How Accord Optimizes Freshworks’ Sales Execution & Multithreading

The Company 

Freshworks Inc. is a cloud-based software-as-a-service provider catering to mid-market and enterprise firms. The company specializes in service management and customer experience software, serving various Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 clients and helping them transform their businesses through these technologies.

A typical transaction for Freshworks ranges from $80,000 to $200,000 in revenue, with an average sales cycle of 4 to 6 weeks. Over the past nine years, the company has focused on going up-market and penetrating the enterprise space.

Shawn Hensley is the Regional Vice President of Enterprise Sales at Freshworks. He oversees the Northeast Enterprise segment and leads a team of Account Executives responsible for winning new logos for the business. Over the past 7 years, he has helped scale the North American GTM organization, growing the firm's revenue from $50 million to over $650 million in annual recurring revenue.

The Problem 

As Freshworks focused on going up-market, the company faced some resistance. “Going up-market to enterprises is not an easy endeavor,” says Shawn. “Sales cycles get elongated, stakeholders and teams grow, and there are a lot more moving parts to manage.” 

The primary challenge the sales team faced was the lack of executive connections with direct ties to the economic buyer. “The multi-threaded approach wasn’t there,” Shawn explains. “In enterprise today, you need to involve 6 or more people throughout the valuation.” 

Shawn’s team aimed to address 3 core issues: 

• Slipping timelines
• Insufficient executive-level connections
• Lack of multithreading

Shawn explains that his team was looking for a tool that could transform both the buyer and seller experience.  "When buyers approach companies like Freshworks, they often lack a streamlined process. Since they don't purchase software every day, it can be difficult for them to navigate. For our reps, having a clear, step-by-step negotiation and closing process that is easy to follow is essential.”

The Solution 

A few years ago, Shawn’s team launched an initiative to move up market and strategically reorganize the firm to improve efficiency and success in selling to enterprises. To achieve this, Freshworks’ GTM team adjusted some of the support roles for sellers and restructured field operations. “We deployed a team to drive larger opportunity sizes with shorter timelines,” Shawn recalls. “After running the experiment for a quarter, the three core issues I mentioned earlier continued to create roadblocks for our reps and hindered our ability to move upmarket. So, I took it upon myself to address these challenges. I partnered with a few of my peers, and we conducted experiments around mutual action plan (MAP) exercises.”

Shawn’s team formulated a MAP strategy and implemented it. Although they achieved what Shawn describes as “fairly successful” results, it was still challenging to generate enthusiasm among prospects. “We had to use Google Sheets, which was a one-way street. It didn’t work for us because our Google Drive is completely locked down, preventing us from sharing anything with customers. We’d present the MAPs during our calls and get feedback in real time, but it fell flat from there. It was helpful to a degree, but it wasn’t where it needed to be.”

Recognizing the need for a solution built around MAPs and deal execution, Shawn’s team began evaluating various tools.

“We piloted a few tools, including Outreach which we tested with users and customers. However, we found it wasn’t a true purpose-built solution. We weren’t confident it could get the job done and had questions about what adoption would look like if we went that route,” says Shawn.

The Accord pilot was different, making it easy for his team to move forward. “Our pilot results with Accord were incredible. We tested it with 30 users, saw the adoption, gathered feedback, and everything was positive. So when the pilot ended, we thought, ‘Why wouldn’t we go in this direction?’”

After moving forward with Accord, Shawn was pleasantly surprised by how quickly his team adopted the solution and how much it improved the buyer experience. “It has been incredibly helpful and collaborative. One thing we consistently hear from buyers using Accord is, ‘Thank you so much, this is very helpful,’” says Shawn. “The framework allows them to conduct a thorough evaluation and make informed decisions. We tell them, ‘We hope Freshworks is your vendor of choice, but regardless, let’s run this playbook together and get everyone is on the same page.’”

Why Freshworks rates Accord 10/10 

“We’ve seen tremendous results with Accord. After running the pilot late last year, we fully deployed it this year. In just three months, we’ve had nearly 200 Accords deployed. Last quarter alone, my team closed almost $600,000 worth of deals with Accords attached. It helps our sellers take a transaction from the top of the funnel to the bottom and secure the deal.”

Another key feature of Accord that Freshworks utilizes is the resources component. “Having a single source of truth where customers can find everything they need has been incredibly impactful for us. We've used this component for several strategic deals and proposals this quarter. By having all the necessary closing and other documentation readily accessible, the entire process has become more efficient.” 

Accord enables Freshworks to stick to its timelines, connect with the right people, and multithread efficiently. “Accord has simplified my life by providing a structured framework for my team. The biggest win for me has been focusing everyone on a clear framework and building from there,” says Shawn.

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