Making a Greater
Difference
Understanding your Prospects
and Customers World with
Industry Insight
Pat Shannon
Channel Manager
First Research, a Hoovers company
shannonp@dnb.com

Becoming their #1 Trusted Advisor
How do you get there? Your goals should be…
• Greater understanding of their Critical Business Issues
• Sharing insights with Decision Makers proactively
about their Industry
• Go beyond the audit and tax consulting, increasing
your consulting engagements
• Further enhance credibility & build confidence
• Sell more easily based on Value to your Client
• Distinguish Yourself from the Competition as well
as
other advisors like bankers, lawyers, and insurance

Industry Intelligence’s Value Prop
How does my
prospect’s business
How can keep operate? What challenges do my prospects
professionally building face every day?
credibility with my C-level
decision makers?
What other critical
How can my Accounting business problems
services help this Professional can I assist solving
prospect? for my client?
What has happened How can I plan my
recently to this call?
industry/business
to help me land this How can I add value
deal? so I don’t have to
compete on price?

While Knowledge is
power…
Information Overload Adds
to Complexity
Time spent on
information tasks
= 13 hrs/week
(up from 8 hrs/week in 2001)

Your Insights about their world
DRIVE SUCCESS THROUGHOUT THE SALES CYCLE
Cross-sell solutions by
uncovering new needs
Enhance presentations as
customer-centric
Provide value-added advice
Prepare for calls effectively
Customer-centric content for
letters, emails, etc