CHANDLER, Ariz., April 3, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Infusionsoft, creator of the all-in-one sales and marketing software for small businesses, is shining a bright light on customer success and partner innovation by handing out top honors and valuable prizes at its annual user conference, InfusionCon. Infusion-soft crowned The Rocket Company its 2013 "Ultimate Marketer," and named AppointmentCore by Benji Rabhan of AutomationCore the "Kicks Apps Champion" of its first Battle of the Apps competition.

Highlights from the 2013 Ultimate Marketer Contest

Infusionsoft handed out the Ultimate Marketer title to a customer that demonstrated exceptional sales and marketing ability and overall business results using the Infusionsoft all-in-one sales and marketing system. In 2008, Casey Graham, founder of The Rocket Company, was struggling to keep his dream alive. Its mission is simple—to help churches succeed. With little money in the bank, Graham began using Infusionsoft to help with the company's sales and marketing processes. In just two years, business more than quadrupled. The Rocket Company uses every Infusionsoft feature to attract interest, capture leads, nurture prospects, convert sales and upsell customers. It also uses Infusionsoft membership site software, CustomerHub, to further nurture and convert leads.

"We watched the stories of former Ultimate Marketers and dreamed that our company could realize that kind of success while still allowing for a life outside of work," says Graham. "We absorbed every best practice shared by Infusionsoft and dove right into the software. We could not have achieved this level of business and personal success without Infusionsoft, and we are so honored to have this title of Ultimate Marketer."

The Rocket Company shared its success story on stage along with the other two finalists. The more than 2,000 InfusionCon attendees voted for their favorite finalist via a Facebook voting app powered by GroSocial by Infusionsoft. The two runners-up to the title of Ultimate Marketer include:

• Dustin S. Burleson, D.D.S. of Burleson Orthodontics, who started his practice with one employee and zero patients in 2006. Using Infusionsoft, he has grown to more than 7,500 active patients and 35 employees. Learn more about Burleson Orthodontics' small business success story.
• Blue Chip Athletic, which was started in 2001 by Gonz Medina and Jason Heslo. With the help of Infusionsoft, Blue Chip Athletic has grown to 22,000 customers and $4.2 million in annual revenue. Learn more about how Infusionsoft has helped Blue Chip Athletic grow.

As the Ultimate Marketer winner, The Rocket Company received $5,000 to invest in its business, and an all expenses paid trip to Infusionsoft's headquarters for a one-day strategy session with top execs including CEO Clate Mask. First and second runners-up received cash prizes of $3,000 and $2,000, and Best-in-Class winners received $1,000 each. Read more about the Infusionsoft Ultimate Marketer finalists and Best-in-Class winners on the Infusionsoft blog.

The 2013 Ultimate Marketer contest was sponsored by Sixth Division, an Infusionsoft Certified Consultant helping small businesses implement marketing campaigns that get big results.

Highlights from the 2013 Battle of the Apps Contest

Infusionsoft launched this special challenge for its growing community of developers who create applications and plug-ins that enhance the Infusionsoft user experience. AppointmentCore, the winner of the first-ever Battle of the Apps, helps users automate their appointment and meeting scheduling processes. AppointmentCore beat three other developers for the Battle of the Apps "Kick Apps Champion" title. All four finalists were given the chance to pitch their app from stage and attendees voted on AppointmentCore as their favorite. The other finalists included Zapier, PlusThis and Maven Analytics.

 "A year ago at this time Infusionsoft had just announced its new Marketplace, and we were so excited to be one of the first involved with our Gmail and Google Apps integration," says AutomationCore CEO and Founder Benji Rabhan, developer of AppointmentCore. "The company wasted no time giving us the support and encouragement we needed to hit the ground running with a brand new concept – automating the appointment setting process. This competition is a testament to that encouragement and we are beyond excited to be named the winner. What's really special is that in such a short period of time, the Marketplace has become an innovative community of developers and partners who support each other. As a developer, you can't ask for anything better."

AppointmentCore received a $10,000 grand prize plus private consulting sessions with Infusionsoft's Chief Technology Officer, Marc Chesley, as well as other members of Infusionsoft's leadership team. The second place winner received $5,000, and the third and fourth place winners received $2,500 each.

Today there are more than 300 certified consultants, developers, apps, integrations and plugins in the Infusionsoft Marketplace.

Both competitions were among the most anticipated pieces of InfusionCon. The 2,000 attendees were able to see presentations on stage by the finalists in both competitions and then cast their votes for the winners.

InfusionCon 2013 brought 2,000 small business owners from around the world to Scottsdale, Ariz. on March 27-29 for three inspirational days of keynotes, education, product training and networking.

About Infusionsoft

Infusionsoft provides an all-in-one sales and marketing software for small businesses. Its Web-based system helps small businesses automatically market to get more customers, grow sales and save time. The privately held, six-time Inc. 500/5000 company is based in Chandler, Ariz. and is funded by Goldman Sachs, Mohr Davidow Ventures and Signal Peak Ventures. For more information, visit www.infusionsoft.com.

SOURCE Infusionsoft