If you’re in B2B sales, you know the drill: sales cycles drag on, people change jobs, and the CRM is always a step behind. You’re expected to keep tabs on hundreds of contacts, spot new opportunities, and somehow not let any warm lead slip through the cracks. If you’re a growing team (read: not enough hands, but lots of targets), this gets old fast.
That’s where automated contact tracking tools—like Usergems—promise to save the day. But does it actually make a difference, or is this just another shiny sales tool with more hype than help? Let’s break down what automated contact tracking looks like in the real world, what Usergems actually does, what to watch out for, and how to get the most out of it (without needing a PhD in CRM management).
Why Manual Contact Tracking Fails (and How It Hurts Your Pipeline)
Before diving into automated solutions, let’s call out the elephant in the room: manual contact tracking is a mess.
The reality: - People leave companies all the time—especially decision-makers. - Your CRM is only as good as the last time someone updated it (which is...rare). - Sales reps don’t have time for detective work on LinkedIn every week. - Lost contacts = lost deals. Period.
When a champion leaves a customer, you usually find out months later—after the renewal is already at risk. Or worse, when they join a new company and you miss the chance to sell to them again, because no one was watching.
Manual tracking just doesn’t cut it. That’s why automated contact tracking is picking up steam.
What Is Automated Contact Tracking, Really?
Let’s keep it simple: automated contact tracking means using software to keep tabs on your key contacts, even when they change jobs or roles. The goal is to:
- Alert you when a customer contact joins a target account (hello, warm intro).
- Warn you when your champion leaves a current customer (so you can protect the renewal).
- Enrich your CRM with up-to-date info, without manual data entry.
In short: it’s about not being blindsided by people moves and actually using those moves to drive pipeline.
But not all tracking tools are created equal. Some just scrape LinkedIn and dump a flood of notifications on you. Others, like Usergems, try to make this data actionable inside your existing workflow.
How Usergems Automates Contact Tracking for Growing Sales Teams
So, what’s actually different about Usergems? Here’s the honest rundown:
1. It Monitors Job Changes for You—Quietly
Usergems connects to your CRM, figures out who your important contacts are, and then watches for when they change jobs or titles. You don’t have to set up a million alerts or manually tag everyone.
How it works: - You sync your Salesforce (or similar CRM). - Usergems identifies key contacts—usually past champions, power users, buyers. - It tracks those people across the web, looking for job changes, promotions, or company switches. - You get a heads-up in your CRM or inbox, not a firehose of irrelevant alerts.
Real world tip: The magic is in filtering. You only want pings about actual champions or decision-makers, not every random user who once joined a webinar.
2. It Surfaces Warm Leads (That Most Teams Miss)
When a champion joins a new company—especially if that company is in your target list—Usergems flags it. This is the perfect time to reach out. They know your product, probably liked it, and now might have budget or influence at their new gig.
What actually happens: - Instead of cold outbound, you’re starting with someone who’s already familiar with you. - You get notified fast, so you can reach out before your competitors do. - It updates your CRM automatically, so everyone on your team is on the same page.
Pro tip: This isn’t just about net-new sales. It’s also a goldmine for expansion and cross-sell opportunities.
3. It Warns You About Risks on Existing Accounts
If your internal champion leaves a customer, Usergems can flag this. That’s your cue to: - Get introduced to the replacement. - Shore up the relationship. - Get ahead of any churn risk.
What not to do: Don’t wait until the renewal is a month out and wonder why your response rate tanked.
4. It Fits Into (Most) Existing Workflows
Usergems isn’t perfect, but it tries to play nice with Salesforce and other major CRMs. That means: - No spreadsheet exports. - No extra windows to check. - Alerts and updates show up where your team already works.
Heads up: Integration isn’t always plug-and-play. You’ll want to budget a bit of time for setup and maybe some admin support to get things humming.
What Usergems Gets Right (and Where You Should Still Be Skeptical)
Let’s be real: no tool is magic. Here’s what stands out with Usergems—and what you should watch for.
The Good
- Saves you hours of LinkedIn sleuthing. If your team is stretched thin, this is a real win.
- Better data, less manual entry. CRM hygiene is a lot easier when updates are automated.
- More pipeline from “warm” intros. These are the easiest deals to close, period.
The Trade-Offs
- You need to define “key contacts” carefully. If you track everyone, you’ll drown in noise. If you track too few, you’ll miss the value.
- Data is only as good as your CRM. Garbage in, garbage out—if your CRM is a mess, start there.
- Not 100% accurate. Sometimes job changes are missed or delayed (especially if someone’s stealthy or slow to update LinkedIn).
- Another subscription to justify. It’s not cheap, so you’ll want to show real pipeline impact to keep it.
Ignore the hype about “AI-powered relationship intelligence” unless you see actual, useful alerts. The core value here is keeping tabs on real people you care about—not fancy dashboards or buzzwords.
How to Get the Most Out of Automated Contact Tracking
Here’s a simple, no-nonsense plan for making automated contact tracking actually work for your team:
1. Audit Your CRM First
- Clean up duplicate contacts.
- Tag champions, key buyers, and power users.
- Archive dead records.
Why? Garbage data means missed or false alerts. Start clean.
2. Set Up Usergems and Integrate Deeply
- Connect your CRM.
- Define your “key contact” criteria (job titles, deal roles, etc.).
- Choose how you want alerts: email, CRM, Slack, etc.
Don’t half-integrate. If you don’t see alerts where you work, you won’t use them.
3. Train Your Team on the “Why”
- Make sure sales and CS know what a Usergems alert actually means.
- Build playbooks: e.g., what to do if a champion joins a target account, or if one leaves a customer.
- Don’t let alerts pile up—assign someone to own this.
4. Prioritize Warm Intros
- Reach out quickly when a past champion lands somewhere new.
- Reference your shared history (“We worked together at X”).
- Keep it human—don’t sound like a bot.
Speed matters here. These leads go cold fast if you wait.
5. Monitor Outcomes, Not Just Alerts
- Track how many deals or expansions come from Usergems alerts.
- If you’re not seeing results, tweak your criteria or follow-up process.
- Share wins with leadership (if you want to keep the budget).
6. Don’t Ignore the Human Touch
Automated alerts are a tool, not a replacement for real relationships. Use the data to start conversations, not just blast canned emails.
What to Skip (and Why)
- Don’t try to automate every outreach. Templates are fine, but people can smell lazy emails a mile away.
- Don’t treat every job change as a hot lead. Not every contact will have buying power or interest at their new company.
- Don’t neglect existing customers. Use alerts to shore up relationships, not just chase new logos.
- Don’t rely on Usergems as your only source of truth. Cross-check important moves, especially for big accounts.
Final Thought: Keep It Simple, Iterate Often
Automated contact tracking tools like Usergems can absolutely help growing B2B sales teams punch above their weight. But you don’t need to overcomplicate it. Start with your best contacts, set up alerts where your team works, and focus on fast, personal follow-up. If the tool isn’t giving you real pipeline or retention wins, tweak your approach or move on.
Bottom line: Let software handle the busywork, so your team can focus on what actually drives sales—building real relationships and moving fast on warm opportunities. Keep it simple, keep it human, and don’t get distracted by the noise.