Starting with financial services, this venture-backed startup built its industry revenue program not only to grow volume but also to increase deal size with solution selling skills.
Challenge
Building on their strong product-market fit, the startup set ambitious revenue targets that depended on increasing both deal size and sales volume. However, they faced several challenges with their go-to-market (GTM). They had difficulty engaging with business executives and conveying the business value of their technical solutions. An inconsistent hiring profile for account executives further complicated matters, making it difficult to align marketing strategy with front-line execution. A limited, general purpose onboarding program led to extended on ramp times and slow time-to-value for new hires. These issues collectively resulted in higher employee turnover, increased operational costs, blind spots that affected overall performance, and generally missed expectations.
Faced with these challenges, the company engaged SalesSmyth’s experienced sales operators and growth architects. The mission was comprehensive: to design an effective revenue program, build and scale the sales team, grow a qualified pipeline, and establish a high-performing team as a model for future growth.
Discovery
Working closely with executives and employees, SalesSmyth assessed the situation across 20 internal touchpoints and dozens of customer and partner interactions. Through a series of interviews, workshops, and data-driven analyses, the team identified gaps in the existing go-to-market strategy, particularly in aligning marketing efforts with front-line sales execution. This collaborative approach ensured that the solutions developed would be both practical and impactful.
The research yielded an important insight: the startup’s challenges were not just about hiring the right people or crafting the perfect message for business executives. They were systemic issues that stemmed from high CRO turnover over several years. The issues required a holistic view of the entire revenue program. This realization led to the development of a multi-faceted strategy that addressed not only sales and marketing alignment but also onboarding, employee retention, and operational efficiency. However, developing a strategy was only the first step; it needed to be validated in the crucible of day-to-day sales operations. This led to the decision to focus on the Financial Services sector as the proving ground—a first-and-best team that would serve as a model for others to emulate.
Impact
Soon after the engagement, the startup experienced transformative results in the Financial Services sector, which served as their proving ground. They not only met but far exceeded their ambitious revenue targets with a staggering 90% year-over-year growth. The revenue program’s effectiveness was further validated by securing 27 new logos from industry luminaries and a fourfold increase in average deal size. Additionally, the time-to-value for new hires was halved, significantly reducing operational costs. This comprehensive approach set a new standard within the startup, creating a high-performing team that became a model for expansion to other industries.
SalesSmyth helped hire and onboard the permanent replacement sales VP, providing crucial coaching that enabled him to manage a successful business that continued to deliver results for two more years after which he saw expanded influence and leadership opportunities.