SalesTechStar Interview with Aaron Seyler, Senior Vice President of Sales at TeleSign

Aaron Seyler, Senior Vice President of Sales at TeleSign chats more about how digital identity solutions can in turn help sales teams improve their customer engagement initiatives…

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Hi Aaron Seyler, welcome to this SalesTechStar chat! Take us through your journey and tell us more about TeleSign’s core offering and how that enables its customers?

I’ve been in SaaS sales for almost 15 years building teams and working with some of the most innovative technology organizations in the world. I joined TeleSign in 2016 and have been fortunate enough to be a part of a team that is solving the digital identity puzzle that makes the digital world a safer place for everyone.

TeleSign’s solutions prevent fraud by providing continuous trust to its clients so users can have a safe and more human online experience. Our core digital identity offerings help companies onboard new customers, prevent communications fraud, protect user accounts, and communicate with their customers covering almost the entire globe, and in 90 languages. TeleSign technology instantly verifies a consumer’s identity with more than 2200 digital identity attributes to ensure our customers, and their consumers are protected across the entire customer journey.

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Why are improved customer identity solutions becoming more critical in the online B2B tech marketplace today?

Fraud is an ever increasing and complex problem. Almost 90% of consumers have been victims of credit card fraud, identity theft, or a data breach. Global cybercrime is predicted to surpass $6 trillion this year – if cybercrime were a country it would be the third-largest economy after the U.S. and China. Statistics like these highlight the coordinated, well-funded, activity that cybercriminals execute every day. As we continue to live more of our lives on mobile devices and online, ensuring a trusted experience with brands and identities is a top priority.

How can solutions such as TeleSign’s also help marketing and sales teams drive better customer engagement initiatives?

There are two primary ways digital identity can help sales teams drive customer engagement initiatives. First, solutions like ours can help ensure that sales and marketing are connecting with the right people on the right channel. Our solutions can, for instance, help identify when a number changes owners, or if a phone number is a landline, VoIP, or mobile number. This intelligence can signal that you need to refresh a customer’s contact information, or if they can receive a text message to that number.

Second, digital identity can lower friction in the signup and account creation process without sacrificing security. This is important since customers will abandon signups that have too many steps or hurdles. By verifying good users and turning away bad users you can lower the number of fake accounts, bad leads, or fraudsters that sign up – so you increase the quality of your database and your community. 

What should regulated/sensitive industries today be paying more attention to when it comes to customer onboarding initiatives?

Companies in regulated and sensitive industries, like fintech and healthcare, need to monitor and adapt to ever-changing privacy regulations and requirements. TeleSign helps global companies better streamline some of their regulatory needs with e-KYC (electronic Know Your Customer) solutions that can be a big piece of their regulation puzzle. By connecting with carrier partners around the world, we can provide important data and insights that are aligned with what the customer wants to share and what regulatory requirements are in place.

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As online B2B trends evolve, how do you feel these solutions will impact a typical martech/salestech choice of tech stack?

Sales and marketing are all about meeting your customer where they are. As customers’ communication preferences change – your engagement strategies must change with them. Today – entire deals and sales cycles can be completed by chat, SMS, e-mail, and social messaging. In the absence of face-to-face interaction, or even a phone call – having certainty of your customer’s identity is key to prevent wasted time – or worse – fraud losses. As online B2B trends evolve to instant communication, frictionless purchasing and omnichannel sales, identity is likely to become embedded into martech and salestech solutions and buyer requirements.

What are a few martech and salestech predictions for 2022 that you’d like to highlight? 

COVID-19 accelerated digital transformation and changed the way people shop, communicate, interact, and even socialize. Some of those changes may revert as the pandemic wanes – other changes will persist. One of the major changes that isn’t going away – and will continue to mature – is the mobile first convenience we all enjoy today. From shopping to banking, healthcare, education, and entertainment and more, new contactless and convenient options will only continue to grow. 

Another prediction is that AI and Machine Learning will become even more instrumental in creating efficiency in the sales and marketing lifecycle by determining how, when, and where to engage with customers and prospects. In 2022, we will see more of the hype become reality – accelerating the technology adoption by the martech and salestech communities. 

Some last thoughts and takeaways before we wrap up?

Over 80% of the world population have access to a smartphone. Mobile, always on communication and commerce are now simply expected by your customers and prospects. However, in this new normal, comes with a layer of anonymity that can leave you open to wasted time, fraud, and financial loss. Ensuring your customers’ and company safety is going to become top of mind for everyone. It is an incredibly exciting time for human connectivity and the way we conduct business and communicate with customers – and one I’m excited to be a part of making a little safer and a lot more human.

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