Pipedrive let its support team convert trial users instead of sales reps
Pipedrive did not use separate salespeople to close trials. Support staff answered trial users' questions and helped them onboard in a low-touch model. Co-founder Timo Rein calls support the company's conversion engine. The two founders had close to 100 very small customers when they approached accelerators, about five to six months in. The figure is approximate and self-reported, and the source does not tie it to support alone.
- Company
- Pipedrive
- Year
- 2010
- Outcome
- Mixed result
What they ran
Pipedrive started in an Estonian garage in 2010 with two co-founders. It did not hire a separate sales team to close trials. Support staff worked directly with people on trial. They answered questions and helped users get set up, including getting their data into the product. In this low-touch model, the support team did the selling. Less than a year in, Pipedrive began scaling that support team.
What happened
In Timo Rein's AMA on Relay, the co-founder says support was the company's conversion engine. When the founders approached accelerators, they had close to 100 customers, all very small. Accelerator interviewers noted they had reached 100 customers in five to six months. Pipedrive's company story page dates the start of the business to 2010.
What the account does not show
The customer count is approximate and comes from the co-founder's own recollection. The source gives no trial conversion rate and no baseline to compare against. It does not separate the effect of support from other drivers, so the 100 customers are not attributed to this move alone. It also gives no cost or headcount for the support team.
Questions
Can a support team replace sales reps for converting SaaS trials?
At Pipedrive, support staff handled trial users in a low-touch model and effectively became the salespeople. The co-founder calls them the conversion engine.
What did Pipedrive's support team do with trial users?
They answered trial users' questions and helped them onboard, including getting their data into the product.
How many customers did Pipedrive have early on?
Close to 100 very small customers, reached in about five to six months, by the co-founder's own account.
Sources
- I'm Timo Rein, co-founder and ex-CEO of Pipedrive. AMA!, Relay by Chargebee, 2021-06-23.
- Our Story | CRM Mission | History of CRM, Pipedrive.