Zenoss builds a scalable outbound sales program with demandDrive, driving strategic growth

A hybrid outbound strategy that reduced churn and scaled for long-term growth

With a mature marketing function and strong flow of inbound leads, Zenoss hit an inflection point where it made sense to invest in and build an outbound sales development team. But before making that leap themselves, they wanted to bring a partner in to set up some of the foundational pieces and prove that this was a worthwhile investment. Process design, cadence creation, and mitigating churn were all requirements as they started searching for a partner.

What we did

• Zenoss chose to work with demandDrive to help set up the beginning phases of their outbound motion. We deployed industry best practices to establish a team structure, sales processes, and cadence design for the Zenoss team.

• We helped build the team to flex onto the inbound side of things to ensure marketing leads were being followed up with properly.

• A program plan and protocol to help Zenoss build and scale their outbound motion and report on program results.

• dD Certified Sales Development Reps (SDRs) to execute prospecting efforts alongside the Zenoss marketing team.

• A comprehensive management layer to plan, analyze, and compile reports on the program’s progress and make pivots when needed.

How we made an impact

The team and processes we set up for Zenoss proved that investing in an SDR team made sense both fiscally and strategically. And instead of ending the contract with demandDrive and building it internally, they decided to employ a hybrid model where both teams coexisted. This helped Zenoss accomplish a few key things:

1. Flexibility. Zenoss was able to scale up or down according to the state of the business. Plus, if someone on their team happened to churn they could easily replace them with someone on demandDrive’s side, mitigating the impact of churn and brain drain.
2. Testing. If Zenoss wanted to run a specialized campaign or test new messaging, they didn’t need to divert existing internal resources away from their primary responsibilities. They could then use the results and see if that campaign or strategy was worth rolling out to the team at large.
3. Mutual Growth. With a team of 60+ SDRs that span multiple industries and program scopes, the demandDrive team was able to introduce new ideas, strategies, and benchmarks to the Zenoss team on a regular basis. That level of expertise and institutional knowledge allowed them to grow and scale the SDR function at a faster and more sustainable pace.

An extension of your internal team

The key to making sure the program was a success was in making sure the two teams never felt like they were competing against one another. Zenoss made it a point to view demandDrive as an extension of their internal team, and that helped keep all reps engaged and excited to work towards common goals. That meant including them on internal SPIFFs, aligning goals and incentives, and putting in the effort to keep open lines of communication across the two teams.

Zenoss has been a demandDrive client for almost 7 years, and a lot of that success is due to the effort that Trisha and her team put into making the partnership work.

To get a more detailed look at how Zenoss and demandDrive built a successful relationship, watch/listen to our webinar: A Recipe for Outsourced Sales Success.