Andy Fenton, VP of Sales at Hercules, has worked with Gungho four times across different organisations. This case study covers what drives that repeat relationship, how the partnership operates day to day, and what it actually takes to make outbound work.
Watch the full interview with Andy Fenton, VP of Sales
How does Gungho fit into the Hercules sales structure?
Hercules runs a deliberately lean operation, with no excess management layers and no internal BDR function. Gungho sits in the middle of the funnel, converting top-of-funnel marketing activity into qualified leads for the enterprise sales team – covering specific use cases across insurance, financial services and the office of the CFO.
What's the quality of leads been like?
Andy came into the relationship expecting lead quality to build gradually over time. That’s not what happened.
“We came into this relationship with Gungho looking at it from the perspective of, as well as creating opportunities and leads for us, they will do an amount of product-market fit research for us as well – identifying whether the message resonates, whether buyers are looking for a solution for what we believe we have, and also whether there is a good fit within the kinds of regions that we’ve identified. And we have that constantly evolving. Being quite frank, a normal expectation would be that the leads would improve over time, but we found that from a very early stage, the team was able to identify very strong opportunities and leads, and they’ve maintained that consistent level of quality.”
Andy Fenton, VP of Sales – Hercules
What makes the partnership work?
This is Andy’s fourth time using Gungho across different organisations. His approach has been consistent each time: treat the team as though they were internal.
“I always approach it from the perspective of treating Gungho as though they were our team. With a new product, we go through an initial training session with the team that’s assigned to us, and there is a regular feedback loop. We have a weekly meeting with the team to discuss campaign activity. And I think it’s very important to involve the callers in that as well, because they are the direct path through to the prospective buyers. We see it as a constant feedback loop between ourselves and Gungho. As they identify potential challenges that we never thought of within the organisation, we can help them adapt to that. I firmly believe that having a direct relationship with the callers is critically important to help drive that feedback loop and make it more effective.”
Andy Fenton, VP of Sales – Hercules
What would you tell another sales leader considering Gungho?
“I’ve used Gungho a number of times, and the reason I’ve gone back to them again and again is because they are the most successful outbound agency I’ve ever used. They contribute a level of expertise and understanding of the key marketplaces that we’re after that you don’t find anywhere else. But also, as a sales leader and professional, when you work with Gungho, you cannot just expect it to be a magic bullet. You have to put in the effort. You have to help prepare them and make them as successful as you would make your own internal team. The benefits of using Gungho are that you don’t have to wait for a lead time and a ramp-up – they are ready to go as soon as your campaign starts, and you will see results instantly. But you have to put the work in. You have to make sure that you course-correct and that you provide that feedback loop in the same way as you would do with your own BDR function.”
Andy Fenton, VP of Sales – Hercules
Extending the brand into new markets
“As an early-stage organisation, it’s critical that an outsourced company can support your brand. I’ve had issues with outsourced agencies where that wasn’t the case, but Gungho aligns with our brand and presents a professional, friendly front for us in many markets that we can’t be in. They really extend our brand and have been able to help us raise awareness in a lot of areas where we couldn’t do that before.”
Tamarie Ellis, VP of Marketing – Hercules
