Transform Your Data Center Sales Approach
Data Center Sales & Marketing Institute (DCSMI)
Elevating the role of sales, marketing, and go-to-market (GTM) professionals in the growth of the data center industry
Welcome to the Data Center Sales and Marketing Newsletter (DCSMI)
This week, you'll learn from guest expert Eckart Zollner , the Business Development lead for Digital Parks Africa .
Find out about the evolving role of sales and business development professionals in the data center industry.
Plus, get tips on how to thrive as the role of the business development professional is becoming increasingly complex, requiring a consultative approach and the ability to navigate a dynamic, ever-changing landscape.
Then, Joshua Feinberg from Data Center Sales & Marketing Institute (DCSMI) explores strategies for reaching and connecting with data center decision-makers in today's self-propelled buyer's journey.
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Register for This Week's Webinar:
Data Center Go-to-Market 101
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(For Sales, Marketing, Customer Success, Product, and Channel Partnership Professionals in the Data Center Industry)
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The way that prospects and clients research and make data center-related buying decisions has changed. Quite dramatically!
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When you?register for Data Center Go-to-Market 101, you’ll learn how to:
Upcoming Events
Navigating the Complex World of Data Center Sales and Business Development
During a recent episode of the Data Center Go-to-Market Podcast, host Joshua Feinberg interviewed Eckart Zollner, the Business Development lead for Digital Parks Africa, a data center operator in South Africa.?
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Their conversation provided valuable insights into the evolving role of sales and business development professionals in the data center industry.
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How Understanding Data Center Operations Builds Credibility With Clients
Eckart's career journey highlights the importance of technical expertise and hands-on experience in this complex field.
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Starting from an engineering background, he transitioned into sales and marketing roles, eventually finding his niche in business development for data centers.
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This blend of technical and customer-facing skills is crucial, as Eckart emphasizes the need for sales professionals to truly understand the "nuts and bolts" of data center operations to build credibility with clients.
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The Changing Data Center Sales Process and Repositioning as Trusted Advisors and Consultants?
The discussion also explored the changing dynamics of the sales process.
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Gone are the days when buyers would engage with vendors halfway through their decision-making journey.
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Today, customers are conducting extensive research and exploration before reaching out, making it essential for sales teams to position themselves as trusted advisors and consultants rather than just transactional sellers.
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Personalizing for Each Member of the Decsion-Making Committee
Eckart and Joshua explored the importance of understanding multiple stakeholders in the buying process, from influencers to decision-makers to potential detractors.
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Tailoring the sales approach to each persona and building consensus across the team is key to navigating the complex, long-term nature of data center purchasing decisions.
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The Importance of Differentiation to Avoid Commoditization
Differentiation also emerged as a critical factor in the highly competitive data center market.
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Eckart emphasized the need to constantly evolve service offerings, value propositions, and industry expertise to stay ahead of the curve and avoid commoditization.
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Looking to the future, Eckart highlighted the importance of taking a broader, more strategic view, staying abreast of global trends, regulatory changes, and the evolving needs of customers.
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The role of the business development professional is becoming increasingly complex, requiring a consultative approach and the ability to navigate a dynamic, ever-changing landscape.
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领英推荐
Featured Resource
This issue of the Data Center Sales and Marketing Newsletter (DCSMI) is sponsored in part by Go-to-Market Strategy Reboot Camp.
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The 8-Step System for Attracting the Right Clients and Growing Faster
Do you and your sales team struggle to attract and engage the right kinds of prospects? Ten years ago, buyers spoke with salespeople early on in their pre-purchase research. However, today that's completely changed.? And we’re not going to sugar-coat it: Most teams are not even close to being ready to confront this once-in-a-generation change in purchasing behavior -- that’s approaching at jet speed whether your company is prepared or not. As search engines, social media, voice-powered personal assistants, streaming video, podcasts, webinars, and review websites have all become mainstream, your best prospects now are doing tons of self-directed research on their own before they’re open to having a sales conversation with someone from your company. So much so that many times 80% (or more) of the buyer’s journey is over before you’re even aware of a potential prospect.?
This massive change in buyer behavior has proven incredibly challenging for legacy sales teams stuck in the past -- cold-messaging people on LinkedIn and begging for 15-minute meetings to pitch their product or service. But these changes also provide incredible opportunities for those teams that can position themselves as subject matter experts, teachers, trusted advisors, and thought leaders. And that’s why we built Go-to-Market Strategy Reboot Camp: to help you and your team learn how to attract the right clients to your business in the modern buyer's journey.
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Reaching Data Center Decision Makers
During a recent episode of the Data Center Go-to-Market Podcast, host Joshua Feinberg explored strategies for reaching and connecting with data center decision-makers in today's self-propelled buyer's journey.
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Engage Early and Throughout the 28 Touch Points in Their Buyer's Journey
Joshua emphasized the importance of creating educational resources that allow potential clients to engage early in their research process, rather than waiting until they're ready for a sales conversation.
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He stressed the need to stay with clients throughout the 28 touch points in their journey, not just at the end.
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Identifying and Prioritizing Key Decision-Makers?
Regarding buyer personas and stakeholders, Joshua explained the value of identifying key decision-makers and prioritizing the most important ones.
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He recommended conducting extensive external research to understand their goals, challenges, and frustrations, rather than relying solely on internal team knowledge.
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Positioning the Sales Team as Trusted Experts and Consultants
Developing a content strategy and hosting events were highlighted as effective ways to position the sales team as trusted experts and consultants.
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Joshua suggested collaborating with non-competitive partners to enhance the reach and impact of these initiatives.
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Content and Events Collaborations That Work for Even Early-State Companies
When it comes to collaborating with other organizations, Joshua advised against revenue-based partnerships with early-stage companies lacking product-market fit.
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He recommended starting with lighter collaborations, such as guest blogging or co-hosting webinars, and focusing on building strong relationships based on mutual trust and benefit.
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Viability of Launching a New Hosting or Cloud Startup
For those considering starting a hosting or cloud company, Joshua argued that it's still a viable opportunity, but emphasized the importance of targeting underserved niches where the big incumbents are missing the mark.
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He stressed the need for a user-focused approach, extensive product research, and a strong technical foundation.
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Data Center Branding In Today's Self-Propelled Marketplace
Finally, Joshua emphasized the need for companies to redefine their brand beyond just visual elements, recognizing that it's now shaped by the marketplace's perception of the company as a whole.
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Upskilling sales teams to have insightful, consultative conversations was identified as a crucial step in this evolution.
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How You Can Consult With DCSMI
The Data Center Sales & Marketing Institute (DCSMI) offers Data Center Lead Generation Consulting and Go-to-Market Strategy.
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Now, you can consult with DCSMI to increase your data center lead generation, reach the right decision-makers, improve brand awareness, enter new markets, grow your sales pipeline, and scale customer acquisition
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These programs are designed for data center providers -- as well as IT, facilities, real estate, construction, and sales and marketing companies that partner with data center providers.
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