At the START SUMMIT 2024, held in St. Gallen, Switzerland, we had the opportunity to meet with Alex Bilyi, whose dynamism and ability to ask key questions were particularly impressive. As the founder of VirtuWise, a company that stands out in the market for its team's deep experience across various industries and a unique approach to lead generation through LinkedIn, Alex shares his motivation for creating the company.
Introduction to VirtuWise
Could you tell us a little about VirtuWise and the main motivation for its creation? What sets VirtuWise apart in the market, especially in terms of transforming businesses through LinkedIn?
VirtuWise distinguishes itself in the market with its unique team of specialists who have deep experience in various industries, each with at least 20 successful projects behind them. The main motivation for creating the company is to provide services focused on achieving real business results, in particular, increasing partners' revenues. VirtuWise stands out for its professionalism, focus on the end result, and selective approach to projects, preferring to work only in those industries where the team has significant experience and contacts. This allows the company to quickly receive market feedback and even generate revenue for clients in the first month of collaboration.
Services and Solutions
Could you describe in more detail the range of services offered by VirtuWise and how they contribute to the success of your clients?
VirtuWise offers two key services to enhance B2B lead generation and business development. Firstly, the team specializes in creating a stream of potential clients by carefully selecting decision-makers based on predefined parameters. Secondly, a "turnkey" business development service is provided, where, in addition to generating leads, the team helps close deals, providing the client with a signed contract and payment. These services are aimed at increasing revenues and the efficiency of clients' business operations.
How does the process of developing individual strategies for your clients work, and how do you ensure that they meet their unique business needs?
The development of individual strategies begins with a deep analysis of the client's business goals, market position, and target audience. This process ensures the creation of personalized solutions that precisely meet the unique needs and goals of each client. VirtuWise guarantees the effectiveness of its strategies through close collaboration with clients, continuous hypothesis testing, constant monitoring of results, and flexibility in making adjustments to achieve the maximum result.
Success Stories and Impact
Could you share some of your most significant success stories and the strategies that led to these successes?
The first thing that comes to mind is our first Swiss client, a company engaged in SaaS development. We had intense negotiations with the company's owner, and I tried in every possible way to find an opportunity to collaborate with them, as it was reputationally important to acquire this client. As a result, we made a kind of wager that if I didn't bring in a client in the first month, and they didn't make a payment, then my client would terminate the contract with me. Admittedly, this was not easy. But on the 30th day of the deal, we received the first payment. I cannot help but be proud of this. My team worked at 300% then. Now, of course, I would not agree to such conditions, but then we needed the first Swiss client at any cost.
Another success story is assisting a foreign cybersecurity company in entering the Swiss market. Admittedly, this is probably one of the most challenging projects in my life. We continue to collaborate successfully to this day. But classic sales strategies do not work in this field. No one will trust you with confidential information without trustworthiness and recommendations. Especially in the closed Swiss market. But we won, even though it took a little more than the initially expected three months.
I also remember our first project in WEB3. I always wanted to try my hand in this industry. My team and I were responsible for attracting investment in a web3 game. Truly a challenging task, especially when the web3 market was experiencing a crisis. But we also managed, albeit in a somewhat different form than initially expected. This project allowed us to build strong relationships with players such as Binance, Wirex, and Swiss Crypto Valley, which greatly helped us in subsequent projects.
What common problems do your clients encounter, and how does VirtuWise help them overcome these issues?
The main problem is the inability to convey the value of the product or service to the client. Often, our clients have genuinely brilliant products, but either the market is not yet ready to understand this value, or the client's team does not know how to convey it. We easily cope with this task.
Another equally important problem is the low involvement of our partners; sometimes it is even necessary to insist on regular calls with the client. They somehow often think that it is possible to dump the documentation on us, throw a link to the site, and voila, we will bring them money. No, it's not like that. Building leadgeneration and sales department is always meticulous work and involvement from C-levels and founders is very important. Especially at an early stage. The faster we synchronize with business owners, the faster we bring revenue. After all, no one knows the product better than its creator.
Expertise of the Team
Tell us about your team. How do their diverse skills contribute to the success of your clients?
As I mentioned earlier, our team has quite extensive experience, with each of us having over 20+ projects behind us. But to delve deeper, each project is worked on by three specialists. A researcher, someone who has a high understanding of the client profile, and understands who in each company makes decisions. Often in a large company, it's difficult to find the decision-maker because positions are often named the same or generally differ from the norm. But the ability to professionally create lists of Decision Makers and Potential Clients is the foundation of our business. This skill saves time and resources for my clients.
Then come the lead generation team members, who skillfully write messages based on the analysis of the potential client's profile. They respond to messages on time and understand the product well. Next are the Biz Devs, people who make a good impression on the client, are able to find the right approach, and close deals, where creativity and talent come into play.
We also have a well-established onboarding process, so we can scale up fairly quickly.
Seeing our structure, one can clearly understand that it's very difficult to combine all these qualities and skills in one person. These are even different types of personalities. Salespeople are expressive, lead generators are maximally focused on correspondence, all of them are introverts. And creating lists requires maximum attention from the researcher, as it's all about our clients' money. And when a client tells me that it's better to hire a biz dev in-house, it makes me smile. It's very difficult to find a candidate in the market who combines all these qualities and skills, and if you do find one, they will cost much more. Plus, to have 20+ projects experience) at most, he had 5-7 jobs in his portfolio, it's not the same. When we enter a project, we look at it like a scanner, clearly understanding who needs to do what in the future. What strategies will work and what will not. This all saves time and money. And often we work with startups, where time and resources directly affect whether the project survives or not. It's a huge responsibility. It only sounds simple LinkedIn lead gen, but it's primarily a huge responsibility.
Staying Ahead in the Fast-Evolving Landscape of Marketing and Business Development on LinkedIn
How does VirtuWise maintain a cutting-edge approach in the rapidly evolving landscape of marketing and business development on LinkedIn?
We constantly improve our skills by studying materials about the latest technologies in sales and lead generation (blogs, magazines, YouTube channels). We have a developed internal training system and our knowledge base is frequently updated. Analyzing competitors is also an essential part. We test our competitors monthly and study their approaches. Often our clients help us because their expertise is quite high, and we just create a powerful synergy.
Collaborating with Clients and Building Relationships
How does VirtuWise build relationships with clients to ensure their ongoing success and satisfaction?
Honesty, transparency, and trust are the foundation of everything. That means we involve clients at every stage of interaction, coordinating steps and constantly synchronizing. Our task is to bring revenue to the client. Create a success story. Plus, we care a lot about the client's reputation, and this cannot but win them over.
How does VirtuWise adapt to clients' changing needs and goals over time?
It's continuous A/B testing of hypotheses. Since a significant part of our clients are startups, changing needs are the foundation of everything. We like this startup spirit, where there is an opportunity to participate in the product's perfection and its introduction to the market.
Future Directions
How do you see the development of VirtuWise in the future to meet new market demands and opportunities?
What's happening now is that we are starting to enter various projects as co-founders, no longer taking a subscription fee. Taking responsibility for attracting investment, for example, or for generating revenue.
Are there any new trends in LinkedIn marketing or business development that you believe will have a significant impact on your strategies or services?
The trend I see now is increased competition and complicating processes, and consequently, an upcoming increase in such services. Plus, LinkedIn itself fights lead generation by introducing new and new rules. But so far, we see no alternative to LinkedIn.
Advice and Insights
What advice would you give to companies looking to improve their LinkedIn presence and efficiency?
For companies aiming to enhance their presence and effectiveness on LinkedIn, focusing on community engagement is crucial. LinkedIn is a professional network where people enjoy interacting, networking, following trends, and learning about others' professional activities. So, grow your audience, engage with it, and provide value to foster a genuine connection.
Can you share any insights or tips for success in LinkedIn lead generation and business development?
- To further enhance their business in the Swiss market, VirtuWise is developing a specific development plan for targeting and engaging with potential clients, focusing on their deep industry experience and unique approach to LinkedIn lead generation.
- Recognizing the fast-evolving landscape of marketing and business development on LinkedIn, VirtuWise is continuously updating their knowledge base, analyzing competitors, and implementing A/B testing of hypotheses to ensure their strategies remain cutting-edge and effective.
Regarding lead generation and business development on LinkedIn, it demands consistent effort. Daily dedication is the key to achieving a snowball effect, where the platform itself starts working for you. Committing five days a week, eight hours a day to this endeavour can lead to significant growth and success over time. It's about taking small steps consistently to achieve bigger goals.
As we draw our conversation with Alex Bilyi, founder of VirtuWise, to a close, the forward momentum of his enterprise and its unique approach in the B2B lead generation sphere is palpable. VirtuWise stands as a beacon of innovation and expertise in a competitive landscape, driven by Alex's visionary leadership and the team's unparalleled experience. The anticipation for what VirtuWise will achieve next is more than just curiosity—it's a shared excitement for the future of professional networking and business development. Alex's journey underscores the transformative power of strategic connections and personalized engagement in building successful outcomes. Looking ahead, it's clear that VirtuWise is not merely adapting to changes but actively forging new paths for success. As we await the next chapter in VirtuWise's journey, it's evident that the impact of their work will resonate far and wide, redefining the art of meaningful business relationships.
ZEITUNG «AUSSIEDLERBOTE»
