What was the sales challenge?

According to Ciara Lucy, Director of Marketing Programmes for EMEA and India, finding smarter ways to map accounts, and identify and interact with leads was a key priority for PGi’s sales teams.

“The lightbulb moment was our Sales Kick-off back in 2012 when two of our guys stood up and presented about the clever ways they were using LinkedIn and the amazing effect this was having on their blueprinting,” she says. “It was clear that we had to build on this – and that's where the investment in Sales Navigator came in.”

Ciara started by investing in 14 Sales Navigator licenses, shared amongst her acquisition-focused ‘hunter’ sales reps. By June 2014, this had grown to 26 and by September it was up to 60, covering over half the sales team. With strong demand from the remaining sales reps, this rate of growth seems set to continue.

Who are the target audience

PGI targets a varied and sometimes wide-ranging IT buying committee. This can include CMOs, CTOs and VPs, but also influencers at all levels of seniority and across a range of departments. Identifying the most influential decision-makers for each potential customer is a key requirement.

Who about the results?

Sales Navigator’s increasingly central role for PGi has been driven at every stage by compelling results: accelerated sales cycles, wide-ranging new opportunities, prospects unearthed, key accounts saved and an investment that has paid for itself 22 times over.

Sales rep Harry Wade used Sales Navigator’s Advanced Search feature to follow his instincts and prospect for opportunities amongst a customer segment he could see was active and open on LinkedIn. “It turned into one of the biggest deals of the summer and that has made an absolutely huge difference to my year,” says Harry

Plenty of other colleagues have similar stories to tell, including a deal worth more than $65,000 directly attributable to LinkedIn. And Sales Navigator’s contribution hasn’t been limited to acquisition. When £100K in monthly revenues came under threat after a client switched responsibility for online meetings from one region to another, Advanced Search and TeamLink helped identify the new decision-maker. The account manager was able to make contact using InMail Messages, and secured the on-going business.

Among the key numbers delivered by Sales Navigator are:

About PGI

PGi has been bringing people together to collaborate and innovate for more than 20 years. The company’s cloud-based solutions offer a simpler approach to conferencing, with scalable solutions for businesses of all sizes, and a range of value-adding services including operator-assisted calls and webcasts.