February 4, 2005

JigSaw.com (buy, sell, trade contacts) Responds

JigSaw.com is a service that helps sales people (and anyone else who needs the service), buy, sell and trade business information. JigSaw.com promotes business contact exchanges by GIVING you contacts when you add contacts to the JigSaw.com database.

In my initial review of Jigsaw.com, based on an initial reaction from a sales person colleague of mine, I figured Jigsaw.com would not work. It's still a bit early to tell, as it is too early to see how Linkedin.com (a competitor) is working, but a Jigsaw.com representative shared the following information with me:

In the US, there are 13,418,240 sales people (US Dept. of Labor 5/03), and sales people spend on average 33 percent of their day trying to find up-to-date, direct business contacts. Since launch in December, Jigsaw has found sales people not only heavily use its marketplace, but as a whole, they?re inputting 2,500 new contacts per day. Jigsaw is expanding. Users are referring entire sales teams, competing heavily for Jigsaw?s Leaderboard each month and continuously emailing success stories.

Most recently, Jigsaw has created a new section on its website, called Preferences, giving people a voice who are already in the Jigsaw marketplace. Jigsaw decreases the level of friction between buying and selling and makes the process smoother for both parties. Preferences allows one to explain how, when, where and what for he or she would like to be contacted. Hundreds have entered themselves into Jigsaw simply to put their own contact preferences.

Sales people are heavily using Jigsaw.

Here's how JigSaw.com works

Members join Jigsaw in order to get contacts. Contacts are obtained with points.

Points are obtained by adding contacts, correcting contacts, referring other members or by purchase. Every contact in Jigsaw costs 5 points (or $1).

Adding a contact earns ten points - provided other members don?t challenge the entry. Challenged contacts result in a ten point penalty. Jigsaw is a self-correcting system.

Members get a double refund when they get a bad contact. Not only is Jigsaw data risk-free, but members make points when they get a bad contact.

Members can buy and sell points. Those who want to obtain points with money instead of by adding contacts can buy points from other members. Point sellers can earn one dollar for every good contact added to Jigsaw.

Members choose which of their contacts go into Jigsaw. All contacts are added anonymously.

Referrals drive Jigsaw?s growth. Members get 125 points for each referral (or 25 contacts).

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