Introduction
Modern software vendors face an incredible challenge if they are to cost-effectively grow revenues. More often than not, vendors struggle to communicate their value proposition in an efficient and compelling manner. Because software solutions are not tangible products, per se, cautious prospects will only “believe it after they’ve seen it” in action. Of course, most prospects never give the vendor a chance to showcase the solution in action.

In addition, the software competitive landscape is littered with hype and exaggeration, brought on by the swarm of vendors, claiming that their software is superior yet offering little tangible proof. It is no wonder that a 2006 Gartner survey confirmed that 86% of IT buyers believe that most software ′solutions′ end up creating as many problems as they ′solve′. As this skeptical environment combines with ad-hoc sales endeavors, it offers no surprise that software vendor revenue growth is often disappointingly flat. The answer to these challenges lies in developing a highly customized and highly responsive sales process. For this reason, Procelerate Technologies hired WhiteSpace Strategy Partners to help.

Challenge

Procelerate Technologies, Inc. “provides product development organizations with the ability to capture the company’s best practices, deploy them to teams, and provide real-time visibility of the project state, enabling them 50% or more in cost savings of productivity and cycle times.” That said, Procelerate struggled to differentiate themselves from other Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) vendors, who all claim the exact same thing.

Procelerate was originally a group of brilliant engineers and project managers within Boeing.  After ′productizing′ their best-in-class PLM processes into a software solution, the group approached Boeing Ventures, who saw potential to make the technology commercially viable. In order to execute a successful spinout, the founding team needed to rapidly develop and execute a strategy to build market acceptance and attract additional VC partners. However, filling their sales pipeline with real sales opportunities proved difficult. PLM was losing its appeal very rapidly and competitive pressure was fierce. In addition, sales and marketing execs had limited bandwidth and it would take months to hire and fully train more sales reps and provide continuity to the demand and revenue generation process.

After our spinout we wanted to cost effectively expand our reach. WhiteSpace’s pipeline allowed our sales activity to quickly engage with prospects at the right level. At the same time our international channel provided us key market presence in a profitable manner.”

Scott Prey, COO, Procelerate Technologies Inc.

Solution
Procelerate retained WhiteSpace (WSP) to execute an aggressive go-to-market strategy. WSP’s multidisciplinary team of seasoned sales and marketing experts rapidly deployed a pipeline development program to build sales opportunities and drive demand.

First, WSP recognized that Procelerate was proverbially trying to “be all things to all people,” attempting to sell into all verticals and all buyer titles. In order to hone a focus, WSP conducted a series of targeted research initiatives to identify the markets of highest win-probability. To this end, WSP performed voice-of-the-customer analyses, competitive assessments, VP-level surveys, pilot focus groups, and market cap forecasts. After studying the findings, Procelerate’s officers easily selected two key verticals and titles as excellent markets to focus on.

Second, WSP leveraged Procelerate’s existing resources to create targeted sales and marketing collateral, personalized to the specific pain points of individual buyer profiles.  This inside sales collateral included sales decks, qualification surveys, direct mailers, email templates, telemarketing scripts, VITO letters, case studies, and white papers. In addition, because WSP leveraged its clients’ existing collateral, this custom collateral development required only four short weeks.

Finally, WSP utilized the new collateral to deploy an aggressive inside sales program, supporting existing marketing activities and generating outside sales opportunities with regular closure rates of 50%. In addition, WSP successfully initiated several pilot implementation projects with pre-identified, marquee customers.

Post spinout, WSP provided continuity to the pipeline development process and worked with Procelerate’s internal sales group to drive closure to business opportunities. In tandem, WSP executives realized the potential opportunities internationally and developed a distribution channel, starting in Asia.

Results
Together with WSP, Procelerate generated a robust pipeline of more than 15 validated sales opportunities, including marquee organizations such as Raytheon, Pratt & Whitney, Cessna, General Motors, and Ford. In the first six months, the sales pipeline grew from $0 to $3 million – for a brand new technology. Thereafter, WSP helped Procelerate procure relationships with top industry analysts such as Gartner, IDC, Aberdeen, and CIMData.  Today, WSP continues to work with Procelerate to develop dependable sales pipeline, forge strategic alliances, and attract further VC investment. In the Asia-Pacific rim, WSP identifies, contracts, and manages a network of distribution channels in white space verticals such as Aerospace, Automotive, and Semiconductors. Furthermore, WSP positions Procelerate as the go-to company for technology as an OEM.  Consequently, Procelerate enjoys a healthy presence and revenue base in China and Korea, with customers such as Xian Aircraft Research Institute and SungKyunKwan University.

“WhiteSpace has become a fundamental partner in our business development efforts WorldWide. Their unique approach and commitment has opened doors for us in many fronts”
Andrew Lukes, CEO, Procelerate Technologies Inc.

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