Zefort is a Finnish software and SaaS company that provides modern contract management solutions, leveraging artificial intelligence and automation.
Niklas Hakalax, Chief Partnership Officer and Partner, has been building the company's rapid growth and customer acquisition. Annual Recurring Revenue has grown 20x over the last six years.
When talking about growth, Niklas is pretty straightforward what matters the most.
- Volume and quality. When your growth pace is fast, the pipeline needs to be filled with high-quality conversations with potential customers. In a growth company, you need a full calendar, Niklas states.
Finnish market gave Zefort a solid foundation and strong customer base, but the next step was to seek international growth. The strategy was clear: build an in-house SDR team and find a partner to support building the international pipeline.
“In a growth company, you need a full calendar.”
A recommendation brought Zefort and The Nordic Group together.
- One of our team members had previously collaborated with The Nordic Group in an international environment. And the results were impressive, Niklas says.
Zefort has a very clear understanding of their ideal customer profile — what kind of companies and decision-makers they want to engage with. The Nordic Group was tasked to secure high-quality conversations with the right people.
Over the years, Zefort has used other partners to support sales, but according to Niklas, The Nordic Group stands out from the crowd.
- They did an extremely thorough groundwork right from the start. They familiarized themselves with our ICP profile, the industry, and our product. In other words, they operate in the same way our own team members do, and can already have deep conversations with the prospects. When the groundwork is done and we have high-quality conversation notes, we can spend less time assessing the customer need, Niklas explains.
Previously, Zefort worked with local outreach operators in the Nordics and Benelux, but Nordic Group is currently the only partner doing international prospecting.
- We can definitely see the difference. The numbers are higher and the conversations are high quality, Niklas says.
When entering a new market, conversations with potential customers help to understand market characteristics and validate both the ideal customer profile and messaging.
- The quality of the work is extremely high. And, it has reinforced our own understanding of the product, the customer profile, and messaging. Now we can just look at the data and see what works, what doesn't, and who our competitors are. This is a very tangible benefit for us and directly supports our marketing communications, Niklas states.
Zefort's internal SDR team has grown, but it hasn't affected the partnership.
- The Nordic Group is like an extension of our own team. I think this is a powerful combo for international prospecting, Niklas says.
What kind of companies should be thinking about an outreach partner for international prospecting? Niklas recommends The Nordic Group to growth companies that have a clear understanding of their ICP profile.
Finally, he sums up the partnership in just a few words:
- Efficient, flexible, and results-driven.
