Grow accounts

Devbridge grows primarily by expanding existing accounts and acquiring new ones. Each client supports one to many work streams. And the better we do on the initial engagement, the more trust, freedom, and ownership we get as a result.

The general formula for successful account management success looks something like this:

• Build trust through delivery. Devbridge is called to deliver a specific project, usually one with a defined business need and technology solution. We prove our value to clients and build trust by shipping.
• Spread the word. Devbridge builds a narrative around the first delivery and produces marketing materials to tell the story (e.g., a video or web case study, a product demonstration, a keynote deck, or a combination). When sharing these stories, always treat the sponsor as the hero to advance their cause inside their organization—remarketing inside the account. As a result, the assets are distributed inside the company to bolster good relations and generate new opportunities with other lines of business, departments, and the like.
• Demonstrate consultative abilities. Host a “state of the union” event to reflect on the work to date, promote wins, and review successes or failures. Recommend improvements, share industry knowledge, and practice thought leadership. This is an excellent opportunity to suggest introductions to other lines of business (LOBs) and voice our appetite for more work.
• Earn a seat at the table. High trust relationships often lead to the Devbridge team having a seat at the planning table within the client organization. In these scenarios we are able to consult and influence before a solution is identified.

When we’re successful the relationship becomes symbiotic, and contractual negotiations fall back into the background. The client starts proactively requesting us to do more work. The client realizes the value multiplier of teams that not only ship software but also steer the requirements and business into making the right software. (Sometimes that means not making software at all!)

Proof: Developing a partnership with one of the top four accounting firms

A consulting client in London had ideas about how to improve the value delivered to its clients through bespoke modules built within Relativity that were unique to how the organization conducted business. After a workshop with our team, the client landed on an improved version of their original requirements (in no small part thanks to the contribution of our team). We won the business, and the product was shipped to market in just eight weeks.

We shot a promotional video with the client team to promote their services at a large conference in New York—one of the largest legal technology conferences in the US. Our key stakeholder promoted the work in front of a broad group of high-profile partners from the UK, Canada, and the US. We simply sat back and allowed the client to sell Devbridge to themselves. It was wonderful to observe from the sidelines, gently injecting the idea that our capabilities were much broader and that we were hungry for more.

The partners in the room agreed that leveraging Devbridge as a dedicated bespoke product shop for all the organization’s fraud efforts was a reasonable next step. Their core competency is not building custom software, nor do they have the structure to provide support for rapidly changing needs in the field. They also recognized the value of a localized effort for their US or Canadian markets, allowing the team to pool funding and resources on components to be reused globally. Last, future work with the client provides Devbridge with a window to become a more strategic product-oriented partner for a top-tier consultancy.