Becoming a Data Business and Selling Equipment: Why The Two Go Hand-in-Hand

Business woman looking over data for her business on a computer screen

Are you looking to improve the effectiveness of your sales and marketing? Are you looking for more businesses in your area that could use the heavy equipment, parts, service, or products you sell? Whatever the case, the best thing you can do to achieve your goals and help your company grow is to turn it into a data business. Becoming a data business, by utilizing marketing and sales data, is the best way to generate leads and sell to prospects in your trading area.

What Do We Mean By “Data Business”?

A data business is exactly what it sounds like: a business that uses data to improve its growth, workflow, and overall profitability. That’s because data can give businesses keen insights into areas where they might be lacking while also providing them with information on prospects and leads. 

For instance, data can tell you things, like how your advertisements are performing, if your social media campaign needs help, and how many customers in your local area use the products or services you offer. Essentially, using tools to find, store, and analyze data can make your business more effective in everything it does, especially when it comes to sales and marketing.

Why Is Data Important For Sales and Marketing?

Using a data-driven marketing or sales strategy is crucial to the success of your business and its main objectives. In fact, in 2020, 96% of businesses said that their data management strategies were at least somewhat successful. But here’s how data can affect sales and marketing specifically:

Sales

When you use data tools in sales, you can learn more about your prospects to improve your selling efforts. That includes information like what brands they prefer, where their businesses are located, and what time of the year they tend to make purchases. That information can give your sales team the knowledge and confidence they need to approach your leads at the right time with the right information. Data tools can also give you the ability to organize this information more easily, so you can keep track of which prospects you’ve contacted and how those conversations went.

Marketing

For marketing, data also helps you better understand your audience and target them with well-placed advertising. In some cases, that might mean targeting them based on location and, in other cases, by the content they consume. For example, Randall Reilly has a number of digital platforms where businesses can host advertisements targeting prospects in industries like trucking and construction. Download our media playbooks today to learn more about how we can help you effectively target your primary audience with our data and digital platforms.

How Can Becoming a Data Business Help With Selling Equipment?

Picture for a moment that your business currently sells semi-trucks and long-distance haulers to trucking companies. You sell to people in a specific geographic area, sending out your salespeople to prospects you think could use your products and equipment. Let’s look at two scenarios: one with data and one without.

Without Data

Your salesperson enters a prospect’s business. They’re armed with nothing but the knowledge of what the business does, and maybe some information they found on its website. Through the conversation with the business owner, the salesperson stumbles a bit, unsure how to approach the conversation. Afterall, they’re not sure what this business already has or what it needs. The salesperson will have to think quickly on their feet and navigate the conversation, steering it towards the products or services they think the business might require.

Even with an incredible set of skills from the salesperson, all it takes is one unfocused interaction to make the business believe your dealership might not have what they’re looking for and don’t have an understanding of their business. From there, your salesperson leaves, without turning that prospect into a lead or conversion, and attempts the same thing with another business down the road. It’s tiring, it’s stressful, and more often than not, it doesn’t work in your favor.

With Data

Now let’s look at this example again, but after your dealership becomes a data business. You send the salesperson to the business. But this time, they’re armed with the knowledge of which trucks the business already owns, which brands it’s more likely to buy, and when warranties end on a few trucks it currently owns. 

From the start, your salesperson is able to direct the conversation toward the models they typically buy or the comparable pieces of equipment the business prefers, along with a few options to replace the trucks that are soon finished with their warranties. The business knows right away that your dealership has what it needs, is impressed with your knowledge, and is one step closer to becoming a hot lead, or better yet, a customer.

https://randallreilly.wistia.com/medias/eqlxjjd50a?embedType=async&seo=false&videoFoam=true&videoWidth=640

You might be thinking data like this sounds too good to be true. But data products, like EDA and RigDig BI, have the power to offer your dealership the information it needs to boost its department’s success. Don’t send your salespeople to business unprepared, show them that you know what they want and tell them exactly how you can provide it. Schedule a demo today to see how EDA and RigDig BI can help turn you into a data business that’s more effective and profitable.

mobile app and desktop displaying a data product