On the heels of Apollo.io's Series D raise — which earned it a $1.6B valuation — we examine what buyers think about sales intelligence tools like Apollo.io, Lusha, and Cognism.
A few weeks ago, B2B sales platform Apollo.io raised a $100M Series D at a $1.6B valuation — up 78% from its 2022 valuation.
Given that unicorn births have nearly stopped, this is a notable event especially as Apollo attacks publicly traded ZoomInfo.
And Apollo’s upward valuation trajectory runs counter to the trend we’ve seen across Series D+ valuations, which have compressed by upwards of 60% YoY.
We spoke with buyers of B2B data and sales intelligence to understand where Apollo’s winning — and where its weaknesses might lie.
Customers can learn more about Apollo and peers in our B2B contact database market report.
Here is what customers are saying about Apollo and its competitive peers including Lusha, RocketReach, and Cognism, among others.
The company’s focus on growth is a good thing in the eyes of some of its customers.
Apollo could catch ZoomInfo resting on its laurels
APOLLO.IO
I think that they [ZoomInfo] probably feel that they have a corner on the market and they’re comfortable with that. Apollo is not comfortable. Apollo wants to constantly evolve…Every quarter, you get an update about what they’re planning. — Enterprise Account Executive, Accounting & finance software platform
Read the full transcript here.
Apollo’s “slick UI” and constant updates keep it top of mind
APOLLO.IO
The price is attractive compared to other options, the data is accurate, and the product is constantly updated with new features and a slick UI…The fact that the product is always being updated with recommendations is especially important. — Founder, $10M+ funded testing platform
Read the full transcript here.
However, Apollo.io may be losing deals when it comes to sales contacts outside of North America. Several customers have told us this is where players can differentiate themselves in the saturated market.
LUSHA
This is a crowded industry with many databases available, and some stand out more for certain geographies than others. For example, Lusha wasn’t advised for North American audiences but was considered a better option for European needs. — Director, EU-based payments platform
Read the full transcript here.
ROCKETREACH
Other major alternatives like ZoomInfo, Apollo and Cognism were very North American and enterprise-focused, which doesn’t fit with our audience, predominantly located in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. — Director, EU-based payments platform
Read the full transcript here.
Regulation is also a concern. In Europe, for instance, complying with GDPR is an ever-present concern. UK-based Cognism has stood out by emphasizing its GDPR-compliant data.
COGNISM
We can be ensured that we are regulatory compliant in how we’re using the data as well. That’s what gives Cognism the difference compared to other organizations that we looked at. — Marketing Director, $1B+ market cap manufacturer
Read the full transcript here.
Compare sales intelligence & data enrichment solutions across win reasons, notable product features, and more with our Data Enrichment vendor scorecard.
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