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Acquirent Rings the Bell for Sales
Chicago Sun Times, April 2007
By Sandra Guy
Evanston-based company's free-lance team feeds on the excitement of executing for clients
Acquirent can't get enough cow bell. Salespeople ring a bell outside of the CEO's office every time they win an account at the Evanston-based outsourced sales company. It's part of Acquirent's noticeable effort to create a culture where salespeople feel inspired, appreciated and driven, as evidenced by the bell, motivational quotes and a pantry stocked with free food and beverages.
The executives also look for people with a predisposition to sell.
"We hire, recruit and retain people who have the sales DNA," said Joseph Flanagan, the chairman who lends expertise from having built his insurance agency, J.P. Flanagan Corp., into one of Chicago's 25 largest before he sold it to HUB International in June 2001. The result is an employee turnover rate of less than 10 percent in the last two years.
Who would hire an outsourced sales team?
Companies need salespeople for different reasons, and that's where Acquirent sees its strength.
"In some cases, we'll supplement a company's internal sales force. In others, we will be the sales arm, using a client's e-mail, phone and other identification so no one knows we are the middleman," said Pete Kadens, 29, founder and CEO.
Acquirent uses technology to let clients keep tabs on the sales force, and Acquirent monitors its employees internally. Clients log on to a Web-based system to see how the sales team is performing. Acquirent uses its own Web-based portal to see in real time how many phone calls its sales people have made or how long they've spent on a phone call, depending on the goal they're trying to reach. Salespeople also spend time out of the office making Web-based sales presentations.
Acquirent uses a Voice over Internet Protocol telephone system that converts a person's voice into a digital signal that travels over the Internet, and requires that its sales staff work from the office.
The company has grown to 35 full-time employees from four at its start three years ago. Kadens expects revenues of $2.5 million this year, nearly double last year's $1.3 million.
Acquirent won an important ranking this year as the No. 1 sales and business development outsourcing company in the Black Book of Outsourcing, which ranks outsourcing companies on 18 criteria such as innovation, training, client relationships and excellence of delivery.
Acquirent ranked lower than rivals in training programs and in breadth of offerings and delivery performance, but came out on top in overall performance, trust and providing customized services. Its top rivals are Cydcor, Mansell Group, MarketSource, Sales Focus and SalesOverdrive/SalesLogic.
Kadens said he is more obsessed with being "insanely driven to execute for our clients" than he is with polls or surveys.
Kadens is writing a book about his experience starting the company with $25,000 in savings. He believes a company founder should put his own money on the line so he or she has no "out."
Constellation NewEnergy, a retail electricity company that competes with ComEd, used Acquirent to supplement its sales force when demand doubled in one year.
"Acquirent got up to speed on our business quickly and focused on customer service," said Mark Harada, regional director of business development for Constellation NewEnergy.
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