Metrix Inc., a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) corporation, did something few companies manage in a single year: it grew business, reduced costs, and fattened its bottom line — with the numbers to prove it. By applying the ROI value-selling methodology, Metrix:
Metrix, Inc. (Waukesha, WI) is a leading developer of CRM software. Founded in 1980 on a customer-centric philosophy and a three-time member of the Inc. 500, Metrix is a leader in integrated solutions across the service chain worldwide. When Metrix decided to objectively prove the ROI value it generated for existing and prospective customers, it turned to an innovator in ROI analysis: Anthony Sarno.
Metrix's service-management products offered outstanding value — but feature-function-benefit selling failed to convincingly demonstrate the ROI Metrix generated. In a thinning economy, top executives demanded the payback and ROI for every dollar spent on IT.
VP of Sales Harvey Shovers recognized that CFO-certifiable business cases could differentiate Metrix. But customized ROI studies took up to 60 hours to produce and pulled salespeople away from selling. Relying on manual work and expensive outside expertise produced "costly, inconsistent, and sometimes frustrating ROI studies," and Metrix could only justify business cases for its largest prospects. Shovers wanted a case in front of every prospect, regardless of size.
The tipping point came when a large prospect's IT department asked Metrix to convey its software's value to the senior executives who approved all IT purchases. Metrix turned to Anthony Sarno and GoldPoint — a methodology and application that builds persuasive, objective, CFO-certifiable business cases from customer-supplied data. The case was completed in hours, not days, Metrix won executive approval, and integrated the methodology into its sales process.
The proof: Metrix increased new-account sales by 19% — an average $522,880 per year.
Presenting quantified value meant buyers stopped comparing strictly on price, cutting the average discount by more than 30% — an average $192,000 per year.
By allocating costly pre-sales resources only to qualified prospects, the share of closed business coming from demonstrated prospects nearly tripled — avoiding an average $288,000 each year in unnecessary pre-sales cost.
Development time dropped from 60 hours to 6 — a 90% reduction. Now 75% of new prospects receive a business case, versus 10% before, saving an average $72,000 per year.
| Value driver (Three-Year Cash Flow) | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Additional Account Sales | $522,880 | $522,880 | $522,880 | $1,568,640 |
| Pre-Sales — Demonstrations avoided | $288,000 | $288,000 | $288,000 | $864,000 |
| Additional Revenue — Reduced Discounting | $192,000 | $192,000 | $192,000 | $576,000 |
| Sales — Business-Case Creation | $72,000 | $72,000 | $72,000 | $216,000 |
| 3-Year Earned Value | $3,224,640 |
Senior, marketing, sales, and pre-sales executives agreed the business cases carried the right level of detail, format, and order for executive review — each one customized to the client.
"The ROI step transforms our relationship to a consultative one, and qualifies the prospect while engaging the senior executives who sign off on the deal," said Shovers.
"When I tell the board we have nine opportunities whose CFOs have received a business case, they now know a vast majority will close," said Shovers.
The methodology helps negotiate financial terms and lets prospects confirm the value of their investment by tracking and measuring results after implementation.