Industrial Sales Lead Research (Part Five): Knowing your Prospects' Competition

4 MIN. READ

Welcome to the fifth and final part of our five-part series on industrial sales lead research. Today, we're covering everything you need to know about analyzing your prosepcts' competition in order to glean insight on their potential challenges. 

In every conflict throughout history, one of the most important factors leading to victory has been information.

Business may not be a conflict, but it is absolutely competitive. Informational advantages can mean the difference between survival and shutdown. In Part 5 of our series on industrial sales lead research, we'll explain how you can become a valuable part of your sales prospects’ winning strategy by knowing their competition.

Doing the Research

The market research industry is worth nearly $80 billion globally, with hundreds of firms vying to deliver the most accurate information to their clients. Today these services are more critical than ever due to the ramifications of COVID-19 responses.

These responses have dropped the economy into a state of complete flux.

Time-tested companies are restructuring, new entities are emerging to capitalize on new opportunities and others are either downsizing or folding altogether.

Companies need to pay close attention to what others in their field are doing in order to stay ahead in this complex game.

Upstream and Downstream Effects

State and local shutdowns on businesses have had a ripple effect across every industry. For example, to the casual observer it might seem that because fewer people are traveling by air, airlines are taking the hardest hit. But the ancillary industries that support airlines are also being slammed by the ripple effects of the cutbacks. For instance, just a few of the industries affected include:

• Oil drilling and aviation fuel refining equipment.
• Pumps and storage tanks for fuel.
• Vehicles for transportation and delivery of fuel.
• Aerospace-grade precision machining for aircraft parts and maintenance.
• Industrial conveyor systems for baggage handling.
• Agricultural, food processing and refrigeration equipment for passenger meals.

To build trust and develop solutions for your prospects, you need to know what they are facing, but more importantly, what they’re about to face and from where. In our example, a company that manufactures food processing equipment for passenger catering may not be able to pivot to other industries since restaurants and hotels are also experiencing declines.

There may be almost no customers for their products.

How that company deals with the crisis depends on its size, existing resources and specific circumstances.

It may restructure its board of directors, liquidate assets or lay off personnel to weather the storm and emerge viable on the other side.

Success Stories

Good information on companies that are succeeding may be even more critical to helping a prospect identify an opportunity they may not be taking advantage of.

As mentioned, some companies are thriving in this economy due to changes in demand. Manufacturers of smaller delivery vehicles are seeing an uptick from the need to deliver products ordered online.

Rather than stocking stores, these vehicles are transferring goods from massive distribution warehouses to consumers who are reluctant to leave home.

If your prospect is in an industry that's even remotely connected to distribution or light trucks and vans, they need to be aware of developments like these.

To help a prospect, analyze all the available data on their competitors:

• What industries are they tied to?
• Are those industries recovering or contracting?
• What has changed at their company, and why?
• What is the prognosis for recovery?
• Will the changes offer them a financial advantage?
• Will there be a chance of staffing issues?
• Have they shifted to different product offerings?

Knowing what your prospect's competition is doing has become very complex. In the best of times, staying updated about your prospects' competition could easily be a full-time job.

In this extended crisis, it's nearly impossible without focused assistance from professional researchers.

IndustrySelect offers detailed data, including company profiles, potential competitors and unique facts, that can give you the edge in any conversation.

Your workflow will benefit from seamless integration of available data that's designed to provide you with all the tools to not only make the sale, but truly help your prospect.

To see an example of this in action, watch our short video below. Want to join the club? Try out a free demo of IndustrySelect today!