How to Prove That You’re a Data Center Subject Matter Expert And Trusted Advisor

Joshua Feinberg discusses strategies for proving expertise and trust in the data center industry.

He emphasizes the importance of aligning content with client needs rather than self-promotion.

Using the car buyer's journey as an analogy, he highlights the need for consultative selling, similar to that of a Big Four consultant, rather than pushy sales tactics.

He stresses the importance of onboarding, upskilling, and professional development for team members.

Feinberg outlines the buyer's journey stages: awareness, consideration, and decision. He advises focusing on educational content and touchpoints rather than expensive events. He concludes that understanding buyer preferences and positioning the team as experts is crucial for accelerating sales.

This video is excerpted from the podcast Ep. #63 Joshua Feinberg, CEO of DCSMI | Data Center Go-to-Market Podcast.

Action Items

Improve onboarding, upskilling, and professional development of the client-facing team to position them as consultants, teachers, trusted advisors, and subject matter experts.
Implement a strategy to cover the 28+ touch points required to convert a prospect into a customer, beyond just attending expensive field events.
Involve mid-level sales directors as facilitators, moderators, and hosts for educational webinars and panels to leverage industry experts and client social proof.
Develop a deep content, editorial, and event strategy that positions the team as the go-to experts in the data center industry.

Outline

Proving Expertise and Trust in Data Centers

Joshua Feinberg discusses the importance of proving expertise and trust in the data center industry.
He emphasizes the need to focus on what prospects and clients care about, rather than personal interests.
Uses the analogy of car shopping to illustrate the early stages of the buyer's journey.
Highlights the issue of pushy salespeople and the need to avoid being seen as such.

Positioning Client-Facing Teams

Joshua Feinberg compares the ideal client-facing team member to a Big Four consultant rather than a pushy car salesperson.
He stresses the importance of elevating the positioning of client-facing teams to add value as consultants and trusted advisors.
Discusses the need for onboarding, upskilling, and professional development to improve team expertise.
Mentions the importance of cross-pollinating expertise between senior and junior team members.

Stages of the Buyer's Journey

Joshua Feinberg outlines the stages of the buyer's journey: awareness, consideration, and decision.
Emphasizes the importance of meeting prospects where they are in their journey, not where the company wants them to be.
Discusses the need for comparison guides, buyer's guides, and webinars in the consideration stage.
Highlights the problem of most prospects not being ready for sales contact and the risk of burning goodwill by pushing too hard.

Touch Points and Marketing Budget

Joshua Feinberg explains the importance of touch points in the buyer's journey. As many as 28 are needed between awareness and decision.
Criticizes the reliance on expensive field events for marketing and sales, which only count as one of the 28 touch points.
Uses the analogy of a sports team's payroll to illustrate the need for a balanced budget for touch points.
Emphasizes the importance of showing up as a consultant, teacher, trusted advisor, and subject matter expert.

Facilitating Educational Content

Joshua Feinberg suggests involving industry contacts as panelists in webinars to add social proof and value.
Discusses the benefits of recording and repurposing webinars for different platforms.
Emphasizes the importance of having a healthy respect for changes in buyer preferences and understanding customer insights.
Highlights the need for a deep content and editorial strategy to position the team as experts.

Resources

Watch the full podcast Ep. #63 Joshua Feinberg, CEO of DCSMI | Data Center Go-to-Market Podcast

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