"A key selling point was not only the company information on offer but also the enriched information about the decision-makers. This was invaluable and a no-brainer to us."
Wes Rashid, CEO of Accountancy Cloud
Accountancy Cloud is an award-winning London-based accounting firm on a mission to be the number one finance partner for startups. It provides online accounting, R&D credits and CFO services for businesses wanting to grow.
The organisation has overseen some of the fastest growing brands in the UK. On average its startups grow revenues by over 3x, are valued at over £500m, and it’s helped businesses exit to the likes of Facebook, Coinbase, and Just Eat.
We interviewed Wes Rashid, CEO of Accountancy Cloud about his experience using Cognism premium sales intelligence platform. On average, Accountancy Cloud books 8-10 meetings per month through Cognism’s premium B2B contact data, and has closed five deals in the first six months of using the platform.
What problem were you trying to solve with Cognism?
Previously, we heavily relied on valuable content, our network and referrals for new business. However, the more we scaled, the more we needed a predictable sales funnel. The main challenge is we didn’t have the technology to reach new customers. Cognism seemed like the perfect fit. A key selling point was not only the company information on offer but also the enriched information about the decision-makers. This was invaluable and a no-brainer to us.
How easy did you find the platform to use?
With the help of Cognism’s customer success team, I initially started creating personas and built out the content for the email sequences. Within just a few weeks of signing, we generated our campaigns and started sending targeted emails!
What ROI have you seen from the meetings you’ve booked?
Our average sales cycle ranges from thirty to forty days. We closed five deals in our first six months with Cognism, where the average annual contract value was between £4.5-10k. In addition to this, we’re speaking to three warm opportunities which are likely to turn into customers. The customers we’ve signed are also the perfect fit. Cognism massively helps us open doors to new opportunities and helps us sustain our reputation in the startup space.
What other benefits have you found from using Cognism?
Aside from the ROI, it’s definitely allowed us to have a standardised process for outbound sales which is really important. It means we can concentrate on one tool which is far more cost-effective than using a variety of different solutions.”
What result has made the greatest business impact?
The only metric we set out was to win enough sales to pay for Cognism. We have over-achieved this goal and we intend to continue investing in Cognism. It just proves that we can generate leads and close deals in a really efficient and affordable way.
Despite us only being at the start of our outbound journey, we can see clear progress in this area of sales. The data quality has helped us build a predictable pipeline. It’s really reassuring.
