Chris failed at starting up a different business where he sold products through social media. He then went looking for a more complete solution with which he could hit the ground running. After researching the Vendasta ecommerce platform, he recognized it was exactly what he had been searching for.<\/p>\n
\u201cI became a partner. Once I signed the contracts and went through the demo with Vendasta, I sold to my first 30 clients from that exact couch.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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Objectives<\/h2>\n
Montgomery needed a way to recoup his investment quickly. With Vendasta, Social Ordeals hoped to:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Hit the ground running and make a quick first sale<\/li>\n
- Manage its sales pipeline<\/a><\/li>\n
- Provide products and support to local business clients with a marketplace of digital solutions<\/li>\n
- Offer clients a way to review and manage their online presence through a Social Ordeals-branded dashboard<\/li>\n
- Create a scalable business model that could easily expand into new markets<\/li>\n
- By positioning himself as an industry expert, Montgomery looks to help his local business clients achieve success and guide them through unknown territory<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\u201cLocal businesses need<\/a> experts like us to navigate the waters of the internet and really understand what\u2019s important in the eyes of search engines,\u201d he says. \u201cWe also provide great perspective on what\u2019s important to that customer who\u2019s out there searching for the local business.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Approach<\/h2>\n
After completing his initial onboarding sessions to learn the Vendasta platform, Montgomery threw himself into becoming an expert. He kept in close contact with his Vendasta Business Development Representative and was able to get quickly up to speed. He developed a deep understanding of the tools and features that would help him find success.<\/p>\n
Tools for Sellers<\/h3>\n
Montgomery uses a number of tools to help his digital agency succeed. All of the tools used by Social Ordeals are included in the Vendasta ecosystem, from task management<\/a> software to an online marketplace full of various products. He relies on reporting software that pulls information into a neat package as well as sales CRM and pipeline management<\/a> software. Everything is pulled into one dashboard in Business App where his team can manage their clients.<\/p>\n
Snapshot Report<\/a><\/h4>\n
For local business prospects that have reached the bottom of the sales funnel, the team at Social Ordeals relies heavily on the Snapshot Report<\/a>. This report diagnoses the status of a business\u2019s online reputation<\/a> and helps the Social Ordeals sales reps discover detailed information they need to close that deal.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t look at a snapshot until I have that client ready to go. I want to discover what\u2019s in the snapshot in real time with the client because it\u2019s more organic. I really want the client to understand that I\u2019m here to help them by working together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Montgomery uses Snapshot Report to zero in on the issues a client faces. Then he prescribes a set of product\/service solutions to solve those problems. This face to face interaction and discovery of a clients online health in real time is how Social Ordeals makes a sale. The Snapshot Report is a marketing needs assessment that uncovers a prospect\u2019s online performance in six categories, including: business listings, reviews, social media, website, advertising, SEO, and ecommerce. This was an important prospecting tool that helped to quickly drive business results. By leveraging this powerful and award-winning Vendasta solution, Montgomery was able to provide an automated marketing needs assessment to each local business prospect.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the essential tool we sell off of. Without that there isn\u2019t a strong starting point to initiative conversations with the client,\u201d Montgomery says.<\/p>\n
Vendasta partners who use more than 100 percent of their monthly allotment of snapshot reports achieve 18 times more pipeline revenue than those who use less than 50 percent of their allotment. These high performing partners also close 2.9 times more business opportunities than partners who are running less than 50 percent of their monthly snapshot reports.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the essential tool we sell off of. Without that there isn\u2019t a strong starting point to initiative conversations with the client,\u201d Montgomery says.<\/p>\n
Sales CRM & Pipeline Management Software<\/a><\/h4>\n
The platform\u2019s built-in customer relationship management<\/a> or CRM gave Montgomery and his growing sales team the ability to save time and money by working out of one connected place.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy account managers are in the platform on a daily basis, the fact that we have all of the different tools, not just for our customer but for our staff to be able to manage their sales funnels<\/a>, their tasks, to be able to keep all of your account managers on task with the platform, has been unbelievable for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Vendasta CRM comes with built-in meeting scheduling software that\u2019s integrated with the platform. Just by using a tool that\u2019s dedicated to schedule meetings, local business experts can save ten hours per week.<\/p>\n
Vendasta Marketplace<\/a><\/h4>\n
According to Mirakl, 87 percent of business buyers, across all age ranges, are making business purchases on <\/a>marketplaces. Marketplaces are now the top buyer channel exceeding RFPs, digital channels, procurement channels, and person-to-person.<\/p>\n
Featuring more than 200 products and services, Marketplace served as the go-to destination for Social Ordeals, as they created packages of digital solutions that matched some of the most common local business needs their team was encountering in the field. The Vendasta Marketplace allows partners to find new white-label products<\/a> to sell from across 20 varying categories. This includes anything from financial products to marketing, human resources, and websites to name a few.<\/p>\n
Because Marketplace has a large number and variety of products available, Social Ordeals can search for just about anything a client could need. \u201cHaving the ability to get any type of digital product that I want and have that at my fingertips for my clients is really helpful,\u201d Montgomery says. This allows Montgomery to add to each client\u2019s tech stack of products and services, tailoring their experience to fit their needs.<\/p>\n
Task Manager<\/a><\/h4>\n
Task Manager, Vendasta\u2019s in-house task management software, gives Social Ordeals the ability to manage all of their client\u2019s requested work. This includes social media and review management services, all within one dashboard.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have about 15 account managers working out of task manager right now, it helps us to improve efficiency and make sure that we don\u2019t miss critical to-do\u2019s for our clients,\u201d Montgomery says.<\/p>\n
Task Manager gives the partner the ability to integrate local business clients into their system. Social Ordeals can then fulfill their clients digital marketing<\/a> needs from the task manager dashboard. This is where all reviews will be brought in, all social media can be managed, and any other requested tasks will show up. Monthly automated reporting is emailed directly to the client, showcasing complete and pending tasks.<\/p>\n
Growth Recommendation:<\/strong><\/span> Vendasta also offers white-label fulfillment<\/a> services giving partners the ability to outsource website development, social media, review and listings management. A key to the scalability of many Vendasta Partners.<\/span><\/p>\n
Passion for Expansion<\/h3>\n
Montgomery makes a point of choosing strategic partnerships to grow his customer base, contributing in a big way to his bottom line.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I\u2019ve realized is that there are a lot of businesses out there like web hosting companies that aren\u2019t offering upsales. Website companies want to upsell but don\u2019t have the manpower to do the work on the back end. There are also membership groups that want to add value.\u201d<\/p>\n
This realization has helped Montgomery in choosing his client partnerships more strategically, because he knows that he\u2019ll get referrals from them.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce you strategically partner with them and give them a piece of the action as you\u2019re going along, you\u2019re going to get a consistent lead source<\/a> coming from them. I think it\u2019s the future, it\u2019s basically a paid referral coming through,\u201d Montgomery says.<\/p>\n
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Execution<\/h2>\n
Cold Calling<\/h3>\n
According to Montgomery, cold calling is Social Ordeal\u2019s greatest challenge. However, with his approach of choosing strategic client partnerships, his team is able to get a direct introduction to the potential SMB client through these partnerships. By leveraging his existing client partnerships to warm up the potential clients, Montgomery skips the cold call step because the potential client is already familiar with his work. He can also lean on his company\u2019s excellent online reputation<\/a> when working with new prospective clients.<\/p>\n
Building Trust<\/h3>\n
Another challenge faced by the team at Social Ordeals, is building trust with clients. Montgomery says prospects are often jaded by the number of digital products and sales people approaching them, but Montgomery approaches this situation head on.<\/p>\n
\u201cI only hire seasoned sales representatives now, and I spend the extra money for it. I want the person that\u2019s going to bring me results. I don\u2019t have to train them how to sell, I just give them a good product that they can stand behind.\u201d<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\nBy spending the extra money on hiring professionals instead of rookies, Montgomery can put more effort and time into understanding his customers. He can trust that his team has sales experience and are able to jump in without extensive training.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love seeing a problem and knowing that the products I have are the tools that can solve that problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
Overcoming Roadblocks to Grow<\/h3>\n
\u201cOnce I had 30 customers, and I was doing all of the fulfillment myself, handling all of those back-end tasks, I realized my company stopped growing and new sales weren\u2019t coming in as frequently.\u201d<\/p>\n
Montgomery began to get bogged down with posting on social media for his clients, correcting and claiming Google Business Profile (GBP) accounts, and claiming business listings on other popular sites.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was putting all of my energy into the back end to make sure that my customers were satisfied and that I was living up to what I promised them.\u201d<\/p>\n
At that point he decided to hire two account managers to take on the fulfillment work so he could refocus his efforts on client acquisition. As soon as sales hit a plateau, it\u2019s a good indication you should consider expanding and adding more resources to your team, Montgomery recommends.<\/p>\n
The Vendasta Platform<\/h3>\n
The use of a white-label platform with a large product marketplace has given Montgomery the leg-up he needs to evolve with his clients.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen my clients log into the Vendasta platform, they\u2019re logging into Social Ordeals. My clients don\u2019t even know Vendasta exists. It\u2019s completely white-labeled to me, so as Vendasta grows with new technologies, it appears to all of my clients that I\u2019m growing with new technology, so it\u2019s phenomenal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Platform tools like the built-in CRM have also helped the Social Ordeals sales team manage their work.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs our sales reps become more and more confident in the product and they see those successes for their clients, it just propels them to be more confident on the next call they get onto now they\u2019re able to show off different clients that are successful in their industry, so it makes the sales process very easy for my reps.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Results<\/h2>\n
Social Ordeals closed its first sale after only one week with Vendasta and today is one of the largest platform partners in the United States.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey gave me an all-in-one business… That\u2019s what\u2019s propelled us to the point we\u2019re at today. Without Vendasta we wouldn\u2019t be in the agency business,\u201d Montgomery says.<\/p>\n
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Top Sellers<\/h3>\nWith an average basket size of 3.75 products per client, Social Ordeals makes a point of packaging the right solutions together, creating a holistic approach to manage the
digital marketing strategies of their local business clients.<\/p>\nTop Five Best Selling Products* in the Social Ordeals Marketplace<\/h4>\n