DirectSens: Building direct sales from zero with SalesPort

“It saves us basically one employee. There would have to be another salesperson that does nothing else but just the research.”

Christoph Reiterich

Solutions Specialist and Senior Sales Manager

A technology company building direct sales

DirectSens develops and manufactures biosensors that measure specific substances in food and other products, using enzymes it engineers in house. It became known for LactoSens, a lactose biosensor technology used in dairy plants worldwide.

For over 10 years, a global distributor handled all sales. With new sensors for new markets, Christoph joined DirectSens to build that function. There was no CRM, no research tool and no sales team.

“The company is not a big sales company, it’s more or less a science company.”

When every lead needs a deep answer

DirectSens sells niche products. A company is only a lead if it makes what the sensor measures and can invest in the system. Hundreds of dairy alternative brands, for example, come from around 35 actual producers worldwide. Finding out who really makes a product is the first research task.

General AI tools did not close the gap. Christoph spent 2.5 hours with Copilot and ChatGPT just to collect around 780 Bavarian breweries into one Excel file. Qualifying them by size and by nonalcoholic beer failed after 10 to 30 companies at a time.

“And then all of these AIs break down. They just stop analyzing.”

For 200 companies with 5 in depth questions, he estimated 2 weeks to a month of work. Contacts were the second problem.

“Today, if you don’t have the right email address, you’re blocked. What I need is a name, a number, an email address that works.”

Why SalesPort worked

Christoph first used SalesPort at Kern Tec, where his colleague Felix introduced it. The team needed contacts for existing lead lists. Hunter.io was on the shortlist, but SalesPort worked from day one.

“It was reliable and fast and it just worked. So I stopped searching.”

At DirectSens, it was one of his first purchases. Christoph set up all DirectSens products in the platform, so the AI Sales Researcher checks each company against the questions that decide fit. His usage shifted from about 90% Contact Finder to an even split with the AI Sales Researcher.

Usage follows the sales cycle: up to 8 hours a day for weeks at the start of a campaign, then 3 to 4 weeks without it during demos and site visits. A large list of potential US distribution partners was researched with Account Intelligence within a few hours.

What changed

Christoph measures the impact in headcount. With 2 people in sales, the research DirectSens needs would not fit into the workday without SalesPort.

“It saves us basically one employee. There would have to be another salesperson that does nothing else but just the research.”

That is around 40 hours a week during research phases, which run 3 to 4 months a year. Based on an Austrian research salary of around €35,000 a year, the license pays for itself in about 1 month.

A pool of 800 leads typically narrows down to 20 to 30 companies with a real need, or 50 in a good case.

“My goal is to identify exactly those, and then the conversion rate is amazing.”

SalesPort played a role in virtually all recent direct sales opportunities, including the new US distribution partner.

Results at a glance

Workload of 1 full time researcher covered, around 40 hours a week during research phases.
Payback in about 1 month, based on research salary savings.
200 companies with 5 in depth questions: 2 weeks to a month of manual work.
800 leads narrowed to the 20 to 50 with a real need.
SalesPort involved in virtually all recent direct sales opportunities.

What’s next

With the ethanol biosensor for nonalcoholic beer, wine and cider, DirectSens is doing lead research from zero for the first time. Christoph plans to run lists like the Bavarian breweries through Account Intelligence and to build target lists with the upcoming Company Finder. Today, a 6 month campaign blocks the first 3 months for research and first contact. His goal is to cut that to 1 month.