Like every other software company, LiveAgent started off to solve a prominent issue, to fill in as a good ticketing system for a company. They say “we couldn’t find a help desk software with all the amenities, so we built our own.” With utmost satisfaction from the software, the decision to source it out to help other customers gave birth to LiveAgent.
SupportCenter, the first version of LiveAgent was started in 2007. In December 2010, the first release of current LiveAgent Multi-channel helpdesk was launched by co-founders Andrej Harsani and Viktor Zeman. It immediately proved to be successful and received great reviews from the customers.
Let’s hear more about how live agent succeeded in the long run in this Interview;
Q1) What according to you are the four pillars on which LiveAgent stands upon?
There is only one main pillar – we’ve built LiveAgent on great customer service. After all, how could we sell customer service software, if we didn’t provide an exemplary customer experience?
Q2) How did you hit upon the idea for your Company?
The company started with a completely different product – an affiliate management software called Post Affiliate Pro. After the customer base started growing, the demand for better customer service increased. At that time, we tested multiple solutions available on the market, from which none was sufficient. That’s when we decided to build our own help desk software, and that’s how LiveAgent was born.
Q3) Who do you consider your biggest Competitor and how do you differentiate yourself from them?
Our biggest competitor is Freshdesk, but we feel confident if we put LiveAgent against it. The confidence comes from our customers, from which hundreds switched from Freshdesk to LiveAgent and described this step as a big progress for them. I’m a bit biased when it comes to comparing the two apps, but if you look at the testimonials on LiveAgent’s website, you can see what our clients like or dislike about LiveAgent. There are also independent review platforms for business software, like Software Suggest where you might find insights and comparisons on the solutions.
Q4) How has sales evolved since you first got into the business? What hasn’t changed?
To be honest, we have never really done any outbound sales, nor we had a sales team. Our customers come either from word of mouth, a disappointment of their former solution or software directories. We’ve identified that there improvement options in our sales strategies and are planning to work on those in 2017
Q5) Would you rather be respected or feared?
Respected.
Q6) Think of something you’ve done in the past; what would you have done differently?
I would start building LiveAgent’s online reputation sooner. Before, we let it grow organically. Now we engage with our customers and suggest them, to sum up their experience with LiveAgent proactively.
Q7) How do you approach a decision where people disagree with you?
This varies based on the situation. When I’m totally confident about my decision, I trust it and proceed. When there is doubt, I look for a compromise. I always try to decide on what’s best for the company, but sometimes the decisions are unpopular.
Q8) What do you expect to see over the next 5 to 10 years in the Industry?
I’m expecting a saturation of the market. Potentially, disruption in the ways of including AI and robots.
Q9) What according to you are Do’s and don’t of B2B Prospecting?
Followup, followup, and followup. Don’t forget that B2B sales process is a long-run rather than immediate decision. Use all possible ways of communication to remind yourself to the potential customer. On the other hand, don’t spam your leads. Build and properly design a sales pipeline and stick to it.
Q10) What are your experiences with highs and lows at LiveAgent?
The hardest times I’ve experienced are those, when something is not working as it should I can’t do anything about it. Namely, working in IT, and being dependent on 3rd party server providers – there’s only as much that we can do to prevent an outage or DDoS attacks. On the other hand, I must congratulate our server team – they are doing a great job with online time as high as 99.99% for the last 6 months.
Q11) Lately, more and more Professionals are leaving their cushy and well-paid jobs to follow their passion. What’s your take on this?
Growing B2Bs is my passion so I have no desire to leave my position. As long as I see room for growth – and I see great potential – there is no point of looking elsewhere. I always make decisions and think of the company I work for as it was mine.
Lastly, We would be glad to have your valuable suggestion for the new age Entrepreneurs thriving in the industry today.
If you’re confident about your idea, don’t listen to my previous advice and go ahead and start something and follow your passion.
Chirantan Patel is the Product Manager at Softwaresuggest & Callhippo, an Inc. 275 company that researches and analyzes software to educate, advise, and connect buyers and sellers of business technology.
