Vertical Marketing: Discovering a new prospect world by reinventing your message
Posted by Geoff Alexander on Mon, Jan 05, 2009 @ 12:15 AM
A few weeks ago, I posted an article mentioning that many inside sales reps tell me that Marketing isn't getting them enough leads, sales management is in transition and directionless, the Field is in conflict with Inside Sales, and on top of that, people aren't returning our calls. In other words, we don't have enough great leads. The bad news is that this is happening at every company under the sun, so changing companies may not help you much. The good news is that you can really do something about it, and today's post is about the concept of vertical marketing, and how you can apply it in your sales territory.
To begin, let's say that you've sold successfully into a company in your territory that operates in the Financial space, and you sell web content management solutions. Believe it or not, you're now an expert in Content Management for financial companies. So go ahead and determine all Financial companies in your territory, and begin calling them. Start with the highest-level executive responsible for your product focus (e.g. VP of Internet Marketing) and lead with "We specialize in content management solutions of financial institutions." Sure, you specialize in Content Management for everything under the sun, but try to craft your message for the specific vertical. You'll find more ears open to your non-generic opener, and we've found, in coaching thousands of reps, that you'll either have a conversation, or get referred to a great contact that will engage with you.
You'll also find savvy execs who'll ask you "What's so different about how the Financial Industry uses Content Management solutions?" I hope you're prepared with an intelligent answer that you thought of in advance. One idea could be "Content for Financial companies involves a lot more security issues, which can involve multiple search paths and passwords," for example.
You've already successfully sold into various verticals, so why not pick 2 or 3 of them this week and start your own campaign. Go back and ask one of your customers how he or she is using your solution to save money or sell more of their products. Now you'll have vertically-oriented user stories to use as testimonials. If you use this sales technique, you'll increase sales this quarter, and have a way of doing business that will build sales success for years to come. I teach this in my telesales training course because it works. Add it to your Best Practices playbook.