Case Studies

Client 1

A UK IT market leader in ERP, systems integration, CRM and Enterprise Content Management solutions was suffering from the negative effects of a highly saturated and competitive UK market place. The company was once a cash-entity, enjoying the fruits of some major UK project wins 2-3 years previously. Now the management team were struggling with a high-cost base and poor cash flow due to a lack of new business and the loss of one major long-term contract. The company had a good client base across several industry sectors.

The Challenge

The management team decided to try and tap into the Middle East market in an effort to create new revenue stream to bolster the overall profitability of the company. The company felt the market in the Middle East was less saturated but had no idea how to go about getting new clients on board and members of the UK sales team had no previous experience in the Middle East and were not comfortable with regular travel to the Middle East regions. In any case the UK head count was reduced to the minimum and so no individual could be spared to concentrate solely on this new, largely unknown territory. The high costs of permanently setting up an office in a region such as Dubai with new staff, a lack of market knowledge and with no idea as to whether things would work out, meant that this client was very keen to outsource the sales function with the comfort of a clear exit strategy.

The Solution

XME SalesXtend was an easy and smart choice for this client with its low-cost route to immediate market visibility in the Middle East regions. Our sales team was proactive in developing an understanding of our clients’ business, product and service offerings and key value propositions.

Our client’s key strength was the calibre of its technical staff and experience of executing complex ERP implementations for large corporations. We recommended a strategy of teaming up with a large, well known supplier we would be targeting to get access to the key buying influences in those companies. We would then work with the partner, taking firm control and responsibility for the entire sales process. What this engagement demonstrated is maximising the value of strategic partner selling (or channel sales) as well as direct field-based high-end strategic and conceptual solution selling into key target accounts.

The Results

  • We identified and signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement with one of the largest conglomerates in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
  • We mobilized resources from our Middle East sales team to open up three regional sales offices across Saudi Arabia in collaboration with the Saudi partner organisation.
  • We secured 3 major contracts within 12 months worth nearly USD $1 million.
  • We successfully created a market for our client in the Middle East, providing them with the commercial justification to make a long-term, strategic commitment to the Middle East regions. Our client decided to open their own office in Bahrain within 18 months of our engagement.
  • We took the lead role in planning, setting up and running the sales operations for our client’s independently owned subsidiary in Bahrain.
  • The Middle East contributes nearly 20% of the Group’s overall P&L.

Client 2

Experiencing phenomenal growth year after year and operating in several countries drove this Australian IT company specialising in Project Collaboration and Information Management tools for the Construction and Engineering sectors to explore the Middle East market.

The Challenge

The company has enjoyed significant success and several client wins in Dubai. They recognised that the potential for their products and services in countries such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia could eclipse the UAE. Despite a well established sales team based in Dubai, this company had tried to break into the Qatar and Saudi Arabia market for the last 3 years, with virtually no success. Not only had they failed to win their first projects in these countries, but even the pipeline was in very poor shape. This company was looking for a true sales specialist to crack these difficult, traditionally Arab markets. Qatar in particular was identified as a key region in terms of  the scope of market opportunities.

The Solution

We took up the challenge of working independently, largely unsupported in Qatar to try and win for our client that all important initial reference project in Qatar which could propel them to a greater market share in the country. Working as an extension of our client’s existing global sales force, we used a direct field-based selling approach to execute the entire sales cycle – we followed the XME SalesXtend model to the ‘T’. We were responsible for finding our own leads, carrying out background research on suspects, qualifying opportunities, attending client meetings, delivering technical presentations, negotiating contracts and chasing payments.

The Results

  • Within the first three months we secured the first reference project for our client in Qatar.
  • We signed a Partnership Agreement with a large global consulting firm in Qatar that had the potential to deliver significant future business across the Middle East.
  • Within 3 months, we independently secured two major project wins with total revenue of over USD $350,000.