Strategic consulting engagements

The following are some examples of the scope of work that Skyblues' principals performed. Usually, consultants focus on the strategic aspects, whereas other partners perform the needed implementation.  But today, with the various powerful platforms and cloud based tools available to us, implementation can be accomplished after the problem has been identified and a solution mapped out in detail.  For privacy reasons, we keep our client information confidential for recent projects, but you will be able to get a good feel for the type of engagements we have successfully completed over our 20+ year career. With executive-level reporting to C-level and Owner/Operators; corporate experience in marketing, strategy, partnership, business development and sales director roles by both principals, we've gained real world perspective versus just management consulting theory.  This perspective allows realistic strategy development that can turn into actionable execution, allowing increased engagement with customers and growing the bottom line.

International Markets Analysis

The project done on behalf of a new consumer technology (Wakeboards) was undertaken to analyze which international markets would be the best for a US-based manufacture.  New distribution channels, psychographic studies, economic discretionary income, and market sizing was evaluated for the firm.  Result: new markets entered for revenue growth and successful exit via buyout - from the global market leader (Ride Snowboards).

Other Projects:

•  Global business plan development and review
• Textile distribution networks in the US & Canada markets
• Banking software platform migration study for European banks
• Analysis of the global consumer spa market for trends

Digital Transformation via Platform Design 

A manufacturer needed to create a way to reach global customers with its distributed sales team, which is located in several states.  And also, outside selling partners targeting specific channels.  This issue was how to track both internal leads and external partners leads, customer engagement, and various channels or territories.  Skyblue built a CRM to shed insight on how each customer segment, vertical, and channel was really performing. It was impossible for the CEO and SVP of Sales to undertake this in the past without the digital system in place, that didn't allow for accurate revenue forecasting, sales funnel analysis, marketing segmentation, and customized marketing automation targeting to each customer in a 1-to-1 fashion.  

Outcome: Revenue growth acceleration, streamlined and accurate sales planning, plus detailed field sales information via it's 3rd party partner network.

The old way of using a spreadsheet to track global opportunities, and the constant struggle to accurately get a good picture of what is really going on in the field, is a BIG problem with companies with a few, or hundreds, of sales teams in the field.  Skyblue has built Customer Relationship Management systems with: Salesforce, Insightly, Google Apps, and used these cloud based platforms to transform companies ability to react and predict revenue in real time.  Using Salesforce today; and it's No-Code approach to developing a robust solution, is light-years ahead of the legacy based systems we have evaluated, tweaked, and used to track our sales teams in the past.  In simple terms, spreadsheets are 1.0 solutions- easy, but not powerful or flexible; legacy CRM's (ACT!, Goldmine) are 2.0 solutions- very difficult to implement for distributed sales teams, and very little marketing or customer solution options. While, today's CRM's (Salesforce Sales Cloud, Pardot, Communities for Partners) are 3.0 solutions that can be customized to match every business need imaginable; without complex coding and custom software development. 

Other digital solution projects include:

• Marketing Automation
• Partner Sales & Support Portals
• A.I. B2B Research Bots
• Google Analytics and Adwords
• SEO and SEM Reviews
• Google Apps Integration 

Revenue Growth and Sales Coach

The key to most small and medium size companies is revenue growth.  This old adage holds true, since without it you can't support your customer base or key employee initiatives. Skyblue has advised various companies on how to structure its sales organizations with new business development, outside sales, and omni-channel sales strategies; leading to profitable growth. Usually, this can be done via strategic planning workshops, and in phase two, actual outsourcing the execution of the plan to Skyblue or other firms.  Contact us for further information and options.  

Broad examples of prior work experience and consulting projects include:

• Partnership Development
• Head of Sales Transitions
• Sales Training- Inside Sales
• Profit Margin Analysis- By Product 
• Cost of Sales Analysis- By Channel
• International Go-to-Market Plans

We are also available as your outsourced President, Head of Sales, or Marketing, within the current organization.  Sometimes this may be needed during a transition phase or turnaround opportunity with the company; due to a major loss of a key employee or ownership change.  Let's have a chat to see if we can help.