How Affiliate Nation Reached More Leads and Saved Thousands a Month
Affiliate Nation needed calling and texting that integrated cleanly with HubSpot after other tools caused significant problems. With automated SMS campaigns and ConnectionBoost, the startup raised pickup rates by 5-10% and cut communication costs by upwards of $24,000 a year.
- $24,000+
- saved per year after switching to Kixie
- 5-10%
- pickup rate increase attributed to ConnectionBoost
- Hours
- saved per rep each day with Voicemail Drop and SMS Templates
“Our answer rate has gone up, and as we continue to work on this our sales team continues to get more familiar with it, and it’s just going to get better.”
Who Affiliate Nation Is
Affiliate Nation is an affiliate marketing company focused on training entrepreneurs, helping individuals leverage automation and industry experts to build digital franchises.
Meghan Jobson, Content and Digital Marketer, manages automated marketing campaigns and coordinates with the sales team to funnel leads into the pipeline.
The Problem: SMS Tools That Fought the CRM
The team needed a reliable SMS marketing solution that would integrate seamlessly with HubSpot, after significant problems with other software. At the same time, the sales team needed a dialer that would raise connection rates and log every call in HubSpot automatically.
As a startup, cost mattered too. Eating massive texting bills was not something the team could manage, and the previous provider’s customer support was a constant drain.
Kixie won on functionality: it was more powerful than the competitors, and the team’s research showed a higher pickup rate than other callers.
The Solution: Automation That Hands Off to Humans
Speed-to-lead texting: New website leads instantly get an automated SMS from their auto-assigned contact owner’s real Kixie number, so when the prospect replies, the rep answers directly from the same number.
Branched workflows: If-this-then-that workflows route leads by response, deal stage, time of day, and contact owner, while drip campaigns re-engage older leads by text and email.
Meeting protection: Booked-call confirmations fire automatically from calendar events to lift meeting attendance rates.
Warmer calls: Texting in conjunction with calling means prospects already know who Affiliate Nation is, instead of getting a random call from a number they have zero familiarity with.
The Results
ConnectionBoost, Kixie’s AI-powered local presence, lifted pickup rates by 5-10% according to the sales manager, on top of the answer-rate gains from pairing automated texts with calls.
The savings were significant as well: a couple grand a month at least, upwards of $24,000 a year, not counting the opportunity cost of no longer wrestling with the previous provider’s support.
Voicemail Drop and SMS Templates save reps hours each day, and the Kixie support team has worked closely with Affiliate Nation to tailor the platform to a rapidly growing digital marketing business.
The Results, in Detail
$24,000+ saved yearly
At least a couple thousand dollars a month in communication costs, meaningful for a scaling startup.
5-10% more pickups
ConnectionBoost’s AI-powered local presence got more leads to answer the phone.
Personal at scale
Automated SMS from each rep’s real number lets automation warm up leads and reps take over seamlessly.
Hours back per rep
Voicemail Drop and SMS Templates strip repetitive work out of every calling session.
Paying too much for tools that don’t talk to your CRM?
See how automated SMS and calling on one platform can raise answer rates and cut your bill.