MarTech Interview with Jason Jantz, CEO at Readymode

Welcome to this MarTech Series chat Jason, tell us more about Readymode’s story so far…we’d love the key highlights on your latest funding!

We started our company back in 2014, then known as Xencall, out of a need for a better way to improve call center efficiency and boost sales. We recently just rebranded as Readymode to represent the inflection point we’re at and to mark the next phase of our journey. In regards to funding, we raised $4m CAD as venture debt from Scotia Bank’s Technology and Innovation Banking arm. We’re going to be using these funds to hire more talented people, add features to our product, and help position us as the number one choice of predictive dialer for enterprise call centers.

How have you seen predictive dialers evolve over the last few years, what are some top thoughts that come to mind in terms of the future of this software and how you see their impact change the way call centers will function?

Agent efficiency and improving the bottom line is the main priority of any predictive dialer. Our own software has evolved over the years to become speedier when connecting agents to calls. Also, many businesses have taken advantage of our all in one capability; combining a CRM, flexible integrations, and a high speed dialer really sets us apart from our competition.

In regards to the future, compliance with regulatory bodies will be incredibly important. Just recently, a new act called “STIR/SHAKEN” was put into place to ensure the public isn’t being maliciously targeted by spammers. Software providers of communication tools need to make sure they help their clients stay on side with these new laws.

Can you talk about the top benefits of predictive cloud-based dialers for salespeople? And why according to you sales teams need to be investing in this kind of technology more?

The top benefit would be increasing the efficiency and profitability of your sales team. An idle salesperson is not a profitable sales person. A predictive dialer helps you quickly connect with your target market so you can scale your operations and increase revenue.

If you’re not investing in new technology and tools, you are falling behind. Sales tools are not a luxury, but a necessity in a very competitive industry. If you can’t provide the right tools to your sales team, they’ll find another employer who will. Sales talent is at a premium these days, so stay competitive.

As new martech entrants come up with exciting innovations in this space, and as marketing and sales teams get more spoilt for choice, what are some top tips they should be keeping in mind when choosing/implementing these and similar technologies as part of their martech and salestech stack?

Look for tools that have a proven track record of helping their users grow sales. Make sure you thoroughly understand the problem you are trying to solve so you can identify the right vendor. There is a lot of overlap between many martech tools, so choose something you can fully take advantage of. And make sure your team is fully on board and have team members accountable for the implementation and use of the software. There is nothing that upsets me more than paying for tools that no one uses. Also, find a vendor with great support and success teams. A software is only as good as the people that stand behind it and help you get a positive ROI.

A few thoughts on the future of martech and how martech innovations will further lead to change in marketing roles across the marketing hierarchy?

Marketing tools have become the great equalizer. Small companies with limited people power and budgets have access to tools that can help them compete with bigger players. You’re seeing smaller teams accomplish bigger results, so the efficiency of marketers has gone up. With AI on the horizon, and many tools already implementing early versions of it, we’re going to see this efficiency further improve. Marketers who want to stay relevant will have to keep up with change and the learning curve that comes with it.

A few martech tools you feel marketers today need to integrate into their overall tech stack and why?

Of course Readymode! Haha.

Make sure you automate anything you can, especially if you’re supporting a sales team. SalesLoft is a great tool that streamlines communication with prospects. Also, our team is a big fan of Chili Piper, which helps boost engagement and cuts down on time between lead submissions and conversations. Data and competitor analysis is always important, which is why you need a tool like SEMRush to give your team the insights they need to pivot their organic strategies.

Some last thoughts and takeaways for CEOs in tech to keep in mind through 2021?

The past 18 months have been a rollercoaster. The world has changed and will never go back to the “normal” we knew. Continue to stay agile and pivot to opportunities and challenges that come your way. And always take care of your people; if you do, they’ll take care of you. In software, there is no other input, just the quality of your team and the passion they bring to help you accomplish your mission.