Case Studies


Industry:	Public Sector ERP Software (SaaS)
Demographics:	180+ employees \| MI HQ \| 17 States
Projects:	Out-State Expansion I GTM Strategy I Sales and Marketing Plan I Sourcing Selection and Onboarding of AE and PS staff I Custom Training I Interim Management I OD I Management Training and Coaching I Soft Skills I Hybrid Workforce

BS&A Software has been providing exceptional municipal software to local governments since 1987. BS&A software currently operates in 17 states in the Eastern and Central time zones.

We started with BS&A Software in 2010 with the goal of launching BS&A’s Municipal Financial Management software suite outside the state of Michigan. Prior to 2010 BS&A only operated in Michigan and at the time had 62 employees. Today BS&A operates in 17 states and is approaching 200 employees. After successful implementation of the out-state launch, we worked on various projects for BS&A through 2022.

Projects Included

Multi-state GTM Strategy Development
Sales and Marketing Plan
Compensation Program Development
Sourcing, Interviewing, Profiling and Onboarding Plan Development and Execution
Custom Sales Training Program
Custom Operational Training Program
Company Image Presentation Development
Proposal and Response Package Development
Salesforce.com Customization and Implementation
Soft Skills Training throughout the Organization
Rewrite of Product Management, Project Management, Implementation and Training Onboarding Documentation
Executive Coaching for the next generation of Partners
LinkedIn Strategy Development and launch
Channel Partner Program Management
Interim Management of Marketing, Sales, and Product Specialists (product demo team)

Results

Complete buildout of the out-state proactive sales program including all strategic documentation, compensation plans, staff sourcing and selection, training (sales and operational), proposal and response packages, salesforce.com customization, and management tools and programs to sustain YOY growth.
Helped drive company growth from 62 to nearly 200 employees doing business in 17 states.
Pre-partner executive coaching.
Helped create proactive out-state sales to $13M annually.

Testimonial

Up until 2010, BS&A marketed and sold our Municipal ERP software to a large percentage of the municipalities in Michigan. Because Michigan municipal government tends to be very close knit, we were able to accomplish this without a professional sales force. In short, we grew organically.

However, when we decided to expand our ERP software to municipalities outside of the state of Michigan (to the central and eastern time zones), we knew we had to have a well-defined go to market strategy. But, we weren’t sure of the best way to go about it.

After a lengthy search of consultants, we hired Summit Learning Solutions.
They sourced and hired our first-ever sales team and created the sales and marketing plan to start the process. They designed our sales team’s compensation plans, trained them on appropriate sales methodology, and lead our overall strategy. Candidly, we thought they were way too optimistic in their sales projections. It turns out they undersold the possibilities. The program was very successful, very fast.
But, then we had several new problems.

We had to quickly ramp up operationally to handle all of the new business. So, Summit Learning helped us quickly source new talent to help us grow.
Then we had to figure out how to quickly train our new staff members. Summit Learning helped us build our new training plan.
Then we had to figure out how to manage through all of our fast growth. Summit put together a number of soft skills training sessions to help us manage the interpersonal issues that popped up.
The fast growth required us to quickly create several new BS&A leaders. Summit helped us here by creating and implementing an executive coaching plan that helped bring our talented young people up to speed.

When we started with Summit Learning Solutions we had 62 employees mostly serving the state of Michigan. Now, we have nearly 200 employees serving 17 states; and we’re still growing consistently. Moreover, when we started with Summit we sold about 3-5 Million a year in new business; now we sell 13 Million a year in new business.

I can say, without reservation, that our success and growth would not and could not have happened without the help of Summit Learning Solutions.

— Tom Szur, CEO, BS&A Software

His guidance, leadership, and friendship are PRICELESS

He has mentored me to achieve amazing professional goals without losing sight of the most important part of my life as a wife and mother. His guidance, leadership, and friendship are PRICELESS!!

Brian is a Full Service Mentor

Over the years, Brian has not only mentored the sales team, but also our Department Managers throughout the corporation developing personal goals, department goals, leadership skills, and execution.

A Great Motivator

He has been a great motivator for me, my team, and our organization’s management team. Outside of the impressive sales increase, there is an abundance of projects and initiatives that Brian has successfully led I would like to highlight some of them that ultimately changed my life both professionally and personally.

Learned How to Grow Territory

During the time I work with Brian, he challenged me, showed me how to sell and how to win in almost any circumstance. Brian helped me grow my sales territory (Chicago) from nothing to a $1,000,000+ book of business.

The Summit Solutions is not a one-fits-all process

Is the Summit Solutions a one-fits-all process that will lead to selling more? No, there are plenty of national programs with regional support that will sell you on that. I will tell you from my experience, they are outdated, not personalized, and don’t work. They typically also only focus on the sales department. Brian’s method is to work with the whole organization, while stressing the importance of creating a company culture that people want to be a part of.

As the VP Sales Manager, I was initially skeptical

As the VP Sales Manager, I was initially skeptical and guarded as to why we had to bring in an outside sales expert. I perceived this as an insult to my abilities and the performance of our team. Today I can honestly say that the association, teachings, and concepts Brian presented were the BEST thing to happen to our Company, myself, and our team.

When we started with Summit Learning Solutions we had 62 employees

They sourced and hired our first-ever sales team

They sourced and hired our first-ever sales team and created the sales and marketing plan to start the process. They designed our sales team’s compensation plans, trained them on appropriate sales methodology, and lead our overall strategy. Candidly, we thought they were way too optimistic in their sales projections. It turns out they undersold the possibilities. The program was very successful, very fast.

We are a better, healthier, and the more performance-driven company

We are a better, healthier, and the more performance-driven company now thanks to Brian’s training and support. Most importantly, it’s more profitable.