At a Glance
Challenges
- Low Lead Quality: Previous content syndication efforts produced “super cold” leads with minimal pipeline movement.
- Inefficient Sales Handoff: Sales Development Representatives (SDRs) spent too much time on basic fact-finding rather than high-value conversations.
- Limited Visibility: Lack of control over long-term contracted programs made it difficult to adjust strategy based on content performance.
Results
- High Volume Conversion: Generated over 1,500 leads in a single year that converted into sales-qualified leads and active opportunities.
- Enhanced Lead Intelligence: Gained access to previously unavailable data on buyer pain points and competitive software landscapes to inform broader marketing strategy.
- Optimized Sales Performance: Supplemental SDR guidance improved pick-up rates and conversation quality across all lead sources.
Overview
Esker, a global cloud platform dedicated to automating the cash conversion cycle for finance and customer service professionals, needed to implement a more sophisticated, intelligence-driven approach to demand generation.
Esker’s Marketing Manager was tasked with creating demand and identifying high-quality leads in the competitive finance sector. To fuel their growth, Esker required a demand generation strategy that moved beyond raw lead numbers to deliver warm prospects ready for meaningful sales engagement.
Challenge
While the marketing team was consistently running content syndication campaigns, they faced several core challenges:
The Volume vs. Quality Gap
Historically, Esker relied on basic content syndication to hit lead volume targets. However, these leads were often “super cold,” showing little interest in moving through the sales pipeline. Esker needed a solution that prioritized lead quality and provided more than just a name and email address.
Stagnant Sales Conversations
The SDR team was frequently bogged down by basic fact-finding during initial calls. Instead of discussing solutions, they were stuck asking for job titles and pain points—information that should have been captured during the qualification process.
Lack of Campaign Agility
Previous year-long contracts with other vendors offered limited visibility and zero control. If a piece of content underperformed, Esker had no way to swap it out or adjust targeting, leading to wasted spend on irrelevant campaigns.
Solution
Esker implemented ENGAGE, BlueWhale Research’s full-funnel demand generation solution. ENGAGE utilizes intent signals, advanced scripting, and comprehensive analytics to ensure leads are highly qualified before they reach the client.
Esker also leveraged BlueWhale’s supplemental SDR best practices to help the team navigate the rich data provided with each lead, moving calls away from unpersonalized sales pitches toward real conversations.
Results
1,500+ Qualified Leads and Active Opportunities
The transition to ENGAGE yielded immediate results. In one year, BlueWhale delivered over 1,500 leads. Unlike Esker’s previous lead generation programs, these leads successfully converted into active opportunities qualified by the sales team—a result Esker’s Marketing Manager had never expected from content syndication.
Deep Market Intelligence
The ENGAGE program provided Esker with a level of insight they previously couldn’t access. Beyond contact info, Esker received detailed data on prospect pain points and the specific software they were using. This allowed the marketing team to better understand their Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) and refine their messaging.
Agile Campaign Management
Through regular check-in calls, Esker gained the ability to make quick adjustments when needed. Esker could now swap out underperforming content or refine targeting mid-campaign, ensuring the program remained successful throughout its duration.
Improved SDR Efficiency
The supplemental expert guidance provided by BlueWhale helped SDRs get up to speed faster during team restructures. By having the fact-finding already completed with lead delivery, SDRs saw higher pick-up rates and more successful meetings.