Our Origin Story
Founded in 2006 by Network Security Pioneer, Shawn McLaren
The story of ConnectAndSell began in 2006, when Shawn McLaren, a network security pioneer, recognized a critical problem in the outbound sales process: the inefficiency of connecting with decision-makers. With years of experience in network security and technology, Shawn saw an opportunity to apply his expertise in solving complex problems to revolutionize the way sales teams engaged with prospects.
Sales reps were spending too much time dialing numbers, navigating gatekeepers, and leaving voicemails. The process was frustrating, slow, and ineffective. Shawn envisioned a platform that would help sales reps reach decision-makers faster, allowing them to generate more opportunities and close deals more efficiently. His goal was to create a solution that would not only automate sales outreach but also combine human intelligence with AI to solve the core challenge of outbound sales.
2006
The Beginning...
Shawn McLaren recognized the inefficiencies in outbound sales and began developing a solution to streamline dialing and navigate gatekeepers with ease.
He founded ConnectAndSell with the vision of creating a tool that would connect sales teams with decision-makers efficiently and at scale.
2006 - 2010
Scaling the early days
During this period, ConnectAndSell began refining its Human powered dialing system, designed to dramatically reduce the time spent on administrative tasks.
Early customers adopted the platform and began experiencing increased sales productivity and pipeline acceleration. This laid the foundation for the company’s future success and set the stage for significant growth.
2011: The Breakthrough
Patented Technology
In 2011, ConnectAndSell became the first company to patent a Human + AI-powered solution designed to solve the #1 problem in sales: getting in touch with decision-makers.
Patent No. 8,649,500 B1 revolutionized outbound sales by refining the use human intelligence, allowing sales teams to bypass gatekeepers and avoid voicemail, connecting directly to real decision-makers.
Chris Beall joined as CEO in 2011, bringing significant scaling expertise and a vision to transform ConnectAndSell into a platform that not only solved technology problems but delivered real results for businesses, helping them build stronger pipelines and accelerate deal closures
2015
Over 100 Million Dials
ConnectAndSell reached a significant milestone—over 100 million dials made through the platform, generating billions of dollars in pipeline and significantly improving the productivity of sales teams.
Companies across industries—including technology, SaaS, and professional services—adopted ConnectAndSell to optimize their outbound sales efforts.
2019
Expansion
into Europe
Recognizing the growing demand for ConnectAndSell’s solution, the company expanded into Europe in 2016, tailoring the platform to meet local compliance and sales practices.
By ensuring full GDPR compliance, ConnectAndSell enabled businesses in Germany, France, and the UK to scale their outbound sales while maintaining regulatory adherence.
2017 - 2024
Relentless Focus on Helping Customers Dominate Their Market
From 2017 to 2024, ConnectAndSell honed its focus on becoming the central hub of sales teams’ Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy, helping customers dominate their market. During this period, our commitment to customer success and delivering results for clients became more evident than ever. ConnectAndSell remained at the core of their sales acceleration strategy, continuously improving the platform to drive:
Increased Pipeline Generation
ConnectAndSell helped businesses generate billions of dollars in pipeline value, empowering sales teams to engage with more decision-makers and convert qualified opportunities at scale.
Real-Time Conversation Insights
Real-Time Conversation Insights: Customers saw a 10x improvement in productivity as ConnectAndSell’s AI-powered tools provided real-time analytics and feedback that allowed reps to hone their outreach and close more deals.
Alignment Across Sales & Marketing
By integrating with CRM systems and sales engagement tools, ConnectAndSell helped align sales and marketing teams, ensuring that every lead was followed up with quickly and efficiently, helping businesses maximize ROI on their marketing efforts.
Faster Deal Closures
With AI-driven conversation analysis, automated lead scoring, and real-time feedback, businesses saw faster deal closures, reducing sales cycles and increasing the volume of closed deals.