Automated marketing and customer relationship management (CRM) platform developer LeadMaster announced that it would continue self-finance product development and sales channel expansion while deferring venture capital investment. The Roswell, Georgia-based company attributed its decision to restrictions placed on other software developers by their venture capital investors. The company noted that most CRM developers financed through venture capital insisted on customer contracts with one or two year terms, which LeadMaster considers to be contrary to the cloud computing business model.
"The venture capitalists are looking for a very high rate of return on their money. We believe accepting venture capital can translate into higher prices to both existing customers and new clients. Once a company accepts venture capital they begin marching to the tune of their new owners, the venture capitalists,” Andy Brownell, LeadMaster CMO, commented in a company statement. “We are not saying that there is not a place for outside financing, however it needs to happen when that cash infusion can be properly leveraged. Right now LeadMaster has solid cash flow, allowing for increased investments in research and development and keeping our monthly services priced lower than the competition.”
Currently, LeadMaster CRM platforms offer marketing automation, email marketing, call center management and workflow automation as standard features. Influence from venture capital investors might constrain the company’s ability to offer these features on terms it considers reasonable for customers. "It's sort of the Apple Computer vs. the Microsoft (News - Alert) model. Apple creates a seamless solution whereas Microsoft just creates the OS. While the latter model may offer flexibility, all the pieces and parts of a complete solution don't always work well together,” Brownell observed in the statement.
The company noted that it is currently completing a new graphical user interface for its software to facilitate greater ease of use. The new interface is currently undergoing customer testing and is expected to be released soon. LeadMaster applications offer on-demand customizable Software as a Service (SaaS (News - Alert)) solutions that integrate sales lead management software, lead tracking solutions, sales force automation tools (SFA), customer relationship management features (Sales CRM), LeadMaster Voice solutions and virtual call center solutions. These applications are in use by many Fortune 1000 companies, according to the statement. LeadMaster’s sales lead management CRM solution permits users to qualify and convert leads from virtually any source -- landing page, call center, webinar, sales lead suppliers and more. Additionally, LeadMaster produces a sales lead management CRM featuring workflow automation, round-robin lead distribution, mobile access, CRM analytics and Outlook integration.
Edited by Rich Steeves