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Tangent International

Client: Tangent International
Interviewee: Kristian Martin, Chief Sales Officer
Sector: Tech & Communications
Company Size: 201-500
Migrated from: Bullhorn Recruitment Cloud 

 

The Challenge: Outgrowing Legacy and Being Underserved by Enterprise

Tangent International, with a history spanning over 50 years, has consistently evolved its internal technology. Their journey began with a highly successful custom in-house CRM developed in the 2000s. However, as cloud-based operations became essential, the company recognised the limitations of this legacy system, prompting a shift to modern platforms.

This transition led them to a Salesforce-based solution (Talent Rover, later acquired by Bullhorn), initially chosen for its infrastructure and the vendor’s agility.

However, the acquisition and subsequent shift into the larger Bullhorn for Salesforce (BH4SF) environment presented a significant challenge:

“As a sub-$250 million revenue business, we felt deprioritised and underserved. Support and development efforts appeared to cater more to their much larger enterprise customers.”

Tangent recognised that their needs for agility, responsive support, and user-centric innovation were being eclipsed by the demands of larger firms. A new CRM was needed to drive proactive activity, not just passive record keeping.

The Solution: Returning to Agility within the Salesforce Ecosystem

Driven by the need to better enable consultant productivity and leverage the emerging AI landscape, Tangent International re-evaluated its options. Their commitment to the robust Salesforce environment remained strong, leading them to choose Seven20.

Seven20 promised—and delivered—the ideal balance: a robust Salesforce foundation combined with the agility and focused support necessary for a mid-sized, high-growth global firm.

The decision was driven by Seven20’s commitment to:

  • Agility and Responsiveness: Ensuring their needs wouldn’t be deprioritised.
  • Efficient User Experience (UX): A system designed to make consultant lives easier, not harder.
  • Activity-Driving Features: Technology built to enable sales activity and productivity, moving beyond simple data capture.

The Results: A User-First Platform Driving Productivity

By prioritising agility and a user-first experience, Tangent International achieved a renewed focus on consultant productivity and strategic alignment.

1. Enhanced User Adoption

The biggest lesson learned from past implementations was confirmed: User adoption hinges on simplicity and immediate value. By adopting Seven20, Tangent ensured the platform was intuitive and helpful from day one, avoiding the “irreversible loss of trust” caused by complex, alienating systems.

2. Strategic Alignment

The new platform ensures that the technology aligns perfectly with Tangent’s business goals, requiring minimal effort from the sales team to use. This allows consultants to focus on high-value client and candidate relationships rather than administrative data entry.

3. Sustainable Evolution

Tangent views this transition as Evolution, not Revolution. Seven20 provides a flexible environment that can adapt iteratively to changing business priorities, market conditions, and technology shifts (like AI integration).

 Advice for CRM Selection & Implementation

Tangent International offers powerful guidance derived from decades of strategic CRM experience:

  1. Know Your Business Needs: “Understand exactly what you want a CRM to achieve. Choose a system that aligns with your business goals.”
  2. Avoid Over-Complication: “Complex systems alienate users, especially in sales teams that prioritise speed and simplicity.”
  3. Prioritise Implementation Success: “Build guiding coalitions and secure buy-in early. Avoid launching a tool that doesn’t immediately deliver value.”
  4. Vendor Choice Matters: For mid-sized firms, prioritise vendors who offer specialised support and development that matches your company’s scale and urgency.

Summary Takeaway: “Implementation is as important as the platform. Strategy, training, and adoption planning are key to long-term success.”

Who This Case Study Is For

This case study is ideal for mid-sized recruitment and staffing businesses that:

  • Are frustrated with enterprise CRM solutions that deprioritise their needs
  • Need a Salesforce-based CRM that is agile, adaptable, and intuitive
  • Want a technology partner focused on user adoption, productivity, and growth
  • Value continuous evolution, AI-enabled enhancements, and activity-driven tools

Seek a CRM that aligns with business goals rather than forcing teams into rigid workflows