There are not only exits. Sometimes startups merge, indeed they ally. Sellf, the Italian startup founded in 2013 within H-Farm and specialized in mobile solutions to support sales networks, has integrated with ForceManager, Spanish scale up, among the most significant players in this sector.
The integration of Sellf’s teams and product features will enable ForceManager to expand the services it offers to a combined portfolio of more than 1,600 enterprises and SMB customers, delivering an improved technological experience that could transform smartphones into the intelligent sales assistants of the future.
Key to this acquisition will be the integration of Sellf’s gamification for field sales platform, which will be combined with ForceManager’s AI programming (powered by IBM Watson) to motivate sales teams in a more competitive way.
The result is an intelligent personal assistant, which helps field salespeople face the challenges of selling to clients and reporting from outside the office.
CEO and co-founder of ForceManager, Oscar Macia, said: “We are thrilled to announce that we are joining forces with Sellf and its thousands of users across Europe to create a revolutionary product by combining our AI technology with their gamification model.
“This is a major milestone for ForceManager and will mean that we can, ultimately, offer our clients across the U.K. and worldwide the best technology to digitise sales operations in the field.”
The acquisition means ForceManager could expand the services it offers to its portfolio of more than 1,600 clients, of which 52 are currently based in the UK, including Vauxhall, Zapper UK, TrustFord and Electrolux Major.
Diego Pizzocaro, CEO and founder of Sellf and soon-to-be managing director of ForceManager in Italy, added: “This announcement signifies an improvement in our immediate product, growth of our team and client base and increased international presence…
“But also how – in the long term – we can stay at the forefront of technological advances and mobile consumption trends to provide the industry with a high-quality service.”
The acquisition of Sellf follows the launch of ForceManager Cognitive, a new intelligent voice recognition feature (powered by IBM Watson) designed to help salespeople on the road.
It is responsive to colloquial language and is able to provide proactive suggestions, optimise daily planning and set important reminders before visits to clients.
Following the acquisition, ForceManager now employs over 150 people and brings together its client base made up primarily of larger companies, with the smaller and medium-sized companies of Sellf, to target the mobile CRM market in Europe.
In total, ForceManager now also spans a total of 36 markets, including Europe and Asia.