Purplewire offers two different solutions for sales lead distribution: channelLEADS (the leads management module of channelSUITE), and LEADpiper.

Why are there two products, and how do I know which one is best for me?

Good questions!

channelSUITE is geared towards a vendor with a relatively diverse indirect sales channel. Common operational processes like lead distribution (and also co-op marketing funds management, partner recruiting and credentialing, etc.) become much more complicated when partners are assigned to different theaters and regions, handle different product lines, or when responsibility for the “care and feeding” of those partners is split between multiple internal channel administration staff members.

In such a scenario, you probably feel the need for a tool like channelSUITE to catalog all the attributes and theater/region associations of the partners, and also to keep track of which of your internal channel staff (we call them “administrators”) has responsibility for which partners. We can build a solid foundation for this data in channelADMIN (the central channel management module of channelSUITE) and then use it as a platform to drive the operational channel processes like lead distribution (via the channelLEADS module) and co-op funds management (through channelFUNDS) in a consistent and cohesive way.

Another defining characteristic of channelSUITE is that each channelSUITE customer gets their own private software installation (hosted and managed by Purplewire) with its own database, branding, and URL. This “single tenant” approach allows us great flexibility to customize your installation both in terms of functionality and “look and feel”.

But what if you don’t care about all that stuff?

If you don’t need custom functionality or private label branding, you have a single lead administrator, your sales organization has a simple hierarchy, or you’re only looking for a “point solution” for lead distribution, LEADpiper may be a better fit for you.

LEADpiper is a “multi-tenant” web application; you can register for an account on the site and start using it right away. There are no setup fees, and we give you some free credits so you can use it for a while for free. Setup is very easy, and you can get started sending leads to your recipients immediately.

Although LEADpiper is in some ways simpler than channelLEADS, it’s not lacking in features. It provides the same flexibility in accepting leads from multiple sources in multiple formats, and provides a robust but easily usable set of features for defining lead routing rules based on lead content (including geographic data).

We’ve put together a new “feature matrix” that demonstrates some of the similarities and differences between LEADpiper and channelLEADS. Please give it a look. Hope you find it useful, and as always comments and suggestions are welcome.