The StreetSmarts “Put Up Or Shut Up” Contest
June 25th, 2009 · No Comments
When talking with a software vendor, you may have had a cynical moment and said something to the effect of “and how do I know this works or “how exactly am I supposed to use this? It’s OK. We all have those feelings. On the vendor side of things, StreetSmarts has decided to launch a pre-emptive strike on those questions in the form of a contest.
The “StreetSmarts Grand Prix 2009″ will take (most likely) 3-5 companies, send consultants amd industry experts over to evaluate how said companies could best utilize the StreetSmarts software package (a sort of mash-up of a knowledge management system and social media platform), then install it and train the companies how to use it. In three months, the contestant companies will compare notes on who was able to increase their sales the most.
You’re probably thinking there’s a catch, and there is. While StreetSmarts CEO, Dave Batt, will gladly tell you “we’re putting our money where our mouth is,” and he is, this contest is also has an element of bartered trade to it. What the Grand Prix is really doing is creating a set of best practices guides/whitepapers. At the end of the contest, StreetSmarts Document exactly what works for companies, complete with a 90-day implementation guide.
Batt says he’s observed companies seeing a 5% growth in topline sales, using his software to increase sales effectiveness in a 90-day scenario, so consider that to be the baseline that these guided implementations will be launching from. He’s also taking this contest seriously enough to retain CSO Insights as auditor and contest judge, to keep things on the up and up.
StreetSmarts received 250 applications for the contest and is currently paring them down in an attempt to find similar businesses, so that results can be compared in more of an apple-to-apple fashion. And, of course, getting legal signing off to make documentation of the results and implementation public is also slowing down the process.
The contest is set to formally kick-off in July and run through October with the results being published at the end of October. Batt thinks running the contest during the traditionally slow for sales summer months is an added test. Personally, recalling my corporate IT days and the consulting firms that would be brought in to implement new software systems, I get a chuckle of a set of strict 90-day implementation guides being made public.
When we last talked to Batt, he’d only recently set up shop in the suburbs. He now has an office downtown, but he’s also the only one in the office. StreetSmarts has been sticking to their plan of handling the initial growth stage by outsourcing things like accounting. Batt also has a nice way of describing shopping for outsourced services in a down economy: “There are organizations that sensitive to buyer’s needs.
Batt also reports they’re six months ahead of their initial plan, having closed to doubled their revenues and install base. In a more practical sense, this means they’re looking to start making actual hires in Q3 and Q4.
