CSO Services Case Study

DVI

DVI needed a Fractional CSO

DVI rebuilt its sales engine, doubled orders, and delivered 152% revenue growth. Even during the COVID-disrupted travel market.

“The result was two times the orders in the first year than we won in the previous three years.” — Brian Beard, President & Founder, DVI

Overview

DVI was founded in 2016 as an internal innovation project within Travel & Transport (T&T), a global travel management company. The platform was designed to deliver advanced analytics and data-driven insights into corporate travel and expense (T&E) spending.

By 2018, leadership recognized that the solution had broader market potential beyond internal use and decided to commercialize it as a standalone offering for corporate clients.

While the technology delivered meaningful insights for travel and finance teams, early sales traction was slower than expected. With cash burn rising and the parent company looking for stronger results, DVI needed to quickly refine its commercial strategy and improve sales execution.

Challenges

DVI’s transition from internal project to commercial product revealed several sales and market challenges.

  • Early sales efforts relied on traditional travel management company sellers who lacked experience selling data and analytics solutions
  • Market messaging focused heavily on technology rather than customer value
  • Sales cycles were long and win rates were inconsistent
  • Revenue growth lagged expectations while operating costs remained high

Leadership needed a faster path to sustainable sales performance

Goals

To improve the company’s trajectory and validate the product’s commercial potential, DVI needed to:

  • Clarify the value proposition and competitive positioning of the solution
  • Develop a repeatable sales framework to improve win rates
  • Align pricing with the value delivered to customers
  • Accelerate revenue growth while reducing operating burn

Solutions

DVI engaged TechCXO Partner Bruce Kopkin as Fractional Chief Sales Officer to assess the commercial strategy and build a more effective go-to-market approach.

Bruce focused on building the sales infrastructure required to position the product effectively and improve conversion across the pipeline.

Key initiatives included:

  • Creating a comprehensive Sales Playbook covering messaging, ideal customer profiles, pricing strategy, competitive positioning, and channel partners
  • Reframing the product’s positioning from a technology-focused message to a customer value-based solution
  • Introducing a value-based pricing model, including a revenue-share option aligned with customer outcomes
  • Improving opportunity qualification and sales execution to increase win rates and shorten sales cycles

These changes helped the organization move from early experimentation to a disciplined, repeatable sales process.

As fractional CSO, Bruce Kopkin overhauled DVI’s go-to-market strategy, aligning positioning, pricing, and sales execution to accelerate revenue growth.

Bruce Kopkin

Partner, Fractional CSO

Bruce helps companies strengthen commercial performance by improving sales strategy, seller effectiveness, and opportunity execution to deliver sustainable revenue growth.

Outcome

The results were both rapid and significant.

Average deal size increased by 41 percent, while overall revenue grew 152 percent, even during the COVID-disrupted travel market.

Win rates improved by 40 percent, and the average sales cycle shortened by three months, dramatically improving sales productivity.

DVI also secured several major enterprise customers, including Procter & Gamble, Dell, Cardinal Health, Danone, and Lazard, strengthening its credibility in the corporate travel and expense analytics market.

Within the first year of the new sales strategy, DVI closed twice as many orders as it had won in the previous three years combined. The strengthened commercial performance helped position the company for its successful acquisition by Emburse the following year.

Commercial momentum…

Improved positioning, pricing, and sales discipline increased win rates and accelerated deal flow.

Revenue acceleration…

Stronger sales execution and larger deal sizes drove 152% revenue growth and major enterprise wins.

“Bruce came in and quickly determined how we could sell more and quicker. The result was two times the orders in the first year than we won in the previous three years. Bruce was instrumental in our successful PE acquisition the following year.”

- Brian Beard President & Founder, DVI