How Marketplace.city Accelerated B2G Growth & Optimized Sales with Tendril's Data-Driven Solutions
Transforming Government Procurement with Tendril’s Sales Solutions
A Journey from Operational Harship to Strategic Excellence
Marketplace.city, a leading Business-to-Government (B2G) platform, partnered with Tendril to supercharge it’s operations: from sales development and marketing to technology staffing.
By leveraging Tendril’s expert SDR team, Fractional Marketing leadership, and HUBMX nearshore staffing solutions, Marketplace.city rapidly scaled its B2G outreach efforts and enhanced its platform capabilities without the usual overhead.
Tendril handled every aspect of recruiting and training its nearshore teams, then “handed over the keys”, enabling Marketplace.city to manage a ready-to-work, high performing workforce across sales and marketing.
When Chris Foreman, CEO of Marketplace.city, looks back at his company's transformation over the past eighteen months, he sees a story that perfectly illustrates the challenges facing modern B2G companies.
Today, Marketplace.city stands as one of Tendril's most successful client stories, but the path to that success reveals lessons that extend far beyond any single company's experience.
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Marketplace.city: Transforming Government Procurement
To understand the significance of Marketplace.city's transformation, it's essential to grasp the complexity of the challenge they set out to solve. Government procurement represents one of the most bureaucratic, inefficient processes in public administration. Agencies at every level—federal, state, and local—struggle with outdated systems, complex regulations, and procurement processes that often favor established vendors over innovative solutions that could deliver better value to taxpayers.
Marketplace.city emerged from Foreman's recognition that technology could fundamentally transform these relationships. Their platform facilitate transactions yes, but it also empowers government stakeholders to make truly data-driven purchasing decisions.
By creating transparent, efficient connections between agencies and vendors, they're addressing inefficiencies that cost taxpayers billions of dollars annually while preventing innovative companies from competing fairly for government contracts.
The platform serves counties and municipalities across the United States, providing managed sourcing and procurement services that go far beyond simple vendor directories.
As one of Tendril’s most loyal clients, Marketplace.city serves as a B2G platform helping counties and municipalities across the U.S.
However, by early 2023, despite having an incredible solution and growing market recognition, Marketplace.city found themselves facing operational challenges that threatened to limit their impact and growth potential.
The Challenge: When Growth Outpaces Infrastructure
The problems Marketplace.city faced weren't unique to their industry, but they were particularly acute given the specialized nature of B2G sales and the complexity of government procurement cycles. Success in their market required not just a great product, but sophisticated operational capabilities across multiple disciplines—sales development, marketing, data management, and technical development.
Sales Development & SDR Support
The sales development challenge was perhaps the most immediately pressing. Despite having an internal SDR team of three to four representatives, productivity remained frustratingly low. The team was averaging only forty cold calls per day, a number that any experienced sales manager would recognize as insufficient for B2G success, where longer sales cycles and complex decision-making processes require sustained, high-volume outreach to generate meaningful opportunities.
More concerning than the volume metrics were the conversion numbers. Representatives were typically booking just one to two meetings weekly, suggesting fundamental gaps in coaching, quality assurance, and professional development. This wasn't necessarily a reflection of individual capability, but rather an indication that the support systems, training programs, and management oversight necessary for SDR success simply weren't in place.
The situation created a troubling cycle: low productivity led to poor results, which undermined morale and created retention risks. Without consistent training and growth opportunities, even capable SDRs were likely to seek opportunities elsewhere, creating additional costs and disruptions for a growing company that couldn't afford constant turnover.
Data Accuracy
Data accuracy presented another significant obstacle, particularly challenging given Marketplace.city's focus on government clients. Finding up-to-date, verified contact information for state and local government stakeholders proved consistently difficult, slowing outreach efforts and reducing the effectiveness of engagement campaigns. Government personnel changes frequently, roles shift with elections and budget cycles, and contact information becomes outdated more quickly than in typical B2B environments.
This data challenge had cascading effects throughout their sales and marketing efforts. Outdated contact information meant wasted outreach efforts, reduced email deliverability, and missed opportunities to connect with decision-makers during critical procurement planning periods. For a company whose success depended on reaching the right government stakeholders at the right time, these data challenges represented a fundamental barrier to growth.
Marketing, Software Development, and Staffing
Marketing constraints added another layer of complexity. Like many growing companies, Marketplace.city had limited in-house capabilities for email marketing, social media engagement, and content creation. In the B2G space, where trust and credibility are paramount, consistent marketing that demonstrates expertise and builds relationships over time is essential.
Without robust marketing capabilities, they were leaving potential leads untapped and failing to amplify their message consistently across the channels where government decision-makers sought information.
Perhaps most challenging from a strategic perspective were the software development and staffing constraints. As a technology platform, Marketplace.city's success depended on continuous product improvement and feature development. However, recruiting and managing skilled software engineers was proving both time-consuming and expensive, diverting leadership attention from core business development and strategic initiatives.
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The Solution: A Multi-Dimensional Partnership
The partnership that emerged between Marketplace.city and Tendril was comprehensive from the start, addressing sales development, data management, marketing, and technical staffing through an integrated approach that recognized the interconnections between these operational areas.
Tendril Connect Premium: Complete Sales Development Infrastructure
Rather than simply adding capacity to Marketplace.city's existing approach, Tendril brought proven methodologies, management systems, and performance standards that transformed how sales development functioned within the organization:
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Rapid Onboarding: SDR team quickly mastered Marketplace.city's complex product offerings and B2G industry requirements without extensive training periods
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Professional Coaching: Continuous support from US-based sales coaches providing weekly call reviews, coaching sessions, and performance feedback
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Proven Methodologies: Leveraged established B2G sales techniques and systematic approaches to prospecting and engagement
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Operational Management: Handled offshore recruitment and operational complexities, allowing leadership to focus on strategic initiatives
Tendril Enrich: Government-Specific Data Solutions
This addressed the critical challenge of accurate government contact information through specialized focus on B2G requirements:
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Verified Government Contacts: Updated and verified contact information for state and local government stakeholders
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Decision-Maker Targeting: Ensured outreach reached the right people at the right time in procurement cycles
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Enhanced Personalization: Current, accurate data enabled more relevant and effective email campaigns
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Tendril Coach: Fractional Marketing Leadership
Provided experienced marketing professionals that growing companies need but cannot justify as full-time positions:
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HubSpot Management: Professional oversight of CRM and marketing automation platform
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Content Strategy: Development and execution of government procurement-focused content
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Multi-Channel Campaigns: Coordinated email and social media campaigns that enhanced visibility within the government community
HubMX Staffing: Comprehensive Technical Solutions
Perhaps most innovative was the technical staffing solution that went far beyond traditional staff augmentation:
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Complete Recruitment Management: Full-service recruitment, onboarding, and management of skilled software engineers
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Legal and Compliance: Handled payroll, benefits, and legal compliance through Tendril's Mexican subsidiary
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Immediate Productivity: Engineers could contribute to platform development from day one without typical hiring delays
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Cost-Effective Scaling: Access to technical talent without the overhead and complexity of international hiring
The Results: Beyond Operational Improvements
The partnership with Tendril delivered results that exceeded Marketplace.city's initial expectations, transforming not just individual operational areas but the entire approach to business development and growth. The improvements were both quantitative and qualitative, affecting everything from daily productivity to strategic capabilities.
The productivity gains in sales development were immediately apparent and sustainable. Tendril Connect's efficiency allowed Marketplace.city's SDRs to conduct more calls in an hour than they had previously achieved in an entire day, freeing up significant time for strategic outreach and meaningful follow-ups.
The transformation went beyond mere volume increases:
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Quality Elevation: SDRs evolved from appointment setters to relationship contributors, participating in deal advancement activities typically reserved for senior salespeople
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Professional Standards: Every prospect interaction met consistent quality standards through systematic coaching and feedback
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Seamless Integration: Tendril's solutions integrated effortlessly with existing CRM and HubSpot technology stack
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Immediate Impact: New SDRs contributed meaningfully from day one without extended ramp-up periods
The comprehensive management approach delivered substantial time and cost savings that compounded across multiple areas. Rather than spending leadership bandwidth on recruiting, training, and managing across various operational functions, Marketplace.city could redirect resources toward customer success and strategic initiatives that directly supported growth.
Key operational improvements included:
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Recruitment Efficiency: Complete management of offshore recruiting and training eliminated internal HR overhead
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Onboarding Excellence: New hire integration proved as efficient as, if not better than, internal processes
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Focus Optimization: Leadership could concentrate on high-value activities like strategic planning and client relationships
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Scalability Foundation: Established systems that could support growth without proportional operational complexity increases
With Tendril Enrich supplying verified government contact data, outreach became sharper and more effective. The increase in accuracy built momentum, helping the team connect more easily and strengthen relationships.
Marketing activities evolved from sporadic campaigns to systematic relationship building within the government procurement community. Rather than hoping their message would reach the right audiences, Marketplace.city began executing consistent, professional marketing efforts that generated measurable results in visibility, engagement, and lead generation.
Email campaigns reached intended recipients more consistently, and follow-up activities could focus on genuinely qualified prospects rather than chasing outdated contacts.
The HUBMX staffing solution provided immediate access to skilled software engineers who could contribute to platform development without the typical delays associated with traditional hiring processes. This technical capability enhancement meant that product development could advance more rapidly while leadership focused on market development and client relationships rather than HR administration and technical management complexities.
The transformation was cultural as much as operational. Marketplace.city evolved from a company focused primarily on solving immediate operational challenges to an organization positioned for sustained, strategic growth. The systematic approaches implemented by Tendril created predictable, scalable processes that could support expansion into new markets and service areas.
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Looking Forward: Building On Success
The success of the initial partnership has created a foundation for continued growth and expansion. Marketplace.city now operates with the operational confidence and capabilities necessary to pursue larger opportunities and expand into new markets within the government procurement space.
The systematic approaches and proven processes implemented through the partnership provide a scalable foundation that can support significant growth without proportional increases in operational complexity. This scalability is essential for companies operating in the B2G space, where opportunities can be substantial but require significant operational capabilities to pursue effectively.
For government agencies seeking more efficient, transparent procurement processes, Marketplace.city's transformation represents access to a platform backed by professional operational capabilities and strategic vision. The partnership with Tendril has made them a stronger, more capable partner for the government community.
The story continues to evolve, but the foundation for sustained success is now firmly established. What began as a search for operational solutions has developed into a comprehensive transformation that touches every aspect of how Marketplace.city operates, competes, and serves its clients.
Contact Tendril at https://www.tendril.us/request-demo or call +1 866 740 4470 to learn how our data-driven solutions can power your organization's next phase of growth.
By seamlessly integrating nearshore talent, fractional marketing expertise, and state-of-the-art SDR support, you too can expand your company's impact in the world of government procurement.
