Ignite Sales Named "Best in Class" in Customer Acquisition for Financial Institutions

DALLAS, February 4, 2002 - Celent Communications, a research and advisory firm dedicated to helping financial institutions formulate comprehensive business and technology strategies, named Ignite Sales number one in Client Acquisition in a recent research report. Celent's report, Ranking the Vendors of Wealth Management Platforms: Just the Beginning, evaluates online wealth management solutions for financial services institutions. Twelve solutions providers were reviewed in four categories - Client Acquisition, Integration and Aggregration, Client Management and Financial Planning and Management.

(Report summary: http://www.celent.com/pressreleases/20011207/WealthMgmtVendors.htm)

Isabella Fonseca, co-author of Celent's report said, "Better than any other company we have evaluated, Ignite Sales helps the financial institutions it serves use their Web sites to identify and acquire prospective wealth management customers. In the past year, Ignite Sales has added more depth to its reporting tools using algorithms and predictive modeling."

Julie Hamrick, president of Ignite Sales said, "Superior client acquisition is central to the value Ignite Sales offers its customers, so we are pleased to be recognized as "best in class" by Celent."

Hamrick continued, "Financial institutions whose Web sites incorporate Ignite planners report that an impressive 60 percent of their online consumers take action, with 15 percent immediately applying for a financial product or service. Since financial institutions are able to sell products to people as they express interest in buying them, they see significant, quantifiable results from their Web sites in weeks. We believe these results confirm Celent's findings."

Ignite Sales' services are integrated into areas of Web sites where online consumers get information about financial decisions, services and products. Although invisible to individuals as they investigate links such as retirement planning, home equity loans, auto finance or college savings, consumers are often clicking on and using "planners and profilers" powered by Ignite Sales. Ignite's customers include: Bank One, Citigroup, Frost Bank, Sovereign Bank and Wells Fargo.

By empowering their Web sites with Ignite's services, financial institutions consistently get a clear picture of their online customers' financial goals and buying behaviors. While boosting total customer relationship management, Ignite's services also enable financial institutions to build customer
loyalty and retention."

Fonseca noted, "Our report shows that what began as simple calculators intended for end-clients have turned into sophisticated customer relationship management and work productivity tools designed to improved the efficiency of financial advisors. Despite the belief that the advice market is mature, our findings indicate the online wealth management space is still in its infancy."

About Celent Communications
Celent Communications is a research and advisory firm that helps financial institutions formulate comprehensive business and technology strategies. Celent's team of internationally experienced analysts publishes reports identifying trends and best practices in financial services technology and
conducts consulting engagements. Headquartered in Boston, Celent also has offices in New York, Paris and San Francisco. For more information, visit www.celent.com

About Ignite Sales, Inc.
Ignite Sales is an online service provider that enables financial institutions (FIs) to generate qualified leads while building customer loyalty and retention by using interactive and personalized cross-selling
methods. Recognized research firms have named Ignite Sales "one of five leading online financial planning and advice providers," and "one of two best financial planning analyzers." The company's MoneyMatch and ProductMatch services allow FIs to convert their web traffic to immediate revenue by matching consumers with products at the consumer's time of need. FIs also use data compiled by Ignite's powerful, back-end marketing engines to predict future consumer purchases. Ignite's clients include: Bank One, Citigroup, Frost Bank, Sovereign Bank and Wells Fargo. For more information, visit www.ignitesales.com