To Turn the Tech Sales World Upside-Down, We Went Outside-In

Too many tech companies mean well when approaching customer relationships, but they come across as thinking they have all the answers. How do you know you’re dealing with one of those companies? They show up with flashy presentations, rattling off features and benefits, convinced they know exactly what you need. But here’s a radical thought—what if we flipped that approach?

At ControlUp, we’ve embraced what I call an “outside-in” approach. It’s not brain surgery, but it is a pretty revolutionary shift. Instead of talking at our customers, we listen to them. We ask questions, we dig deep, and—most importantly—we stop talking and pay attention to the answers.

Why? Because our customers are the real experts in what they do.

Building Better Customer Relationships

This isn’t just about being polite (though that’s a nice bonus). It’s about building relationships that genuinely mean something—partnerships that solve real business problems, not just tick boxes on a feature list.

You’d be amazed at what you learn when you genuinely listen. We recently held our first customer council, and the feedback we got was gold. And guess what? We’re actually implementing it. That’s the power of listening—it drives innovation that matters.

But it goes beyond that. By truly getting our customers’ needs, we can:

1. Tailor our solutions to their specific headaches
2. Stay ahead of the curve—sometimes before they even know what’s coming
3. Build trust that lasts for years (I’m talking 20+ years—I’ve seen it happen)

This outside-in mindset is transforming ControlUp. We’re not just peddling products—we’re becoming a customer-obsessed, customer-centric company. We’re building an organization based on loyalty, commitment, success, and longevity.

We’re overhauling our pricing and packaging to simplify things. We’re tearing down barriers to make it easier to work with us. Whether you’re a partner, a strategic ally, or a customer looking to buy, we’re streamlining everything so you can see our value and become part of the ControlUp community without jumping through hoops. A lot of this evolution stems from learning what customers value and how we can be of the most help. We wouldn’t know that if we hadn’t been listening.

Here for the Long Haul

Here’s another key point: for us, the sale isn’t the end of the story—we’re just getting started at that point. We’re invested in the entire customer journey. From pre-sales to onboarding, from achieving active use to solving real-world problems, we’re there every step of the way. And as we push the boundaries of what’s possible, we bring our customers along for the ride, helping them up-level their digital employee experiences (DEX).

Scaling from the Outside-In

As we continue to grow, this outside-in approach is more crucial than ever. We’re scaling our solutions to meet the demands of diverse companies across a wide range of sizes, yet we’re keeping our undying commitment to customer support and success. That’s a bigger ask as you work with larger companies, but we wouldn’t scale if we couldn’t do it right.

New challenges mean more to learn, but it’s not about having all the answers. It’s about asking the right questions, actually listening to the responses, and rolling up our sleeves to find solutions together. I wouldn’t have it any other way.