Revamping Sales Strategy to Achieve Ambitious Growth Goals

In a dynamic business landscape, having the right sales strategy is paramount, complementing an impressive product and compelling messaging. For a burgeoning GreenTech company expanding globally post-Series B funding and striving for self-funding, devising a budget-friendly sales program with extensive reach became a pivotal undertaking.

Existing Strategy Challenges

Initially, the company employed a bottom-up sales approach, focusing on mid-level employees within US-based renewable energy firms. The founding team's background with operations and maintenance (O&M) teams, often constrained by budgets and lacking decision-making authority, led to challenges. The business development team generated leads through content aimed at O&M professionals, resulting in engagements with junior staff, researchers, and less-than-ideal sales targets. Attempts to set up meetings with higher-level decision-makers were often met with resistance, as the product was perceived as competitive and threatening by internal teams. Despite successful meetings, cost-conscious buyers focused on budget reduction rather than profit increase, leading to hesitancy and frustration. Complaints arose about perceived aggressiveness from the business development representatives.

Revamping the Go-To-Market (GTM)

After thorough market research and a Company repositioning, a new GTM strategy emerged. Targeting only the largest global owners and operators of wind turbines—approximately 30 accounts in the US, Europe, and China—replaced broad email campaigns with a focused Account-Based Marketing (ABM) program. Business development reps shifted from cold calling to comprehensive account research, monitoring intent signals, understanding business challenges, and learning about each account's goals. This information facilitated the creation of custom content and outreach by the marketing team.

Supporting ABM with Effective Tools

The team leveraged various tools for the ABM program, including:

• Targeted LinkedIn Ads

• Webinars

• Direct Mail Outreach

• In-person Event Meetings

• Customized Teaser Reports

• Email Nurturing

All marketing and sales activities were meticulously tracked through HubSpot, utilizing automations and alerts to guide leads through the sales funnel. Upon activation, qualified leads were handed over to technical sales specialists in the target region, ideally fluent in the native language, providing valuable insights into addressing the identified business challenges.

Continued Evolution and Partnership Programs

As the company executed updated sales and marketing strategies, it discovered effective shortcuts to influence buying decisions through the target accounts' existing business partners and vendors. Collaborative partnership programs with technology providers, consultants, and manufacturers successfully integrated Company's solutions into target accounts without requiring additional team members, significantly multiplying sales reach.

Impressive Results

The strategic shift yielded remarkable results. By targeting the most promising buyers, the company achieved a 10X increase in annual bookings, escalating the sales pipeline from $2M to nearly $70M in under three years. The sales cycle was halved, and the Average Contract Value (ACV) experienced exponential growth by engaging contacts with greater purchasing authority.