Colonel Mustard…

In the conservatory… 

With the candlestick! 

B2B sales can feel a bit like a game of Clue as you piece together the evidence to first determine which prospects are the best fit for your product or service, and then guide those prospects through the twists and turns of the buyer’s journey.

Today’s B2B sales tools are crucial to gathering those clues in one place, tracking the data points, and making your case. They have CRM integration. They have market targeting. They have robust analytics. Some even have intent data. But as it turns out, there is a critical piece missing from many of these tools when it comes to account-based marketing, sales, and the customer experience: 

They have the who.

They have the where (and maybe the when).

But they’re missing the all-important “what.”

A stymied investigation, a B2B cold case

That’s right, all those bells and whistles in today’s B2B sales tools do a great job of identifying and providing reconnaissance on which geographies or companies to target. Many even incorporate sales intelligence like contact details on key decision makers –– vitally important information for your organization’s sales and marketing efforts.

But that’s where many B2B sales tools stop, often leading your team’s investigation –– or sales efforts –– to a dead end.

Don’t let the case go cold! The crucial piece of evidence sales and marketing professionals need to get in the door, move their sales forward, and close that case –– er, deal –– is knowing the “what.” And Industry Intelligence provides those pivotal clues, filling in the missing pieces needed to secure new business, conduct more productive sales conversations, and build stronger customer relationships.

Blowing the case wide open for B2B sales

Industry Intelligence informs sales and marketing pros about what is going on within their prospect’s niche –– what their target company’s day-to-day operations look like, what the industry’s typical challenges are, what fuels their supply chain and sales, what trends are impacting their bottom line, what industry risks or issues might be keeping the business owner up at night.

When sales and marketing teams tap into the clues offered by Industry Intelligence, they will uncover not only the inner-workings of a prospect’s industry, they’ll also discover the industry-specific issues that shape how the prospect views his or her business, their vertical, and the broader marketplace.

As an added benefit, Industry Intelligence is a tremendous time-saver, packaged in a convenient, consumable, and easy-to-share, or as I like to say, actionable format. In as little as five minutes:

• A salesperson can get the industry-focused talking points needed to feel confident on a prospect call.
• A marketer can quickly gather salient industry insights to create a tailored communication or presentation.
• A relationship manager can identify an industry trend or recent event to share with a client as a valuable, personalized touchpoint.

Armed with Industry Intelligence, sales and marketing professionals can build a rock-solid case, going beyond the who and where to get to the bottom of WHAT is impacting clients and prospects today, and in the future. Once they have that insight they can tailor solutions and value-added advice to the buyer’s needs. And that’s the kind of personalized, gumshoe detective work today’s business owners are searching for!

The answer to the mystery of B2B sales success was right there all along! You can learn more about how to use Industry Intelligence to uncover the clues you need to close more deals. Watch this video then read this eBook to shine a new light on the mysteries of losing a sale.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

More than 25 years of experience with building early-stage companies through marketing strategy and operational execution have taught Vertical IQ president David Buffaloe a thing or two about B2B sales! Prior to joining the Vertical IQ team in 2019, David served as SVP of marketing at Zift Solutions, the leading provider of enterprise channel management solutions, and held marketing leadership roles at several other technology firms. In addition, David was the president and founder of M-pact Marketing, a boutique agency that helped early-stage companies grow through integrated marketing strategy and execution. When he’s not busy making the case for Industry Intelligence, you’ll find David spending time with family, playing tennis, and sipping bourbon while cheering on the NC State Wolfpack and Carolina Hurricanes.

ABOUT VERTICAL IQ

Headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., Vertical IQ is a nationally recognized leader in Industry Intelligence. Whether they’re pitching a local brewery or a national biotech company, successful sales, marketing, and customer success teams use Vertical IQ to better understand a prospect’s or client’s business challenges before, during, and after meetings. Covering more than 560 distinct industries, 3,400 local economies, and more than 97 percent of the U.S. economy and Canada, Vertical IQ equips users with the confidence and credibility to make memorable first impressions and sustain enduring relationships.