My brilliant marketing director/daughter has challenged me with the task of learning more about my target market.
Seems like a “duh” assignment, doesn’t it?
We were talking strategy and she said, “Dad, it doesn’t matter what you think their needs are. You need to call and ask them about their pain points right now.”
So, I’ve been making calls and while the answers haven’t surprised me, necessarily, it’s given me a more well-rounded perspective on their world and helped shape the messaging we will use in our next effort to grow sales.
What about you?
Do you believe you understand the pain points of your clients? If yes, are you basing that answer on an assumption or do you understand because you’ve asked them?
To understand trends in an industry (or vertical market, if you prefer), you can use The Google. But to verify that information, you’ll need to speak directly with decision-makers about the impact of those trends. Only then can you get and stay ahead of clients and make a more profitable sale.
Important: You will literally need to call decision-makers and ask about their pain points. If you don’t have direct access to this level of influencer, it’s a sign you are not in deep enough with an account.
Madeline’s advice to me doesn’t come cheap. I’ll share this one with you but next time, we’ll need to go Dutch. Deal?
Need help selling without paper, finding the hybrid worker in the office, and marketing yourself? Join Bill Farquharson inside The Sales Vault and get new ideas and community at SalesVault.pro
