How a Fast-Growing SaaS Built a High-Performing Marketing Team and Doubled Their Leads in Under 5 Months

Propensity is a SaaS company that delivers account-based marketing (ABM) solutions to B2B Growth Teams. The organization helps its customers reach their growth goals by helping them identify their top in-market accounts in real time. After a successful round of funding in July 2022, Propensity realized it needed to switch to growth and turned to Near to procure its marketing leadership.

Founded in 2017, Propensity is headquartered in Exeter, New Hampshire, and its staff increased by 25 percent in one year. The organization is quickly becoming known as an ABM solutions leader in its industry.

Summary

• Problem: Propensity, a SaaS B2B ABM platform, needed to switch to growth after a successful funding round, and struggled to find highly skilled US-based Marketing employees to lead this growth.
• Challenge: Finding top-tier marketing professionals in the ultra-competitive US talent market proved to be challenging. To make things worse, top marketing talent demand increasingly higher salaries and big tech firms and VC-backed unicorns have outsized hiring budgets.
• Roles hired: Head of Marketing, Product Marketing Manager.
• Why Propensity Chose Near: Propensity tapped into Near’s expertise to explore Latin American talent, drawn to Near's reputation for excellent support and insightful guidance. The decision to choose Near was further solidified by a strong recommendation from a happy Near client to Sumner, Propensity's founder.
• Solution: Near effectively bridged the talent gap, providing Propensity with highly motivated Latin American professionals ready to ignite growth, in similar time zones and demanding lower salaries. Propensity quickly discovered that the skill levels of their LatAm hires were four times higher than comparable US-based candidates.
• Results:
  • ‍By building their marketing team with top-tier LatAm talent, Propensity saves about 48% in payroll vs. hiring US-based individuals without sacrificing talent quality.
  • Propensity has improved its brand awareness and reputation.
  • In just two quarters, their newly hired marketing team increased lead generation by 100%.

Challenge

After several years of development, transitioning from a development-focused organization to a growth-centered company post-funding, Propensity was challenged to find highly skilled US professionals to drive this change. Propensity’s founder, Sumner, had an earlier experience with European talent that demonstrated the issues of time zone mismatches affecting collaboration.

Recruiting the right team members to drive growth and success was crucial for Propensity. The leadership knew that they needed to consider new options. Exploring talent from nearby Latin America was attractive as those candidates were located in time zones much closer to Propensity’s than their European counterparts, but the company didn't know where to start. 

The Problem (shortage of top marketing talent)

The hyper-competitive US talent market left few top-tier professionals available, making recruitment a significant hurdle. Many of these sought-after individuals demanded astronomical salaries. They were already securely settled in their jobs, making it even more challenging for Propensity to build the high-performing team it needed.

Why Propensity Chose Near

Near's unique proposition of connecting businesses with Latin American professionals presented an ideal solution to Propensity's challenges. These are some of the reasons Propensity decided to partner with Near:

• With Near's in-depth knowledge of the LatAm talent market and access to an exclusive pool of over 20k pre-vetted candidates, finding the perfect match for Propensity's growth-focused roles was set to be a swift process.
• The talent that Near presented was highly qualified, operated within convenient time zones, came equipped with US-based experience, exhibited a strong drive to work, and sought lower salary ranges than their US counterparts. 
• Near’s comprehensive and personalized experience gave Sumner an added level of trust. 

Solution

With the help of Near, Propensity was able to secure top-tier marketing professionals who not only fit the company's growth strategy, but also exceeded expectations in terms of skill and motivation. 

Their Head of Marketing:

• Holds an undergraduate degree in Marketing and has specialized in Digital Marketing Strategy by completing multiple accredited certifications.
• Has 20+ years of experience.
• Formerly held managerial, directorial, and executive positions at multiple global companies, such as Oracle and Thomson Reuters.

Moreover, Propensity’s new Product Marketing Manager:

• Has a Master's Degree in Marketing and a Growth Marketing mini degree.
• Has 8+ years of experience, specializing in LTV optimization, paid media, and website optimization.

The senior-level marketing candidates Near brought us had the experience and ambition we wanted. They were a great fit from day one.

Sumner Vanderhoof

CEO of Propensity

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Near provided access to highly skilled and motivated professionals that would have been difficult to find otherwise. With Near's help, Propensity was able to achieve its growth goals and continue to grow quarter over quarter.

These hires, with their impressive skills and ambition to succeed, played key roles in transitioning to growth-focus successfully.

Results & ROI

The results of building their marketing team with Near were astounding for Propensity. The company saw a significant boost in the overall skill level of its team.

• With Near's assistance in sourcing and hiring two senior marketing professionals, Propensity doubled their lead generation in just two quarters.
• Improved brand awareness and reputation as Propensity becomes a leader in the ABM solutions industry.
• Propensity built a high-performing marketing team while saving an estimated 48% per year in salaries.

Takeaways

Through Propensity's partnership with Near and their strategic recruitment of top Latin American talent, we can gain valuable insights into the transformative potential of global talent acquisition for US companies eager to scale up and build high-performing teams. Some key takeaways include:

• Affordability and Performance: By tapping into the Latin American talent pool, companies can access highly skilled professionals at a significantly reduced cost without compromising on quality and performance. Propensity's new hires from the region showcased exceptional skills and delivered remarkable quantifiable results.‍
• Enhanced Adaptability and Cultural Fit: Latin American professionals demonstrated their adaptability by seamlessly integrating into Propensity's culture, facilitating the startup's rapid growth. They were not only technically proficient but also culturally aligned, making them ideal candidates for building a cohesive, fast-paced team.
• ‍Resource Optimization with Near: By leveraging Near's expertise in recruiting from Latin America, US companies can overcome traditional hiring hurdles and optimize their resource allocation. Near's proven hiring processes and extensive regional knowledge make it possible for companies like Propensity to focus on their core operations while building an agile, high-performing team.

I consider Near a cheat code for our business for hiring. Near was a game-changer for our business hiring strategy. We reduced our burn rate and quadrupled our team skill level with marketing talent from LatAm.

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If you are a rapidly-growing, remote-friendly company that'd like to learn more about doubling lead generation with top Marketing talent, set up a free remote recruiting consultation.

To learn more about Propensity, visit Propensity's website.