The D2Z Podcast

How to Build An International Development Arm with Andy Hilliard - 126

• Brandon Amoroso • Episode 126

Share episode

In this episode, Brandon Amoroso speaks with Andy Hilliard, CEO of Accelerance, about the intricacies of global outsourcing and software development. They discuss the evolution of software services, common pitfalls companies face when nearshoring, and the importance of building effective client-provider relationships. Andy shares insights on choosing the right regions for outsourcing, understanding client needs, and the cost versus value of outsourcing. He emphasizes the significance of servant leadership in client relationships and provides tips for vetting software development agencies.

Here's what you'll learn:
🛑 Many companies fail in outsourcing because they try to do it themselves.
🌎 Choosing the right region for outsourcing depends on client needs and preferences.
📈 Building a strong relationship with service providers is crucial for success.
📊 Investing in a servant leadership relationship can lead to better outcomes.
🚪 Scaling teams with third-party providers can be more efficient than hiring individuals directly.
🔄 Trust but verify is essential in establishing successful partnerships.

Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction to Global Outsourcing and Software Development
02:32 The Evolution of Software Development Services
04:37 Common Pitfalls in Nearshoring
07:03 Choosing the Right Region for Outsourcing
11:22 Building Effective Client-Provider Relationships
14:43 The Cost vs. Value of Outsourcing
19:13 When to Start Outsourcing and Team Dynamics
21:15 Scaling Teams with Third-Party Providers
23:58 Tips for Vetting Software Development Agencies

Andy Hilliard
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyhilliard/
Accelerance - https://www.accelerance.com/

Brandon Amoroso:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonamoroso/
Web - https://brandonamoroso.com/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/bamoroso11/
X - https://twitter.com/AmorosoBrandon
Scalis.ai - https://scalis.ai/

Speaker 1:

Hey everyone, thanks for tuning in to D2Z, a podcast about using the Gen Z mindset to grow your business. I'm Gen Z entrepreneur Brandon Amoroso, founder and president of Retention as a Service Agency a lecture. Today I'm talking with Rich, who oversees field marketing at Just Works, a platform empowering SMBs to assemble self-service capabilities for payroll, tax, hr and all the really exciting things that go into running a business behind the scenes. Thanks for coming on. So before we jump into things, can we just give everybody a quick rundown on yourself, your background? So that's a mouthful right there. So can you just explain or sort of lay out what field marketing is and what that exactly entails? Explain or sort of lay out what field marketing is and what that exactly entails, and how do you quantify a return on? You know set events or activations, because you know that's something for me that's very black and white with, like, email marketing and e-commerce. But in field marketing you know there's a lot of different moving parts and you know attribution, I'm guessing is a little bit of a nightmare to deal with. So how do you go about? You know, quantifying the ROI from what you're working on and then also assessing the potential ROI of, like new events or activations that you're thinking about doing you, you, yeah, that makes a lot of sense. And how do you actually work with sales? Because I'm sure there's overlap in that too. So so, and when it comes to driving attendees to the event, are you typically do you prefer to piggyback off of others' events and then come in and support, or do you prefer to lead your own? Because, at least for us at Electric, we don't really have that massive outbound force to drive a bunch of interest or be the person leading the charge there. So I would prefer for us to piggyback off of events and be a value add in other ways. But what does that look like for you? You know, are you trying to lead your own events and then have others fill in the spots, or vice versa? Um, um, okay, got it.

Speaker 1:

And one thing that I've noticed you know, when you go to events especially you know events in and around conferences or solo events I'll show up and you can sort of almost tell very quickly whether or not it's a good event or not. But it's hard for me to, you know, actually put a finger on what makes a good event versus what doesn't. But you just sort of know. And what are some of the things that, like, you're looking for to have in an event or to have in like a sponsorship opportunity? Because there's obviously an endless amount of opportunities, especially in a city like Miami where there's never ending things going on.

Speaker 1:

I myself get thousands of emails about tech, this tech, that happy hour, this happy hour, that. So what sort of events do you prefer and and why, thank you, got it? Okay, yeah, for me, like you know where I can get the forced interactions is the best events like forced networking, almost, or forced learning with other people, because a lot of times when I go to these happy hours or things where it's just sort of a free for all, you end up gravitating towards the people that you already know and you're already hanging out with outside of those events to begin with. So, while I love those people, like why am I doing this? We could just skip the happy hour and hang out like we do anyways. So I like the events where you have to change seats or you're assigned, and I don't think that's done enough, because when I have had that happen, I've met some really cool people. And then, especially if you do it at the beginning of an event, or if you're at a conference and they sort of front load that, then you know a bunch of more people for the rest of the conference and it's just easier, a lot easier that way for the rest of the conference, and it's just easier, a lot easier that way. What's an event that you have coming up that you're super excited about, and why no, and why, like, why are you excited about it? Um is, thank you.

Speaker 1:

So I got a question for you on the event side, before we dive into that. You've mentioned account based marketing a few times and, for those that are listening, can you define what account based marketing or ABM is and, like, how does that differ versus another way that that you might approach it? Got it? Yeah, I feel like ABM is a more you know enterprise, you know sales philosophy or you need to have the ability to execute that, and that's something that requires a certain type of team and things like that. But going back to the events, you know, going to this Art Basel one, do you have like a checklist of all the things that you need to get done for each event, or how does that typically work? So, so, thank you, got it. And when it comes to the lead generation, your sales team already has a target list that they're feeding into to drive attendees, and are you doing account mapping with the other folks that are hosting the event with you too? Thank you, mm-hmm.

Speaker 1:

And how does technology factor into that? Because I know we've chatted in the past about and especially since you've been at a variety of different companies that are in different, I would say, financial positions from a big public company like Shopify, you know, with hypothetically large budgets, but it may not actually be the case. And then you have startups who could have no budget and no tech, or they could have just gotten a bunch of funding and they're, you know, spraying the money around like crazy. How do you deal with the technology stack and how that intertwines with the way that you're able to work with partners or work with your sales team on events, and is that something that you address, like when you first start at a new company, or is it an evolving process? Because I know there's things like crossbeam, you know, which can start to get pretty expensive? I've seen a lot of companies with CRMs that are just you might as well just start over at this point Like it's just an absolute nightmare. How does that play into your process when you got going on? Thank you, got it.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, we love the scrappiness, like at Scalist right now going through a similar process where I know all the tech that we should be using but we don't have the means or the justification to start using it quite yet, and so, almost like relearning. You know how to do some of these things in a way that isn't as easy, which makes it kind of painful, but we're just not in a place yet where it would make sense. But like going into drinks and we're just not in a place yet where it would make sense, but like going into drinks, for example. Sort of starting from scratch, but with more budget and so the ability to set up the HubSpot in the exact way that I want it all the way from. You know the way that we intake leads on the Web, cross beam, like Slack, integrations that we're getting notified of, account overlap automatically.

Speaker 1:

All that stuff can definitely make your life a lot easier if it's set up, and it's set up and documented too, because as you start to grow and you get new team members in there, it's so important to just like to take the notes to do the things that are going to make it so that you have one source of truth. And getting everybody aligned and on the same page is very important, and for me I see you see a lot of tools that like are made for the SMB market and then they work their way up market. You know pretty easily. You have companies like Shopify, where they built a product for SMBs and now they're working with some of the larger enterprise brands in the world. Same with HubSpot versus Salesforce. I think that's sort of the way to go. If I was building in, I guess I am building a new tech product but target the SMBs, build for ease of use, and then you can scale up to have more composability, flexibility in the product and software. Thank you.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, there's no doubt that that space has a lot of various competitors and even in the alcohol space there's a lot of various tech providers or not even really tech providers, but a lot of different businesses who talk a lot and say a lot of things. But then you really got to dig in to see what it is they actually do. Say a lot of things, but then you really got to dig in to see what it is they actually do, and then I almost need like a running spreadsheet of all these different companies and all the various claims of you know, we did this, we do that. It gets a little overwhelming at some point, especially separating you know, the BS from, like you know, from what's real. So, being at, you know some smaller companies and then also some larger ones.

Speaker 1:

What's your preference? Where do you prefer to work? Um, okay, okay, yacht events. We love yacht events. Exactly, only want to work with business. I, I'll say it for you, rich only wants to work with businesses that throw yacht parties in Miami and also invite me. I'll help you coordinate. I'll help you coordinate the guest list time. Next time, don't worry, got to be a value add where I can. Um, and also when you're the big guy, you already have that brand name recognition too. So it's like being a Nike versus being a startup shoe company, that type of deal. You have that sort of that swagger, that awareness, and so people look at you already as an authority versus not Mm-hmm.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so going into next year, you know, for those that are listening, with startups or larger businesses, like what's one tip or trick that you would give them? They're thinking about dipping their toes into the world of field marketing. So Thank you, um, yeah, yeah, I've seen a couple like somebody had like a Drake concert event in like a suite, like yeah, obviously brands are going to come to that. That shit's cool, you don't just get that. So more Drake concerts, less happy hours. I can't stand the happy hours, they're so overplayed, so no more.

Speaker 1:

I want to say it was in Betterate and two or three other companies, but the suite the box, you get the close contact with the merchants. It was like the two events we did with Recharge at the Dod the suite the box. You get like the close, you know contact with the merchant. It was like the two events we did with recharge at the Dodger suite, um, which actually love the Dodger suite in the games, but getting there is such a pain in the ass that, like you have to, you have to factor that into, and so they would be far more successful if it wasn't at Dodger stadium, which I don't really know how you get around that in LA, like it's just an absolute nightmare to get anywhere. So wherever you're having the event, it doesn't really matter.

Speaker 1:

But you know, think about that. The time, the date, like is it a, is it a Friday or is it a Tuesday? All that stuff you have to think about, because people have families, people have other shit going on, and so I remember, you know we went to the Beyonce concert with Yopo and a few others in Miami, but it was on a Friday night and you had to be at the location. I want to say like 630 or 7 on a Friday in Hollywood, florida, and I believe it took me about 90 minutes to get from Brickell to Hollywood, which should only take like 22 minutes or something, and my God was that horrifying, like 22 minutes or something, and my God was that horrifying. So you know, you had people dropping left and right who had already RSVP'd, who were just like I can't, I can't make this work, so it has to you. I feel like you have to take all that into into context the when, when, what sort of date it falls on. Um, the city too. I can't think of a worse city to to have to deal with Friday night traffic than Miami. Yeah Well, thank you so much for coming on.

Speaker 1:

I love getting to chat through this Field. Marketing is something that I don't really do much of at all, but I guess I'm starting to dip my toes into a little bit more drinks, and actually, when this episode drops in two days, on Wednesday, I'll be going to Sonoma. We got a booth at a wine conference out in California, so we got a couple of dinners. So I'm going to do my best job to be the rich of drinkscom, and we'll see if I picked up any tips and tricks from this podcast. Though, but before we hop off, can you let everybody know where they can, you know, find you online and connect awesome. Well, thanks again for coming on For everybody listening, as always. This is Brandon Amoroso. You can find me at BrandonAmorosocom or ElectricMarketingcom, and we'll see you next time.