20 Things You Didn’t Know about LeadSquared
LeadSquared is an Indian sales execution and marketing automation platform for businesses of all sizes. The platform allows companies to track, nurture and manage their leads. It serves clients in industries like education, e-commerce, finance, real estate, marketing, health, etc. Some of the services offered by the platform include lead scoring, marketing and sales insights, and landing pages. You can integrate this software with other applications like LiveChat, Zopim, Super-Receptionist, and Ozonetel. Coding is complex for some people. As a result, such people may not use this platform. However, to use this software, you do not need advanced coding skills to use it. According to Software Advice, it has a rating of 5/5 based on ease of use. For instance, you can easily create a landing page despite not having any experience. Now that we know what LeadSquared does, we will talk a bit more about the platform, and things you may not have known about it.
1. It Became a Unicorn in 2022
A unicorn refers to a startup company that reaches a valuation of $1 billion without appearing on the stock market. The company was able to raise $153 million in a Series C funding round. This amount was valued at $1 billion (post-money). WestBridge Capital led the round, while existing backers like Gaja Capital took part in the event. LeadSquared promised to use the funds to double down on growth investments in India and North America and add new offerings to its product portfolio.
2. The LeadSquared Co-founders Had Also Co-founded Another Company
LeadSquared was co-founded by Nilesh Patel, Prashant Singh, and Sudhakar Gorti in 2011. All the co-founders were involved in co-founding Proteans. Proteans is an organization that outsources its services to internet firms, SaaS companies, and technology companies. Symphony Teleca Corporation later acquired the company in 2010. According to The Economic Times, the acquisition was to bolster offerings, particularly in Product Lifecycle Management and Total Quality for Symphony.
3. LeadSquared Was Created to Address Certain Overlooked Aspects in the Market
The co-founders realized that the market was mostly full of horizontal CRMs that would only track sales representatives. So, they felt the market failed to consider factors like empowerment of sales representatives and ways of driving sales productivity. Such businesses end up using horizontal, inflexible sales solutions and customizing them so that they work. Consequently, it led to a high total cost of ownership and high implementation timelines. The idea of LeadSquared was therefore borne from their realization of the market situations.
4. It Launched a Student Admission Portal for Educational Institutions in 2021
The portal covers the entire applicant journey, from inquiry to enrolment. As a result, the schools can manage admissions in a paperless way. The student will therefore be able to complete the admission processes online without queueing for such services. Over 50 institutions signed up to use it when it was first launched. Currently, over 400 universities use the portal. According to India Education Dictionary, the portal has received successful reception in national and international institutes like Stratford University, BML Munjal University, Eastwick College, etc.
5. The Company Hired 100 Sales Executives Through the ‘Rainmaker’ Challenge in 2021
LeadSquared carried out this recruitment process with Mettl. The company chose this recruitment technique to hire sales executives who could think unconventionally, make quick decisions, work collaboratively and take risks. The challenge consisted of two rounds. In the first round, the candidates were tested on their work orientation, personal attributes, and interpersonal skills. After completing the first round, the candidates were tested on their English skills in the second round. After the challenge, the top 50 candidates were awarded prizes.
6. LeadSquared Introduced Ace to Improve Sales Using Gamification in 2022
Ace is a sales performance management suite that enhances sales performance by employing analytical and psychological tactics. The first part of the Ace suite that was released was Goals. Goals enable sales leaders to set clear objectives and minimize manual efforts for all sales functions. It is equipped with a superior data engine and scalable architecture. Goals can be set on any relevant metrics like Calls Done, Lead Generation, Revenue Generated, and many more.
7. It Partnered With CM.com in 2022
CM.com is a cloud software offering firm that helps businesses implement payment solutions and connect with clients through various voice and text messaging channels. The purpose of the partnership was to help businesses use omnichannel engagement efficiently to increase retention and scale as they grow. Both partners realized how the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic forced customers into the digital space. As a result, they saw it as an opportunity to interact with clients online.
8. It Bagged the Deloitte Technology Fast50 Award in 2019
By 2019, the company had bagged this award for the fifth time. The award acknowledges a company’s commitment to technology and its growth rate. According to Business Standard, the company grew by 192.8% within a span of three years. Nilesh attributed the company’s growth to its technology and team.
9. It Partnered With Godrej Housing Finance in 2021
Godrej Housing Finance was launched in 2020 as a financial arm of Godrej Group. The company teamed up with LeadSquared to further enhance customer engagement by understanding their needs and optimizing its digital infrastructure. This partnership was established right after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic altered consumer engagements, so Godrej Housing Finance understood that their style of engaging with them had to evolve.
10. LeadSquared Extended Its Partnership With BYJU in 2021 by Six Years
BYJU is an Indian EdTech company that makes high-quality learning accessible to students globally. The partnership was meant to help BYJU manage several operations, from acquiring new students, getting an overview of the sales operations to building pro-active call center teams. EdTech has bloomed in India, so BYJU knew it had to devise tactics to survive in the EdTech world. Therefore, the partnership was to help BYJU cater to the evolving needs of 21st-century learners.
11. It Received Series A Funding in 2019
The company raised $3 million in this event spearheaded by Stakeboat Capital. An investor named Jyoti Bansal joined the funding round. Jyoti had an app performance manager called AppDynamics, which he eventually sold to Cisco Systems Inc. for $3.7 billion in 2017. He invested an undisclosed amount in LeadSquared. Nilesh said he would use the funds to expand operations and acquire customers globally. LeadSquared received interest from the American, Middle Eastern, and Southeast Asian markets, so the company decided to focus its operations in those regions.
12. It Received Series B Funding in 2020
During this round of funding, LeadSquared raised $32 million. This funding round was led by Gaja Capital. The round was joined by investors, Stakeboat Capital, and Jyoti Bansal. LeadSquared said it would use the funds for product innovation, global expansion, and hiring more professionals.
13. LeadSquared Partnered With CollPoll in 2021
CollPoll is a Mobile-first Campus Automation Platform that enables educational institutions to streamline all academic and administrative operations online. The aim of the partnership was for LeadSquared to further CollPoll’s reach and serve institutions by digitizing its admission processes. Some methods that could help CollPoll achieve that were through application tracking, student journey tracking, automated student acquisition, and many more. LeadSquared integrated its CRM tool into CollPoll’s Digital Campus Suite for CollPoll to achieve its goals.
14. It Has Significantly Boosted Sales for Most Enterprises
In an interview with Entrepreneur India, Nilesh revealed that his software increased sales by 40%, increased closure rates by 20-30%, and achieved zero lead leakage. He acknowledged how competitive sales could be. For instance, if a sales representative fails to close a sale, the client will head elsewhere. Since the enterprise is likely competing with hundreds of enterprises like it, that would signify a loss for them. So, the software has greatly helped sales agents close sales more rapidly.
15. All Three Founders Worked With Several B2B and B2C Businesses
In order for the founders to start LeadSquared, they needed to first gain skills in marketing. They achieved this by working for different marketing companies. A concept they learned working for those companies was that the effectiveness of sales and marketing software systems should capture lead data automatically across all channels. So for marketing to be successful, engagement with leads and customers should be automated. Another concept they learned was the importance of web intelligence, and tracking leads for businesses that market and sell online. Lastly, they learned that systems should be easy for salespeople to use to boost sales.
16. It Opened an Office in the United States
The company opened its office in New Jersey in 2021. When the office was opened, it hired 50 employees. The employees would specifically help to expand business in North America by working across various verticals. LeadSquared opened their branch in the office because they felt North America would have the biggest revenue share of $200 million in the future. As a result, LeadSquared thought it should put its best foot forward by building talented teams in sales and marketing outside the United States.
17. Xanadu Joined Forces With LeadSquared in 2021
Xanadu is an Indian real estate business acceleration firm. The company collaborated with LeadSquared in hopes of digitizing its operations. Xanadu, therefore, hoped to grow its footprint in the market with technology as the central pillar for acceleration. Real estate is one of the fastest growing sectors in India, which means that Xanadu has to aggressively market itself successfully. According to Mordor Intelligence, real estate is poised to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 15% by 2027. Since the partnership, LeadSquared has supported Xanadu by providing customized and innovative solutions that have led to delivery orientation and increased process flexibility.
18. Dunzo Partnered With LeadSquared in 2020
Dunzo is a hyperlocal logistics company that provides a platform for offline and small businesses that helps them with e-commerce logistics and inventory management. Dunzo partnered with LeadSquared because the latter company had superior technology and onboarding software. The partnership aimed to help Dunzo efficiently conduct onboarding processes of new retailers and empower them with a broader reach of local delivery services. Through the partnership, small retailers could compete favorably with e-commerce giants.
19. LeadSquared Partnered With Pepper India Resolution
Despite the rise of the internet, some lenders and debt recovery agencies still employ traditional means of collecting and servicing debts. Pepper India Resolution decided to partner with LeadSquared to digitize the entire process. The company is a well-established global credit provider that operates in Asia, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. LeadSquared’s technology has helped its partner implement appropriate customer-centric collections strategies and manage call center operations. Therefore, Pepper India Resolution’s debt recovery process was optimized to ensure Pepper India Resolution appoints LeadSquared to digitize its debt recovery process.
20. Phoenix Business Was Able to Access Leads Faster With LeadSquared
Phoenix Business Advisory is an Australian Business Visa immigration consultancy in India. On average, the company deals with 500 inquiries daily from India, but it also has offices in Singapore and Dubai. To handle the volume of its leads, the company tried a basic CRM tool that was heavily sales-driven. However, the company quickly realized that the tool gave inaccurate data. That was when it partnered with LeadSquared. Phoenix was able to use LeadSquared’s technology to keep track of anything it needed. For instance, the company would receive leads from different social media platforms. Tracking all their leads from various platforms proved difficult, so the technology helped capture all the leads’ details in LeadSquare’s database. That meant the company could access leads faster and close deals within a short time.
Conclusion
There is much we can learn from LeadSquared. First, it is important to learn some skills before setting up your company. Had the founders set the company without prior knowledge, it would likely collapse. Also another tactic we can learn from the company is the importance of studying what the market needs. The founders discovered that clients were not closing as many sales as they could, so they set out to launch the application. Also, they realized that most people rely on the digital space to work, so they launched this app.