Growth Through Strategic Acquisitions w/ Sam Shepler

"Acquiring a service you want to offer helps your company leapfrog years of trial and error. " – Sam Shepler, Founder of Testimonial Hero

We welcome back Sam Shepler, Founder of Testimonial Hero, a global video testimonial company that helps B2B SaaS companies close more deals through customer stories. 

After a quick recap on what Testimonial Hero does (listen to episode 55 for part one), Corey and Sam get into the topic of acquisitions. Testimonial Hero recently acquired a company named Case Study Buddy that, just as the name suggests, provides written customer content like case studies. 

Sam’s clients kept asking for case studies and written content as a service, and the fastest path to offering that at the level of quality Testimonial Hero’s clients expected was to acquire a shop that already knew the ropes. 

Beyond the acquisition, Corey and Sam also cover topics like productizing services, sales process, and leadership lessons.

Here’s what we discuss in this episode:

• Testimonial Hero’s latest acquisition of Case Study Buddy.
• The evolution from video-only to various forms of customer content.
• The various types of customer content Testimonial Hero offers.
• Agency sales challenges and how to navigate them.

Here are some actionable key takeaways for agency founders:

• Customer testimonials accelerate sales cycles because they build trust.
• Challenge your preconceived notions as a leader not to miss out on business opportunities.
• Successful M&A calls for the right timing, alignment, and mutual respect, so start building relationships early on.
• For mentorship, seek out advice from people at a level you want to reach next; people who are several years but not decades ahead of you.

The resources mentioned in this episode are:

- Connect with Sam on Linkedin Here
- Learn more about Testimonial Here

👍 If you liked this episode, please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, and be sure to hit the subscribe button! 🔔

😩 Feeling stuck trying to stand out in a noisy market? I’d love to give you my free crash course that will help you go from “just another generalist” to a go-to expert people seek out.

In just a few short days, you’ll learn how to position yourself with clarity, auth