September saw NFL and college football starting to come back to life, bringing a much-needed boost to many people’s spirits as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. Along with many other Americans, I spent last weekend cheering on the guys from my fantasy football team.

Even if you don’t know much about football, you likely know Peyton Manning. Love him or not, he’s one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. Now retired, he’s continuing to entertain with his Nationwide Insurance ads.

Co-starring country music legend Brad Paisley, the ads showcase Manning and Paisley’s sense of humor as they discuss the benefits of Nationwide Insurance. I particularly like their Welcome to Peytonville campaign, wherein Manning shows Paisley an entire miniature city he’s built that’s populated by characters he knows well. He’s excited about the new bakery opening on Main Street, can pinpoint the safest driver in Peytonville, and even introduces Paisley to a teeny tiny insurance agent whom he refers to as the most important person in Peytonville.

KNOW THEIR BACKSTORY TO WIN THEIR BUSINESS

The Peytonville ads are brilliant. The banter between Manning and Paisley is natural and easy. The ads remind me of the value and focused power of Industry Intelligence. They show exactly how knowing and demonstrating the issues affecting business owners around town is vital. You have to get to know their backstories to beat out the competition and build strong, long-lasting relationships.

Instead of “Peytonville,” I like to imagine that every sales and marketing professional has their own “Prospectville,” populated by their most attractive business prospects. You can’t just march right into the center of Prospectville and expect business owners to jump at the chance to talk to you. You must get to know them and their businesses first – and then continue to deliver valuable insight to keep that conversation going.

QUALITY VS. QUANTITY

Just like Peytonville, Prospectville has a town center. That’s where your best targets are doing business. You need to understand their most pressing challenges and dig down into the details of those central (and more profitable) industries. They should be your focus rather than the single outlying alligator park owner or calligraphy ink retailer working at the far-flung edges of town.

While some industry research report providers might try to win you over by throwing out big numbers of industries they cover, Vertical IQ Industry Intelligence focuses on quality over quantity. But that doesn’t mean it’s limited. In fact, when you overlay Vertical IQ’s Industry Intelligence coverage onto Prospectville and beyond, you’ll have the industry-specific research you need to understand and approach targets covering more than 90 percent of the U.S. economy. You’ll be prepared to engage with business owners from all types of industries from architectural firms, funeral homes, and cement companies to chemical manufacturers, pharmaceuticals, and hospitals.

We know that the last thing you need is to be overwhelmed with irrelevant info. (The Internet already does a great job of that.) Vertical IQ gets specific about key business drivers and delivers detailed regional and local insight, so you can talk to Prospectville’s business owners about the issues affecting their business and their neighborhood today.

MORE ISN’T BETTER 

Simply put, the quantity of reports on other industry research providers doesn’t make them better. It’s just more. Vertical IQ carefully selects the industries we cover based on real opportunities and input from our customers. Should you wander out to that alligator park in Prospectville and find it booming with potential, just let us know. Our experts will do the targeted research you need and add that industry to our profile line-up. No problem.

You and your prospects don’t need another confusing data download on random industry segments. Industry Intelligence from Vertical IQ is actionable, convenient, and focused information you can easily incorporate into and across your entire sales process, from call prep to close and beyond.

With it, you can confidently approach and engage any business owner in Prospectville and wow them with informed questions, financial benchmarks, localized economic info, and timely content such as hand-selected current news articles. This is information you can use to initiate, manage, and grow profitable business relationships. Industry Intelligence won’t overwhelm you or your targets – but I’m betting in no time flat, it will make you feel like the mayor of Prospectville.

Email info@verticaliq.com to let me know which industries you need to know more about now – along with the NFL fantasy stars you’re cheering on this season.