a Total Cost of Ownership online calculator for high opt-in rates and fast sales.

Metrics crushed it within its first quarter: 12.3% sales accepted leads, 92% opt-in to nurturing. All at a price that was about 15% of the costs of standard demand generation methods.

What’s not to like?  They even got acquired 8 months later by IBM.

Fill a New Direct Sales Funnel and Fast

this hardware vendor successfully sold its data center switches indirectly through established hardware partners. After all, it’s a common practice for newer companies to do.  When time came to develop direct sales, they came to us to generate demand, develop a go-to-market plan and high value content.

3-Phase Demand Gen Program

1. Build list of firms that need the highest performance data center
2. Fill pipeline using sales development reps to get influencer and decision-maker names and contact info while uncovering hot leads – all to build a prospect list to own and nurture.
3. Build a TCO online calculator to show value against the leading competitor and an electronic direct mail for max opt-in rates for continued marketing.

Healthy Metrics, Sales, and an Acquisition

Here’s how it went:

1. Our proprietary algorithm selected 800 firms for our client to target
2. We wrote sales script and a sales training presentation, and then trained SDRs. We managed calling tactics to gather 1800 names and contact information.  In the end, it yielded 12.3% sales-accepted leads at about 15% of the cost of standard lead generation approaches.
3. We developed an online calculator to max contact opt-in. The TCO calculator beautifully compared switch to leading competitors and made the case for us.  Our opt-in rate was 92%.

The client happily reported that the program “worked beyond their wildest expectations.” It gave them a direct foothold to the customer and 8 months later, they were acquired by IBM.