Blog

Vertical Market Sales

February 27, 2019

By: Januari M. Santiago, Healthcare Account Manager, Integrated Security Technologies, PSA Sales & Marketing Committee Member


Sales is a mixed bag of tricks encompassing everything from SPIN Selling to MEDDIC to The Sandler Selling Strategy. You name it, and they’ve probably got it in your flavor. The methodologies and selling strategies are endless. It’s so easy to get caught up in trying to figure out what’s right for you.

Januari Santiago, IST

To further add to the list of frustrations that come with just being a sales representative, we’ll add the daunting task of starting in a new industry or having to train a new sales representative with zero experience in your industry. If you’re anything like me, now is when you begin to hyperventilate. You begin to obsess about “Where am I going to find the time to train this person?” or “Where am I going to find the time to study all of this?”. It’s absolutely maddening.

However, once you pull yourself together, you realize one thing: Regardless of whether you’re the trainer or the newbie, everyone struggles with the same thoughts – where do I begin? No one really frets over your in-house processes or learning the CRM systems. The real stressor is always getting up to speed.

Customers want to learn from their sales representatives. They want to feel like we really are the masters of our industry. They want to know that in addition to knowing our industry that we understand their needs, their pains, and their priorities. This is where it gets tricky. How do we, as sales representatives, truly understand all these things for all our customers? How do focus in on what’s important if our customers are all so different in their needs, pains, and priorities?

For our sales team at IST, the answer is simple – Vertical Markets. By utilizing a Vertical Markets sales strategy, each sales representative can better focus on the needs, pains, and priorities of their customers. They’re able to familiarize themselves with vertical wide security concerns and improve market saturation through industry established organizations.

Regardless of whether you’re the trainer or the newbie, everyone struggles with the same thoughts – where do I begin?

For example, I am a Healthcare Account Manager. I understand the requirements my customers have as they relate to HIPAA/HITECH, Infection Control, and Joint Commission audits.  I can identify that many of my customers are kept awake by concerns for employee safety (a result of Workplace Violence), patient safety (a result of Fall Risk hazards), and patient privacy (a result of HIPAA/HITECH violations) – just to name a few. I am also able to utilize my relationships with Security Managers at various hospitals to connect my customers and present different solutions they’re each using to resolve the same problem. I can better target my prospects and align myself with the contractors who are preferred by my prospects.

I joined IST 2.5 years ago with no experience in the security industry. In addition to having an amazing team, my saving grace was our team’s choice to focus on vertical markets. It’s been easier for me to understand new technologies and their applications, which makes the onboarding process go a lot smoother. Vertical Market selling has also helped our team better prioritize our leads, focus our goals for the year, and develop training strategies for new sales hires. We’ve found a way to ensure that each member of our team – both established and new – is successful. Afterall, isn’t that the goal?


Learn more at TEC 2019 with “Successful Selling to Vertical Markets”
Presented by the PSA Sales and Marketing Committee

Wednesday, March 13  |  3:30 PM

Register Today


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