Landslide Technologies is pushing its way into the crowded field of Web-based salesforce automation and CRM applications. It's doing so by offering not just software as a service, but also personal assistance for busy sales professionals.Pittsburgh-based Landslide, founded in 2004, first introduced its application in December of 2006. Last year was the company's first full year of sales, and business is picking up. Subscription revenue jumped more than 300% in the first half of 2008 compared with the same period last year, according to founder and CEO Razi Imam. British Telecom and Cincinnati Bell are among the big companies testing it.

Landslide specializes in what it calls "sales workstyle management," which focuses on the way salespeople work in addition to contact management. It offers live "VIP assistants" available by phone to help salespeople input and access customer data. In a few weeks, Landslide will be expanding its VIP services to include, among other options, weekly sales summaries for senior managers. In addition, Landslide's application is being overhauled to make it easier to use. Most tasks will be completed in three clicks or less, says Imam. Look for Landslide to make a formal announcement of the platform upgrade later this month.

Some of Landslide's other distinguishing features include the ability to customize the software for a company's sales processes and create portals for one-on-one interaction with customers. Mary Delaney, president of CareerBuilder.com's Personified subsidiary and former chief sales officer for CareerBuilder, recently joined Landslide's board of advisers.

For more on Landslide, here's an interview with Imam from my recent visit to Pittsburgh-area startups.