How Central Valley Ag Exports generated $3.5M in pipeline and secured their first cold outbound wins in 5 months
Company
Goal
Target Market
Central Valley Ag Exports (CVAE) is a California-based dry commodity packaging and export company founded in 2006. For nearly two decades, they operated successfully on referrals, relationships, and inbound requests. Their customer base was steady, but leadership recognized that relying solely on word-of-mouth was a risk to future growth.
With a lean team—two team members handling sales alongside broader operational responsibilities—CVAE lacked the resources and internal infrastructure to run modern growth initiatives. They had no centralized system for managing pipeline and no automated way to generate demand.
The Challenge
CVAE wanted to expand into new markets and secure net-new accounts, but had no dedicated GTM personnel, no CRM system, and no repeatable way to attract, track, or convert prospects.
Strategy & Approach
CVAE partnered with ATQLeads through the ATQ Squad model. We deployed a cross-functional team (GTM Strategist, GTM Engineer, Digital Marketing Specialist) to build a complete growth engine from scratch.
1. Strategy & Foundation
We conducted a full market and ICP analysis to understand the opportunity landscape. We segmented the strategy by customer type (distributors, brokers, exporters, wholesalers) and designed a multi-channel outbound strategy aligned with their specific buying behaviors.
2. Growth System Deployment
Zoho One Implementation
Built a unified revenue system using Zoho CRM, including automation, email sequences, and data tracking.
Automated Nurturing
Implemented workflows to manage prospects from first touch to closed deal automatically.
3. Lead Acquisition & Pipeline
Launched outbound marketing workflows across Email + LinkedIn
Built campaign sequences with automated reminders and content touches
Coordinated phone, email, and LinkedIn outreach to drive meetings
Deployed a lead nurturing engine to improve follow-up consistency
4. Marketing & Events
We rebuilt marketing assets and managed their conference strategy—booking meetings in advance, designing the booth, and managing post-event follow-up sequences to maximize ROI.
Results & Impact
In just five months, CVAE went from having no modern GTM infrastructure to running a fully operational and intelligent growth engine.
Key Achievements
🟧 +8 qualified outbound leads per month on average
🟧 Leadership and sales team now work from a shared system instead of scattered tools
🟧 Real analytics & reporting to guide strategy based on data
The Takeaway
CVAE transformed a legacy, relationship-based sales model into a modern, predictable revenue engine. By bringing in ATQLeads, they gained the capabilities of a full growth team from strategy, and systems to execution, without the overhead, risk, or delay of hiring internally.
