Boston-based Spiro has the answer to all that boring and soul-sucking enterprise software out there for salespeople: a personal sales assistant app that aims to make salespeople more money by hurling dirty language at them and, in general, making them laugh.
Backed by Facebook executive Vijay Balan, the startup recently launched its namesake app, which combines machine learning and humor to provide salespeople with data-driven recommendations on when to follow up with the right prospects to close deals. During a beta period earlier this year with salespeople at 200 different companies, the startup said it was able to improve sales win rates for salespeople by 11 percent, with the average deal size increasing by 18 percent at the same time. The startup advertises on its website that salespeople at LinkedIn, Paychex and Mobiquity, among other companies, have used the app.
When Spiro launched last month, the startup also announced that it had raised a $1.5 million seed round from Balan, head of global publisher development of Facebook; Rob Wadsworth, managing director of HarbourVest Partners; Tom Tucker, former CEO of Akibia; Christopher Lochhead, co-founding partner of Play Bigger Advisors; and Omar Hussain, CEO of Imprivata. The startup works out of 745 Atlantic Ave., where WeWork South Station is located.
The free app—which is only available on iPhone for now—works by connecting into a salesperson's Salesforce, calendar and email and learning how the salesperson is communicating with his or her different prospects. It then notifies the salesperson when to reach out to those prospects and automatically records every action. Once an action is completed, the app will show an image from a public Instagram feed of your choice."If it notices you're calling one contact more than others, it notes that person is probably more important to you, but then it encourages you to call the other people too," Adam Honig, co-founder and CEO of Spiro, said. He said salespeople sometimes get too comfortable talking with just a few contacts when, in reality, they need to be talking to more people from each company because it ultimately builds more support for the closing of a deal.
The startup plans to start making money next year, Honig said, with the release of a paid team version that hooks into the data of an entire sales team and makes recommendations based on the collective actions of every team member."It’s Waze for salespeople," Honig said. "There are many different paths to close the deal but based on the data, here’s the best path for that."
So here's where the humor comes in: the app lets salespeople choose from a variety of personalities, such as "Surfer Dude,""R-Rated" and "Jewish Mother," with each personality providing its own set of dialogue to remind salespeople about when to contact prospects. The app currently has more than 2,500 jokes, and the startup employs a comedy writer to write them.
The Surfer Dude, for instance, could say, "Mike, would be totally stoked if you called him" while the R-Rated personality may say "Maybe today is your lucky f-in day and Mike won't let it go through to voicemail." There's even one time when the R-Rated personality actually drops an f-bomb: "Recommend the machine f*****g awesomeness of Spiro and get a coffee gift card," the app will say at some point."I think (humor’s) really critical for salespeople who are dealing with rejection all the time."[/pullquote]
This week, Spiro was expected to roll out a new "Drunk Santa" personality, and I had to be honest when I spoke with Honig: two of Drunk Santa's jokes that were provided to me in advance of the interview felt like they crossed the line—and I consider myself a fan of irreverent humor. One of the jokes in question was "Call before I shove this candy cane up your ass," and the other was "Send an email. It's as easy as Mrs. Claus after two mulled wines. Start with one to ."
In response to my concerns, Honig had a few things to say: For one, he said, the company does review all of the jokes and modify changes "based on what we're seeing in the behavior." While Drunk Santa was in beta, he said, he hadn't heard any negative feedback about any of the jokes. He added that Spiro isn't the "most politically correct."
Beyond that, Honig said salespeople "have a pretty thick skin" and because they're dealing with rejection on a daily basis, a little humor can go a long way for them. He said he wouldn't include these kinds of jokes in an app made for everyone."Humor in the app—it’s not just nice to have," Honig said. "I think it’s really critical for salespeople who are dealing with rejection all the time."
Editor's note: Updated story with explanation of how the startup plans to make money. Also clarified that Spiro is only available on the iPhone right now.
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