18x pipeline growth: Positioning & sales enablement for My Ally
My Ally was a sales-led HR tech startup specializing in interview automation and candidate experience. Following a successful series A round, My Ally made the pivot to enterprise and raised expectations of the marketing program. And in 2020, it was acquired by the talent intelligence platform Phenom.
167 / 365
Days needed to hit 7-figure pipeline
18x
YoY pipeline growth from Q4 ‘18 to Q4 ‘19
29%
Faster deal cycle with enterprise leads
“Ashwin knows what it takes to get your brand noticed and stay top of mind with customers. He's meticulous, keeps a market-sided view, and understands how to weave brand story into every piece of copy and content he creates. When I refocused our growth strategy to prioritize in-market buyers, he created the positioning, messaging, landing pages and sales enablement materials that got our pipeline up to 7 figures within 6 months.”
Aaron Bolshaw, CMO
I don’t typically make strategic documents publicly available, but My Ally’s acquisition by Phenom allows me a rare opportunity to showcase this type of work. This internal exercise was the first step in the fast-growth journey from low 6-figures of pipeline to high 7 figures in under 12 months.
Together with my CMO and the VP of Sales, I built the narrative and final output of the flagship sales deck that helped close more than 30% of enterprise pipeline. Key customers won on the back of this asset include Snowflake, Coca-Cola, and Riot Games.
Challenge: Build a 7-figure pipeline in 12 months
In late 2018, My Ally’s sales reps were sourcing the majority of their own pipeline. Marketing’s impact was focused on founder branding and paid media campaigns, but lacked a strategic foundation that could compound. A change at the CMO level brought a more structured approach and an ambitious mandate to generate 7 figures of pipeline within 12 months.
Tension: Revenue chaos and investor pressure
Despite ad campaigns that looked profitable on paper, My Ally’s marketing program was generating less than $400,000 in pipeline and sales was closing fewer than 15% of all leads. In less than one quarter since closing its series A round, My Ally’s revenue team was falling short of investor expectations. With performance dipping and pressure mounting, the founder made a change in leadership at the CMO and CRO positions.
Solution: Foundational rebuild and aggressive distribution
The new CMO switched focus from broad-spectrum content marketing to targeting in-market customers showing active buying signals. I turned fresh customer research into new positioning and messaging, website copy, and sales enablement materials for internal and channel partner reps: sales decks, spec sheets, and case studies.
Outcomes: Rapid growth aided by buyer research
With the new positioning underpinning everything marketing and sales were producing, pipeline and win rate grew rapidly. Digital paid and organic distribution became more profitable, generating a surge in new interest aided by channel sales, in-person events, and a dedicated champion-building effort from account executives.