Tessell: Building an enterprise prospecting engine with SalesPort

From mass sending to meaningful selling

Zeljko describes SalesPort as “an anti-mass-outreach tool.” With deep and relevant insights, there is no need to send thousands of generic emails. Each outreach can be focused on what truly matters. He shared a recent reply from a prospect at a major German bank:

“How do you even understand that we have this problem? Half of our team still hasn’t realized it.”

That is the difference between mass sending and meaningful selling. For anyone asking what sets SalesPort apart from other outreach tools, this is it: relevance at the core.

Quick wins at a glance

At the start, the team benchmarked their existing process against the new SalesPort workflow. Zeljko Dodlek, who leads DACH sales at Tessell, processed 40 target accounts in roughly 3 hours, while a colleague using the old manual process – Google, LinkedIn, static lists – got through 10 with lower accuracy. Early usage booked meetings in the first week and, by his estimate, returned about 3 hours per day that would have been spent on scattered research.

“From an eight‑hour day, I get about three hours back. That time goes into real opportunities instead of dead‑end research.”

The go-to-market context

Tessell is industry agnostic. Any enterprise running Oracle or another supported database is a potential fit, especially those moving workloads into the public cloud. Their ideal customer profile includes companies with at least two supported database technologies, 2,000+ employees and roughly €500M+ in annual revenue.

“We are market agnostic. If you have Oracle and want to operate it in the public cloud, we are relevant.”

The challenge before SalesPort

Research was slow and inconsistent. Teams bounced between Google, LinkedIn and static lists. Other sales tools surfaced people but not the true buying context, and many of those contacts were already saturated by mass outreach.

“Everyone is hitting the same people with copy‑paste messages. The noise is massive. You often get one real shot, so it has to be relevant.”

The hidden cost of wrong assumptions

Before SalesPort, it often took the team days to realise that a potential account was not the right fit. The old process meant spending a full day researching a large enterprise, building a list of more than 30 contacts, mapping roles, writing messages and starting outreach. In many cases it only became clear during the first sales calls that there was no real need, for example when the company had already decided not to move new workloads to Oracle. By that point, time had already been invested in research, outreach and forecasting for an account that would never convert. Without fast disqualification, entire days were spent on the wrong opportunities instead of focusing on those with real potential. SalesPort identifies these cases within minutes, allowing the team to move on before losing a week on an unqualified lead.

“SalesPort tells me fast whether to engage or to disqualify. Check fast, accept fast, or fail fast. That is what matters.”

Why SalesPort won

Previous tools pushed mass emailing but missed the core need: reaching the right people with a relevant approach, supported by reliable contact data. SalesPort did.

• Relevance at the core. AI Sales Researcher surfaces strategic directions and challenges so outreach speaks to what decision makers actually care about.

• Speed. Account mapping plus first outreach preparation now takes minutes per account, not hours. In a side‑by‑side test, 40 accounts were processed in roughly 3 hours vs. 10 using classic methods.

• Accuracy. Verified emails and direct phone numbers give multiple paths to contact the decision makers.

• Coverage. Filters by country, function and seniority reveal central IT, platform engineering and security stakeholders.

• Fail‑fast focus. Clear disqualifiers appear early, protecting time and avoiding dead ends.

• Workflow fit. Easy CSV export and smooth handoff to CRM. Email plus call motion moves targets toward meetings and POC faster.

Research and outreach in one motion

For Zeljko, the idea is simple. He uses the example of selling painkillers to explain it. Out of 100 people only one actually has a headache right now. SalesPort helps him spot that one person fast instead of guessing. He does not blast the same pitch to 50 random contacts and hope. He puts his time only into the contact who shows the real pain.

“SalesPort shows me who actually has the pain right now, and then I can focus fully on that one person, check what they post on LinkedIn and write a message that makes them feel fully understood.”

The 50-account test

Tessell split a list of 50 unresearched DACH targets. Zeljko ran SalesPort from the top, a colleague used classic tools from the bottom. After ~3 hours, SalesPort had covered 40 accounts with cleaner entry points and clear excludes; the manual track processed 10 with more uncertainty.

“I could already see entry points and who to exclude. The time savings were obvious and measurable.”

Turning signals into meetings

SalesPort supports a “quality over quantity” motion. Instead of contacting 50 people with generic copy, Zeljko narrows to the two who matter and invests in a precise approach. In the first week of this pattern he booked two meetings while peers booked none.

Event preparation at scale

Instead of reading annual reports and scrolling through blogs, Zeljko uses SalesPort to pull the key signals for each target before events. He goes in already knowing which pain matters to that company and can open with that. 

“People ask how I know their internal topics. It is simple. I synthesize the public signals with SalesPort and bring the essence to the right person.”

A practical weekly rhythm

Tessell uses SalesPort in focused bursts: run deep research for a few days, then switch to outreach and follow‑ups. When the outreach batch is exhausted, the next research patch begins.

“I do not need the tool every hour. I need it when I do deep research. Then I switch to action.”

Onboarding and internal advocacy

Getting started took one short walkthrough. Zeljko then showed the tool to colleagues and external peers, who responded positively.

“Implementation was super simple. I even shared it with a former colleague who plans to present it at their sales kickoff.”

Results

• Throughput: 4× more accounts processed in ~3 hours vs. classic methods (40 vs. 10).

• Time saved: ~3 hours per day reclaimed during research sprints.

• Meetings: Two meetings booked in the first week of targeted outreach.

• Quality: Early disqualifiers and better entry points reduce dead ends.

Scaling plans

Zeljko intends to propose SalesPort for the broader region in the next fiscal cycle, covering DACH, Benelux, UK and Nordics. The target footprint is about ten seats for sellers and inside sales.

“I am already a paying customer and plan to upgrade for more credits. As long as I work in sales, I will use SalesPort.”

The bottom line

SalesPort gave Tessell a repeatable enterprise prospecting engine. It aligns research with outreach, speeds qualification, reduces wasted cycles and helps teams talk to the right people with a relevant message.

“SalesPort covers a huge part of research and outreach so I can focus on timing and tone. That is the difference between noise and progress.”