Tag: Product Launch

RelSci Goes Freemium

Relationship Science (RelSci) from within the Salesforce AppExchange.
Relationship Science (RelSci) from within the Salesforce AppExchange.

Relationship Science (RelSci) rolled out a freemium offering for their social networking service this week.  A free edition provides ten profile views while the Professional edition is priced at $49.99 per month and supports contact synching, relationship finding, news alerts, power searching, and a mobile app.  The full feature set is shown on their pricing page.

While the professional edition does not yet support networking, the feature is in development for single users.

RelSci is designed for investors (e.g. PE, VC, Wealth Managers), fund raisers, and business development professionals.  It works best at companies where relationships are highly prized for reaching top executives, directors, and donors.  The firm marries your contact network with a database of 5 million “movers and shakers” across 1 1/2 million organizations.  The enterprise edition allows users to leverage the relationships across their firm, providing a powerful research and networking tool.

Along with standard company and executive profiles, you will find nonprofit board and association memberships, nonprofit and political donations, investments, and news alerts.  What you won’t find is emails and direct dial phone numbers.  The system is designed for introductions, not cold calling.

The product offers an elegant user interface combined with powerful prospecting tools.  Along with standard prospecting, there are screens which assist with trip planning, donor searching, and identifying potential investors.

So how does RelSci stack up vs. LinkedIn Sales Navigator?  A recent DiscoverOrg survey found that one quarter of top level executives are not LinkedIn members so RelSci has a distinct advantage there.  Furthermore, RelSci brings in intelligence not found within LinkedIn such as rich company profiles (LinkedIn’s are basically warmed over marketing materials from the website and Facebook), donations, and investments.

However, Sales Navigator offers InMail with recommended names to drop while RelSci forces users to request introductions through their network.  This could be a potential bottleneck at firms where the strongest networks go through top level execs and the firms’ rainmakers.

Also, if your focus is more directors and managers, you many not find sufficient depth within RelSci.  An ABM strategy could stall out due to lack of executive depth in RelSci.  For those companies, I’d recommend a full sales intelligence offering (e.g. Avention, Hoover’s, DiscoverOrg, RainKing) in conjunction with free LinkedIn.

RelSci offers powerful screening and visualization tools tied to an elegant user interface.  For professional networkers aiming at the upper echelons of companies and boards, RelSci is a superior option to LinkedIn.

Sparklane: Sales Triggers and Hidden Opportunities

The Sparklane Watchlist
The Sparklane Watchlist

I posted a blog yesterday on the Sparklane website discussing sales triggers as a tool for identifying new opportunities.  Triggers provide a mechanism for warming up cold calls with of-the-moment talking points.  Current triggers signal to prospects that you have conducted some research on the company and aren’t calling blindly into the firm.  They also help account reps stay abreast of what is happening at their key customers and prospects.  Sales Triggers are a key component of social selling and Account Based Marketing strategies.

Sparklane is a French Sales Intelligence solution which provides elements of predictive lead scoring around target companies.  They are readying to enter the UK market with an English language service in the coming weeks.  Their goal is to revisit the Battle of Hastings (1066) and “conquer the UK” (OK, I’m overstating their marketing claim, but there is nothing wrong with bold objectives).

Sparklane has had significant success in the French market with fifty percent annual growth since launching seven years ago.  Last year they posted five million euros  in revenue with a goal of eight million euros this year ($9 million).  Clients include Samsung, Oracle, Jaguar, Capgemini, and SAS.

We have entered into a new era. The era of smart data. Basic data has less and less value. Sparklane is the first player on this market to propose a true predictive lead scoring solution. Sparklane’s main benefit is to improve quickly the sales performance of its clients.

  • Sparklane CEO Frédéric PICHARD

Just last week, I blogged about Contify, an Indian social selling vendor, which is focusing on news + social awareness.  I have also recently written about Artesian Solutions which opened a Boston office and is rolling out a North American social selling offering.  Their Artesian Ready app is the most advanced sales intelligence mobile offering I’ve seen on the market.

It is wonderful to see the market continue to heat up with new competitors and approaches.  Competition catalyzes product development and helps goose innovation.  It focuses the mind of competitors and helps keep complacency at bay.  I look forward to seeing what ideas the French have around social selling when they launch their UK service in a few weeks.

Sparklane Lead Scoring
Sparklane Lead Scoring