As companies brace for a slowing international economic system, they’re looking for avenues to streamline budgets, together with trimming their SaaS bills. Gross sales tech, specifically, is understood for being fragmented with an array of extremely specialised options. That’s why Yi Shi began FlashIntel with an formidable purpose: supply an all-in-one gross sales platform to consolidate the gross sales tech stack.
“As an alternative of shopping for 5 licenses, you may simply solely want one now,” Shi informed TechCrunch in an interview. By decreasing the variety of gross sales options, companies save on not solely software program however coaching prices as a result of they’ve fewer tech platforms to introduce to their employees.
FlashIntel claims to assist the end-to-end gross sales cycle — from lead intelligence, gross sales engagement, electronic mail verification, mailbox warmup, to auto-dialing. Such an built-in platform that may probably substitute functionalities of the likes of ZoomInfo and Salesforce sounds too good to be true, however some traders are satisfied.
FlashIntel lately closed a $10 million seed funding spherical from traders together with Celtic Home Enterprise Companions, Uphonest Capital, Hat-Trick Capital. Based solely final 12 months, the startup now employs round 100 individuals — fairly an enormous headcount contemplating its “five-digit” registered consumer base and “three-digit” paid clients.
As a fourth-time founder who’s taken one firm public in China, grown one other to unicorn valuation and bought the final one, Shi is assured in FlashIntel’s all-inclusive, modular method. A key differentiator of the platform, in keeping with Shi, is its auto-dialer which might allow a salesman to make 400-500 calls a day, ten occasions greater than conventional dialers in keeping with Shi.
For the reason that connection charge is nearly 5-7%, it means an individual utilizing FlashIntel may have one reside dialog each 20 calls they make. Gross sales calls are mainly a quantity recreation, stated the founder.
The “key to doing software program gross sales is what number of reside conversations a salesman can have with potential clients,” he added.
The opposite core power of FlashIntel is what Shi calls “intent-based promoting.” The platform tracks potential clients’ procurement intent by way of indicators like recruitment updates, an internet site’s altering tech stack, and content material an organization posts and matters it discusses on social media. When a shopper exhibits an intent of shopping for new software program, FlashIntel then tells the seller to method them.
FlashIntel doesn’t purpose to construct every thing itself and has built-in with different main CRM by way of their APIs, which customers will pay for individually.
“Each trade goes by way of a cycle the place “lengthy union should result in separation and lengthy separation should result in a reunion,” stated Shi. “In the end, there must be a wholesome steadiness. For example, to what extent ought to one undertake the “multi functional” method?”
With groups within the U.S., Canada, India and Malaysia, FlashIntel has lately appointed a former Salesforce and ZoomInfo govt as its vp of gross sales.
Apart from saving prices, FlashIntel additionally desires to assist increase clients’ revenues. To that finish, Shi, a solo founder, turned his entrepreneurial experiences into finest practices as a part of the startup’s consulting service for enterprises.