Ben Smith, Director of Marketing at Reachdesk, made a counterintuitive bet: make it harder to create pipeline on purpose. The theory was that quality beats quantity — and Chili Piper was how he enforced it.
Everything Was Manual
When Ben joined Reachdesk, inbound was a liability. Leads came in, round-robin routing fired, and reps scrambled to follow up. There was no segmentation, no qualification gate, and no way to ensure the right rep got the right lead at the right time.
"We were still doing round-robin. Everything was manual."
— Ben Smith, Director of Marketing at Reachdesk
The team began with Handoff and Instant Booker in 2022, then added Concierge in 2023. Each layer added intelligence: Enterprise vs. Mid-Market vs. Commercial routing, automatic nurture for accounts that didn't qualify, and tighter qualification rules that cut disqualification rate by 23%.
Removing the Human Blocker Without Losing the Human Experience
The goal wasn't to automate everything — it was to automate the parts that slowed deals down without adding value.
"We removed the human blocker without losing the human experience."
— Ben Smith
Speed to lead improved. No-show rates dropped — particularly when Reachdesk used their own gifting products to make meeting confirmations memorable. The team reclaimed 34 hours over six months just from routing and qualification automation.
The Results
By H1 2025, Reachdesk had booked 2,000+ meetings through Chili Piper and driven a 35% lift in win rate on inbound pipeline.
"We made it harder to create pipeline on purpose. And that's why it closes."
— Ben Smith
Ben has renewed Chili Piper without hesitation — and plans to integrate it into new Swag Sourcing offerings and event-driven buyer journeys.
"It's one of the few renewals I actually look forward to."
— Ben Smith
Ben Smith is the Director of Marketing at Reachdesk, a one-stop solution that helps go-to-market teams accelerate pipeline through global gifting and branded swag. In his role, he’s rethinking how pipeline should be built, focusing on systems that scale efficiently and prioritize quality over quantity. His goal is to create a marketing approach that’s aligned with how the team actually sells.
Rethinking what a pipeline should look like
Ben Smith doesn’t sound like your typical marketing director.
“We made it harder to create pipeline on purpose. And that’s why it closes.”
He cares less about impressions and volume and more about win rates.
Ben started as a BDR at Reachdesk and worked his way up from BDR Manager to Director of Marketing. That hands-on experience shaped how he approaches marketing today. He sees himself as part storyteller, part pipeline architect, and fully accountable to revenue.
The “book everything” problem
Reachdesk had grown fast. Inbound volume surged, but the tools and routine logic didn’t keep up.
“We were still doing round-robin. Everything was manual or reliant on humans to qualify.”
Ben thought that scaling with volume was no longer an option. They had to focus on scaling with accuracy and make every booked meeting count.
That’s where Chili Piper came in.
A smarter way to route
The shift began in 2022, when Reachdesk started using Chili Piper’s Handoff and Instant Booker.
“At first, we just needed speed and fairness. Handoff was the best way to get meetings to AEs fast without burning reps out.”
By 2023, the Reachdesk team had a new allbound motion and deeper segmentation in place. That’s when they introduced Concierge, and things really changed.
Now, leads are routed instantly by segment: Enterprise, Mid-Market, and Commercial. BDRs no longer go through the same discovery process, and if an account isn’t ready, it’s automatically sent to nurture.
“We removed the human blocker without losing the human experience.”
With the new tools in place, Reachdesk booked over 2000 meetings in the first half of 2025.
The new system unlocked a 35% conversion rate for Reachdesk’s marketing-sourced pipeline. Also, speed to lead improved, and no-show rates dropped, especially when meetings were paired with Reachdesk gifts. Best of all, the system handles routing automatically, so Ben’s team no longer has to chase leads manually.
By implementing tighter qualification rules and routing, Reachdesk reduced its disqualification rate by 23% and saved the same team 34 hours over 6 months.
“It’s great to have a single source of truth. We can do everything from one place. It’s flexible. It just works.”
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Ben Smith, Director of Marketing at Reachdesk
Why Reachdesk stays with Chili Piper
For Ben, Chili Piper isn’t just a vendor. It’s an important part of how Reachdesk drives revenue.
“It’s one of the few renewals I actually look forward to. The pricing’s clear, the support is excellent, and the product evolves with us. Every time our strategy changes, Chili Piper is right there with us.”
Also, the relationship goes beyond Chili Piper’s product features. When Ben got promoted, his CSM sent him a bottle of Veuve (via Reachdesk). It was the only vendor that did that. It was a simple yet memorable gesture that reflected a shared commitment to creating standout experiences.
For Ben, it wasn’t just the efficiency of Chili Piper’s platform that made an impact; it was the alignment in values: personalization, thoughtfulness, and removing friction from key moments in the buyer journey.
What’s next for Reachdesk and Chili Piper?
Reachdesk recently launched Swag Sourcing, a new offering that helps companies create and distribute impactful branded swag. And Ben is already thinking about how Chili Piper fits into this new offering. While Swag Sourcing can be purchased on its own, it’s also a strategic entry point into Reachdesk’s full GTM platform, where corporate gifting and swag come together to drive pipeline and revenue.
“We haven’t fully mapped it yet, but I know Chili Piper will help us make the buyer journey seamless.”
Ben sees an opportunity to bring the same streamlined experience to events, using Chili Piper to drive better follow-up and easier demo bookings across webinars and in-person engagements.
Winning with people
Ben isn’t concerned about AI taking over this role. Instead, he focuses on the things technology can’t replace.
“Everyone’s scaling. Everyone’s automating. But the companies that build real relationships are the ones that stand out. That’s where Chili Piper fits.”
For Reachdesk, speed, flexibility, and the personal touch matter. Chili Piper supports that by keeping handoffs smooth and scheduling simple.
