Thanks for the update on the information. I know that Kaleidico has been an early mover of the pull methodology.

As far as silos, I did not attempt to say that companies should not ‘focus’. However, companies can focus on a specific niche or industry and continue to innovate with learnings from outside that specific space, or silo. But, I agree that, as start-ups, you can only implement so much of what is proven in other markets, especially if it takes time and resources to prove it within one’s own market.

Thanks for the comments,
Atul

Thanks
Marita

My updates were basically because I am about to publish a book about business and alliance management and wanted to straighten a few things out.

Any way, I agree with you in full: Lead and opportunity management is a industry specific niche. It is a painful process of totally underestimated complexity. The process from a raw lead to a closed deal is as individual as the company that processes those opportunities. If it goes through channels of brokers, dealers, resellers the complexity grows even further. Together with a few other business executives we developed a very different view on opportunity management which I will describe in the book.

Axel

I enjoyed your well researched and thought out post on the relatively young lead management space. However, I would like to add a couple of my own perspectives to the discussion:

1. Kaleidico was actually incorporated in 2003 and the early concepts of pull-based sales management are documented in my notebooks as early as 2000, with critical components of the technology reaching the market between late 2005 and early 2006. In fact, you got to witness some of it personally at Countrywide, a client at the time.

2. The coincidence of several similar innovations in “pull” for sales are closely tied to the popular discussions around pull-based marketing techniques arriving in 2000-2001.

3. We shouldn’t confuse focus with silos. Rarely does a start-up have the capital and resources to attack the whole market. Consequently, the fact that bootstrapped, self-funded, resource constrained start-ups choose to focus on a familar and rapidly growing market (mortgage 2000-2006) is not putting on blinders, it is smart business.

Overall, I think we are looking at the broader opportunity and focusing on achievable, iterative, execution.