Case StudyExecute on the Creation of a New Product Delivering Millions in Sales

PROFILE

NAME : Ryan AxfordEMAIL : RyanAxford@gmail.comPOS : Inbound Marketing Manager

Ryan is an Inbound Market-ing Manager delivering triple digit gains and an additional million dollars in revenue at Falafel Software. Ryan is full funnel certified and has been strategic as well as hands-on in the creation of inbound marketing campaigns. His

content campaigns have helped SmartBear Software to drive millions in revenue, and he’s also delivered ana-lytical, ran multi-variant and A/B testing, and is capable designing and coding email and landing pages.

SmartBear had been trying for a while to green-light a training and certification program. This program was to have two main roles - help educate current customers, and therefore assist in growing renewals, and also act as a sales tool to drive revenue for new cus-tomers. It would also be sold as a standalone product.

Ryan was tasked to manage the entire process - one which lasted 7 months - from top to bottom. He was responsible for working with a third party vendor, the product’s developers, marketing, and the sales engineers to come up with the topics for the on-demand training videos. He also selected and worked with the web team to build the training portal, and worked with sales to price the product, agree on revenue goals, and build all of the sales enablement con-tent to assist the team.

The project began in January, and was to be launched at a confer-ence in July of 2013.

PROBLEM

SOLUTIONRyan managed the progress from top to bottom, working tirelessly with cross functional teams, building a small team of his own to execute on the deliverables, and constantly gave updates to the Director level and above across the sales and marketing organizations.

He found his platform and built out the branding and graphics for the product, worked with PriceIntelligent-ly to strategically price the training and certification, and finally built a Go-To-Market plan and presented it to the entire organization. Ryan was the product owner and residential expert, and trained over 15 sales members how to use it and how to sell it.

The product launched successfully and on time at the conference in California, and buyers began coming forward. More successful was its ability to sweeten the deal for prospects when selling the prod-uct. It is still in use today, and you can view the product by going to http://certification.smartbear.com and entering “smartbear” for both credentials.

The training and certification suite has helped drive millions in sales for the company, acting as a brilliant standalone product, and an equally powerful sales tool.

RESULT

TESTIMONIALS

Ryan is an all-around marketing powerhouse. I was fortunate enough to work with Ryan for a year at SmartBear. Graphic design, social media, and project management are just a few of his stand out skills. He’s the kind of person who can take the initiative to drive a project from start to finish, and make sure the process runs smoothly along the way. One thing to note about Ryan is that he is truly a team player. His willingness to assist others during tight deadlines, and dedication to completing any task presented proves that he would be a strong asset to have on any marketing team.

- Rick DeCosta, Marketing Operations Manager, SmartBear Software

Ryan was a referral from a well-respected colleague and I am so glad that he decided to join the SmartBear Marketing Team. From the minute he started, Ryan worked on a brand-new marketing program to provide a video library for the flagship SmartBear product, Test Complete. This training library was designed in conjunction with our fabulous partner, Falafel Software, and Ryan’s consistent efforts led to 100 brand-new videos, a certification exam, and a program that knocks the socks off anything else out there. Ryan researched, wrote, created, developed, posted, and did everything possible to make it a success. A long time in the making, Ryan was able to cross the finish line with this massive undertaking, delivering revenue and success to the company.

- Jeanne Hopkins, Senior Vice President and CMO, Continuum

Ryan is a well-rounded and creative marketer. This guy can do anything! I had the pleasure of working with Ryan for a year at SmartBear where he acted as graphic design ninja, social media consultant, and production management leader. Ryan respects process and organization. I appreciated his willingness to assist in team projects and his honesty about deadlines and work cycles. Ryan’s technical skills and dedication to teamwork make him a great addition to any fast-paced marketing team.

- Kendal Peiguss, Marketing Manager, Toast INC

Ryan is a great asset for any marketing team. He’s the type of guy you can put on any task and he’ll knock it out of the park. A true marketing generalist. He has a GREAT eye for designing ef-fective landing pages and corresponding CTA graphics. His knowl-edge of social media management is far superior to anyone I’ve met. He took on every task at SmartBear with enthusiasm and professionalism. It was a pleasure to work with Ryan.

- Adam Barker, Director of Demand Gen, Continuum