Here at Vertical IQ, we pride ourselves on attracting and retaining the best of the best. That’s why we are excited to welcome Jerry Bazata as the newest member of our fabulous customer success team.
Jerry brings a particularly valuable background and vantage point to his new role at Vertical IQ. Not only does he boast 40+ years of experience as a commercial lender, specializing in commercial/industrial operating companies, he is also a long-time Vertical IQ customer and enthusiast. He understands how to tap into Industry Intelligence to save time, win new business, and nurture and grow existing customer relationships.
We recently sat down with Jerry to chat about his career, his goals, and why he decided to join the Vertical IQ team.
Vertical IQ: You have been a big fan of Vertical IQ for many years, especially in your role as a commercial lender. What do you like most about Vertical IQ?
Jerry: What I like most about Vertical IQ is the ability to quickly and easily access industry research that I know is up-to-date and accurate. When I would go to meet my customers, I could talk to them at their level — I understood their terminology, how they operate, how money comes into and goes out of the company. I could proactively share useful industry-specific information with them. So therefore, they’re not having to spend their valuable time educating me; instead, I’m helping them grow their business by using my industry knowledge to offer tailored guidance, solutions, and value.
Vertical IQ: Do you think your success as a lender was directly correlated to your use of Vertical IQ?
Jerry: I really do. The Industry Intelligence on Vertical IQ had a significant impact in helping me win new business, become a trusted advisor, and grow relationships. It was also extremely important because those businesses that I won, they then referred me to other businesses … often, in fact!
The business owner would say to a colleague or peer, “This lender is extremely knowledgeable about our industry. If you’re struggling with your current financial person who doesn’t understand what’s happening in your industry, here’s a banker who does — here’s somebody you need to have a conversation with.” It always started with, “You need to speak to Jerry; he understands our industry.” That kind of referral was truly a wonderful way to be recognized by current customers.
Vertical IQ: What would you say to someone who’s considering trying Vertical IQ for the first time, or further incorporating it into their existing sales and marketing processes?
Jerry: I would tell them: If you want to grow your business banking unit or focus on a specific type of commercial financing — whether it’s FinTech, a hard money lender, or an innovative lender — it’s going to give you a leg up on your competition. But more importantly, it’s going to get your bankers and lenders better prepared to deal with the clients that they are targeting. The same goes for those who want to differentiate their business sales or consulting organization.
For example, let’s say you’re a financial services organization that wants to specialize in the software industry. Having your bankers and lenders understand how revenues flow in and out of this niche, the challenges that software businesses face, enables them to have a more concrete and positive conversation with a software business owner. They can become a trusted advisor to that owner — the person that they really want to work with — and you’ll win their relationship.
But it goes further than that. Once you win that relationship, you can continue to build on that collaboration because Vertical IQ is not just a one-and-done. It’s there to help you nurture, develop, and retain this relationship over the long haul by continually adding value with timely, accurate industry and economic insights — easily accessible, right at your fingertips.
As a result, you’re not having to work extra hard to replace what is normal attrition or the loss of clients. You’re retaining a book of business that you can manage over a long period of time and that will reliably come to you when a new need arises.
Vertical IQ: Having been a Vertical IQ customer, how does Vertical IQ differ from other industry insight providers?
Jerry: In my decades of banking, I’ve had the opportunity to work with a lot of software firms — including other industry insights providers — bringing in new processes, workflows, and all that. And it’s almost always like, “Okay, we got it up and running. Go use it. Call us when you have a problem.”
But that’s not Vertical IQ. With Vertical IQ, it’s a true relationship. Their customer service and communication are truly exceptional — always there to address any challenges or questions — even providing research assistance when needed.
They also have an entire group dedicated to account management and customer success — a whole team of people who have a vested interest in your organization, and more importantly, your team members’ success. That’s why they put so much into offering their users continual education opportunities to ensure people are getting the most out of the solution.
In part, I think this all comes back to the fact that many of Vertical IQ’s employees — like me — come from a banking and/or sales background themselves. We know firsthand what it is like to be on the front lines — effectively preparing for meetings, having engaging customer conversations, assessing a business’s unique challenges and opportunities.
I truly believe that Vertical IQ embeds the importance of cultivating relationships into every aspect of their product and the services they provide. I’m thrilled to be working alongside this group of people, and I look forward to helping Vertical IQ’s customers thrive!