In the world of B2B marketing and sales, having the right tools can make all the difference between success and failure. Two companies that have gained significant attention in recent years are 6sense and Proxycurl, each offering unique solutions to help businesses identify, engage, and convert potential customers.

Brief Overview of 6sense and Proxycurl

6sense is an AI-powered revenue platform designed specifically for B2B organizations. It uses predictive analytics and account-based marketing (ABM) to help businesses identify and target high-value prospects. On the other hand, Proxycurl is a data enrichment API that specializes in enriching LinkedIn profile data, providing businesses with valuable insights into potential customers.

Both tools have their strengths and weaknesses, and choosing the right one can be a daunting task. This article aims to provide a comprehensive comparison of 6sense and Proxycurl, exploring their company backgrounds, core features, data sources, pricing models, ease of use, and more. By the end of this article, businesses will have a clear understanding of which tool best fits their needs.

The decision to invest in either 6sense or Proxycurl can have a significant impact on a company's bottom line. With 6sense, businesses can expect to gain a comprehensive view of their prospects and identify high-value targets. Proxycurl, on the other hand, offers a cost-effective solution for enriching LinkedIn data and uncovering valuable insights. But which tool is right for your business? Let's dive in and find out.

Company Backgrounds

To better understand the differences between 6sense and Proxycurl, it's essential to know their company backgrounds, funding, and values.

6sense

6sense was founded in 2013 by Viral Bajaria, Premal Shah, and Dustin Chang. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, the company has become a leader in the account-based marketing (ABM) space.

In 2021, 6sense secured $200 million in Series E funding, valuing the company at $5.2 billion. This significant investment has enabled 6sense to expand its platform and further develop its predictive analytics capabilities.

6sense focuses on providing AI-driven insights to B2B organizations, enabling them to identify and engage with high-potential accounts. The company's mission is to transform the way businesses approach revenue generation by leveraging AI, machine learning, and big data.

Proxycurl

Proxycurl was founded in 2018 by Yuan Gao, with its headquarters based in Singapore. Unlike 6sense, Proxycurl has taken a bootstrapped approach, focusing on sustainable growth and development.

Proxycurl specializes in providing LinkedIn data enrichment API services, catering to businesses of all sizes. The company prioritizes data quality, accuracy, and speed, making it an attractive option for companies seeking to enhance their customer data.

As a bootstrapped company, Proxycurl's approach is more agile and adaptable, allowing it to respond quickly to customer needs and market changes. This mindset has enabled Proxycurl to establish a strong presence in the data enrichment market.

Core Features and Capabilities

Both 6sense and Proxycurl offer unique features that cater to specific business needs. Here's a breakdown of their core capabilities:

6sense

6sense is an AI-driven account engagement platform designed to help B2B organizations identify and engage with potential customers. Its features include:

1. AI-Driven Account Engagement Platform: 6sense's AI algorithms analyze anonymous buyer behavior, allowing businesses to identify and engage with potential customers.

2. Predictive Analytics for Sales and Marketing: 6sense provides predictive analytics to help businesses forecast demand, prioritize leads, and optimize marketing campaigns.

3. Intent Data Collection and Analysis: The platform collects and analyzes intent data from various sources, including web searches, social media, and content consumption.

4. Account-Based Advertising: 6sense enables businesses to target specific accounts with personalized ads, increasing brand awareness and engagement.

5. Multi-Channel Orchestration: The platform allows businesses to orchestrate campaigns across multiple channels, including email, social media, and phone.

6. Custom Audience Segmentation: 6sense provides custom audience segmentation, enabling businesses to target specific groups based on behavior, demographics, and firmographics.

Proxycurl

Proxycurl is a data enrichment API specializing in LinkedIn profile data. Its features include:

1. LinkedIn Profile and Company Data Enrichment: Proxycurl enriches LinkedIn profiles with additional data, including company information, job postings, and employee counts.

2. Email and Phone Number Verification: The platform verifies email addresses and phone numbers to ensure accuracy and deliverability.

3. Company Financials and Employee Count Data: Proxycurl provides access to company financials, employee count, and other relevant data points.

4. Job Posting Data: The platform offers real-time job posting data, enabling businesses to track job openings and talent pipeline.

5. REST API for Easy Integration: Proxycurl's REST API allows for seamless integration with existing workflows and applications.

6. Bulk Data Processing Capabilities: The platform enables bulk data processing, making it ideal for large-scale data enrichment projects.

Data Sources and Quality

Data quality and sources are crucial for any business operating in the B2B space. Both 6sense and Proxycurl prioritize data accuracy, but their approaches differ significantly.

6sense

6sense relies on proprietary AI algorithms to collect and analyze data from various sources, including:

• First-party data: 6sense collects data from customers' own systems, such as CRM and marketing automation platforms.

• Third-party data: The platform integrates with external data providers to gather additional insights.

• Anonymous visitor identification: 6sense uses AI-driven algorithms to identify anonymous visitors and enrich their profiles.

The company claims to have developed a robust methodology to ensure data accuracy, which involves:

• Data cleansing and normalization

• Data validation and verification

• Regular data updates and refreshes

While 6sense doesn't disclose the exact accuracy rate of its data, it emphasizes the importance of data quality in driving business outcomes.

Proxycurl

Proxycurl, on the other hand, focuses primarily on public LinkedIn data, leveraging real-time scraping to ensure up-to-date information. The platform also utilizes additional data sources for email and phone verification.

In terms of data accuracy, Proxycurl claims to have an impressive track record, with:

• 95% accuracy rate for email verification

• 90% accuracy rate for phone verification

Proxycurl's verification processes involve rigorous testing and validation to ensure the accuracy of the data provided.

While both platforms prioritize data quality, their approaches differ significantly. 6sense relies on AI-driven algorithms to collect and analyze data from various sources, whereas Proxycurl focuses on public LinkedIn data and real-time scraping.

Pricing Models

When it comes to pricing, 6sense and Proxycurl take different approaches. Understanding these models is crucial to determine which tool fits your budget and business needs.

6sense

6sense offers customized pricing based on the size and needs of your organization. They follow an annual contract model, which means you'll need to commit to a year-long agreement. The pricing structure is tiered, with different plans catering to various business requirements.

The Essentials plan is designed for smaller teams, while the Business and Enterprise plans offer more advanced features and support. 6sense doesn't publicly disclose its pricing, so you'll need to contact their sales team to get a quote.

Proxycurl

Proxycurl, on the other hand, has a pay-as-you-go model. You only pay for the data you need, which is appealing to businesses with varying data requirements. They use a credit-based system, where each LinkedIn profile costs $0.01.

Proxycurl offers API call packages, which can help you save money when dealing with large data volumes. They also provide bulk discounts for frequent users. For small-scale testing or limited usage, Proxycurl offers a free tier with limited credits.

One of the significant advantages of Proxycurl's pricing model is its flexibility. You can scale up or down depending on your business needs, without being locked into a rigid contract.

In summary, 6sense is geared towards large enterprises with complex data needs, while Proxycurl is a more affordable option for businesses of all sizes. If you're looking for a customized, all-in-one ABM solution, 6sense might be the better choice. However, if you need a flexible, cost-effective data enrichment API, Proxycurl is worth considering.

Ease of Use and Integration

In this section, we'll delve into the user experience and integration capabilities of 6sense and Proxycurl. How easy are these tools to use, and how seamlessly do they integrate with your existing workflow and technology stack?

6sense

6sense offers a user-friendly interface and dashboard that allows users to navigate through various features and functionalities. While it's designed to be intuitive, some users may find the learning curve a bit steep due to the platform's comprehensiveness.

In terms of integration, 6sense seamlessly connects with popular CRM systems like Salesforce and HubSpot, making it easy to incorporate into your existing sales and marketing workflow. Additionally, 6sense supports integrations with various marketing automation platforms, further expanding its capabilities.

One area where 6sense excels is in its ability to provide a unified platform for account-based marketing, sales intelligence, and customer analytics. This cohesive approach enables users to access a wide range of features and insights from a single dashboard, making it an attractive option for large B2B enterprises.

Proxycurl

Proxycurl takes a more developer-centric approach, offering a REST API that can be easily integrated into your application or workflow. The API documentation is comprehensive, and the supported programming languages and frameworks make it accessible to developers of varying skill levels.

In addition to its API, Proxycurl provides webhooks and callback functionality, allowing you to receive real-time updates and notifications. This flexibility makes it an attractive option for businesses looking to incorporate LinkedIn data enrichment into their existing infrastructure.

While Proxycurl's API-focused approach may require more technical expertise, it offers a more customizable and flexible solution for businesses with specific data enrichment needs. The API's ease of implementation and scalability make it an excellent choice for developers and data scientists.

Overall, both 6sense and Proxycurl offer robust integration capabilities, but they cater to different needs and user profiles. 6sense is more geared towards sales and marketing teams, while Proxycurl is better suited for developers and data scientists.

When it comes to customer support and resources, both 6sense and Proxycurl offer different approaches to meet the needs of their clients.

6sense

6sense provides a more comprehensive support system, which is expected from a premium, enterprise-focused platform:

• Dedicated Customer Success Managers: Each customer is assigned a dedicated CSM who provides personalized support and guidance on getting the most out of the platform.

• Online Knowledge Base and Documentation: 6sense offers an extensive online resource hub that includes tutorials, guides, and FAQs to help users navigate the platform.

• Training Programs and Certifications: 6sense provides in-depth training programs and certification courses to ensure users are proficient in using the platform to achieve their goals.

• User Community and Forums: 6sense has an active user community and forum where customers can collaborate, share best practices, and get answers to their questions.

Proxycurl

Proxycurl, being a more agile and developer-focused platform, offers a leaner support system:

• Email and Chat Support: Proxycurl provides responsive email and chat support to help users resolve issues and answer questions.

• API Documentation and Code Examples: Proxycurl's API documentation is comprehensive and includes code examples to help developers get started quickly.

• Blog with Use Cases and Best Practices: Proxycurl's blog features articles on use cases, best practices, and tutorials to help users make the most of their API services.

• Fast Response Time and Issue Resolution: Proxycurl prides itself on responding quickly to user queries and resolving issues promptly.

While 6sense's support system is more extensive, Proxycurl's leaner approach is suitable for developers and data scientists who prefer a more DIY approach. Ultimately, the choice of support system will depend on your organization's specific needs and preferences.

Use Cases and Target Audience

6sense

6sense is an ideal fit for large B2B enterprises that require a comprehensive account-based marketing (ABM) solution. Its predictive analytics and intent data capabilities make it an excellent choice for account-based marketing teams seeking to prioritize leads and boost conversion rates.

Sales Intelligence and Lead Prioritization

6sense's AI-driven insights enable sales teams to identify high-value accounts and focus on the most promising leads. By leveraging 6sense's capabilities, businesses can streamline their sales process, reduce costs, and drive revenue growth.

Customer Examples and Success Stories

6sense has helped numerous businesses achieve remarkable results. For instance, a leading software company used 6sense to increase its sales-qualified leads by 300% and reduce its sales cycle by 60%. Another example is a prominent cybersecurity firm that leveraged 6sense to boost its conversion rates by 25% and drive $10 million in new business.

Proxycurl

In contrast, Proxycurl is suitable for businesses of all sizes, from startups to established enterprises. Its data enrichment API and LinkedIn profile data capabilities make it an attractive option for developers, data scientists, and recruitment teams.

Recruitment and Talent Acquisition

Proxycurl's data enrichment capabilities enable recruitment teams to find the most qualified candidates for open positions. By enriching candidate data with LinkedIn profile information, businesses can streamline their recruitment process, reduce time-to-hire, and improve the quality of new hires.

Investor Research and Due Diligence

Investors and researchers can leverage Proxycurl's API to gather valuable insights on companies, including their financials, employee count, and job postings. This data can be used to make informed investment decisions, identify market trends, and uncover potential risks.

Customer Examples and Use Cases

Proxycurl's customers include businesses in various industries, such as recruitment agencies, market research firms, and investment banks. One example is a recruitment startup that uses Proxycurl to enrich candidate data and improve its talent acquisition process. Another example is a market research firm that leverages Proxycurl to gather insights on companies and identify emerging trends.

Compliance and Data Privacy

Both 6sense and Proxycurl prioritize data privacy and compliance with relevant regulations. Here's how they ensure the security and integrity of customer data:

6sense

6sense takes data privacy seriously, ensuring compliance with global regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). They have implemented measures to protect customer data, including:

• GDPR and CCPA compliance measures, such as data subject rights and opt-out options

• Robust data handling and storage practices, including encryption and access controls

• User consent mechanisms to ensure transparency and choice

6sense also provides customers with tools and resources to help them comply with data privacy regulations. These include data subject requests, data deletion, and consent management.

Proxycurl

Proxycurl adheres to LinkedIn's terms of service and ensures compliance with global data privacy regulations. Their data privacy measures include:

• Adherence to LinkedIn's terms of service, which prohibits scraping and ensures user consent

• GDPR and CCPA compliance, with data subject rights and opt-out options

• Data retention and deletion policies to ensure data is handled responsibly

Proxycurl's data privacy measures are designed to ensure that customer data is protected and respected. They provide customers with resources and tools to help them comply with data privacy regulations.

Both 6sense and Proxycurl prioritize data privacy and compliance, giving customers peace of mind when using their services.

Pros and Cons

6sense

While 6sense offers a comprehensive account-based marketing solution, there are some advantages and disadvantages to consider:

Advantages:

• Comprehensive ABM solution: 6sense provides a full suite of features for account-based marketing, predictive analytics, and sales intelligence.

• AI-powered insights: 6sense's AI algorithms provide accurate and actionable insights, helping businesses make data-driven decisions.

Disadvantages:

• Higher cost: 6sense's custom pricing model can be expensive, especially for larger enterprises or those with complex needs.

• Steeper learning curve: 6sense's platform requires significant training and onboarding, which can be time-consuming and resource-intensive.

Proxycurl

Proxycurl offers a unique solution for LinkedIn data enrichment, but it's essential to weigh the pros and cons:

Advantages:

• Affordable: Proxycurl's pay-as-you-go model and credit-based system make it a cost-effective solution for businesses of all sizes.

• Flexible pricing: Proxycurl's pricing structure is adaptable to changing business needs, making it an attractive option for companies with fluctuating requirements.

• Specialized LinkedIn data: Proxycurl's focus on LinkedIn data enrichment provides a unique solution for businesses relying heavily on the platform.

Disadvantages:

• Limited scope: Proxycurl's primary focus on LinkedIn data enrichment limits its capabilities compared to full ABM platforms like 6sense.

By understanding the pros and cons of each solution, businesses can make informed decisions about which tool best fits their specific needs and goals.

Conclusion and Recommendations

In conclusion, 6sense and Proxycurl are two distinct tools catering to different aspects of B2B data enrichment and account-based marketing. While 6sense offers a comprehensive ABM platform with AI-powered insights, Proxycurl specializes in LinkedIn data enrichment and API services.

When choosing between these tools, businesses should consider their specific needs and priorities. If you're a large B2B enterprise seeking a robust ABM solution with predictive analytics and multi-channel orchestration, 6sense might be the better fit. On the other hand, if you're looking for an affordable, flexible, and specialized LinkedIn data enrichment API, Proxycurl could be the way to go.

Ultimately, the decision comes down to understanding your organization's requirements and budget. Take the time to evaluate your needs and weigh the pros and cons of each tool. By doing so, you'll be able to make an informed decision that drives growth and success for your business.

As the B2B data enrichment and ABM landscapes continue to evolve, it's essential to stay informed about the latest developments and innovations. By keeping a finger on the pulse of these advancements, you'll be better equipped to navigate the complex world of B2B sales and marketing, and make data-driven decisions that propel your business forward.