Ep. #97 Joshua Feinberg, CEO at DCSMI | Data Center Go-to-Market Podcast

Episode #97 of the Data Center Go-to-Market Podcast features Joshua Feinberg, CEO at DCSMI.

Discover how to grow sales of data center infrastructure, hybrid cloud, data security, and connectivity.
Identify and define your ideal client profile based on geography, company size, and industry.
Understand the importance of buyer personas and how to tailor your messaging to resonate with key stakeholders.
Explore strategies for repositioning client-facing teams as educators, consultants, and trusted advisors.
Gain insights into managing business development for cloud migration, managed cloud services, and disaster recovery.
Master the art of empathetic and specific messaging to align with the self-driven buyer's journey.
Uncover effective lead generation strategies for colocation, connectivity, and disaster recovery services.
Connect with data center architects and engineers by providing valuable educational resources and events.
Compete effectively with data center real estate brokers by building a strong professional brand and thought leadership.
Elevate your company’s presence in the data center ecosystem by adopting a modern, buyer-centric approach.

Host:
Joshua Feinberg, CEO
DCSMI

Joshua Feinberg discusses strategies for managing Business Development in the data center ecosystem, emphasizing the importance of understanding client needs and providing educational resources. He outlines a six-part agenda addressing sales and marketing challenges, including growing sales of data center infrastructure, cloud migration, and disaster recovery. Joshua highlights the shift to a self-propelled buyer's journey, where 83% of the process occurs before vendor contact. He stresses the need for data center operators to reposition their teams as consultants and educators, leveraging digital content to build trust and influence. He also advises generating leads, connecting with architects and engineers, and competing with data center real estate brokers by enhancing digital presence and educational resources.

Action Items

Clearly define the ideal client profile, including geography, company size, and industry.
Research and document the primary and secondary buyer personas for the most important stakeholders.
Develop an educational content and event strategy to position the company as the go-to experts in the space.
Build a target account list of ideal architecture and engineering firms for pre-engineered metal building systems.
Invest in building a strong professional brand through a content and thought leadership strategy to stay relevant to data center real estate buyers.

Outline

Understanding Business Development and Stakeholder Value

Joshua Feinberg discusses the importance of understanding account and stakeholder levels to add value throughout the buyer's journey.
Emphasizes the need to know the biggest goals and challenges of stakeholders and provide educational resources and events.
Introduces the podcast's agenda, focusing on six major sales and marketing challenges in the data center ecosystem.
Mentions the importance of subscribing to the Data Center Sales and Marketing Newsletter for updates and educational resources.

Growing Sales of Data Center Infrastructure

Joshua Feinberg explains the need to understand the company's and its clients' size to determine if separate sales teams are required for different product lines.
Recommends integrating data center infrastructure, hybrid cloud, data security, and connectivity under one sales team.
Highlights the importance of identifying successful clients and understanding their geographic location, company size, and industry.
Stresses the need for clarity on the ideal client profile, including geography, company size, and industry, to grow sales effectively.

Identifying Ideal Client Profiles and Buyer Personas

Joshua Feinberg advises clarifying the ideal client profile, including geographic location, company size, and industry.
Emphasizes the importance of standardizing based on the number of employees at client accounts.
Discusses the significance of LinkedIn for categorizing different size companies and the importance of normalizing client profiles.
Introduces the concept of buyer personas to represent ideal clients based on research and consensus on their goals and challenges.

Repositioning Client-Facing Teams for Success

Joshua Feinberg highlights the need for client-facing teams to reposition themselves as educators, consultants, and trusted advisors.
Discusses the shift from traditional sales approaches to being seen as thought leaders and subject matter experts.
Emphasizes the importance of company culture mandates to position the company as the definitive go-to experts in the data center space.
Mentions the need for internal teams to be up to speed with educational resources to ensure consistency in messaging.

Managing Business Development for Cloud Migration

Joshua Feinberg differentiates between selling to small and medium-sized businesses and mid-market and enterprise clients.
Advises understanding the nature of the services sold, whether commoditized or high-margin professional services.
Recommends building a target account list based on the ideal client profile, including geography, company size, and industry.
Emphasizes understanding the most important stakeholders within client accounts and building relationships with them.

Improving Data Center Operator Messaging

Joshua Feinberg discusses the need for empathetic and specific messaging that resonates with prospects and clients.
Highlights the shift to a self-propelled buyer's journey and the importance of messaging replacing face-to-face conversations.
Advises clarifying the ideal client profile and prioritizing the most important and second-most-important buyer personas.
Emphasizes the need for educational resources and events to earn a seat at the table in the awareness and consideration stages of the buyer's journey.

Generating New IT Infrastructure Leads

Joshua Feinberg explains the importance of understanding historical success with clients to identify ideal client profiles.
Recommends building a target account list based on geography, company size, and industry.
Discusses the need for a hyper-local playbook for smaller colocation providers and a national or global playbook for larger providers.
Advises leveraging channel partners, including managed service providers, to expand reach and build relationships.

Connecting with Data Center Architects and Engineers

Joshua Feinberg advises defining target architects and engineers' location, company size, and industry specializations.
Recommends building a target account list and creating educational content to provide value to these stakeholders.
Emphasizes the importance of being seen as a trusted advisor and subject matter expert in building relationships.
Suggests leveraging internal expertise and external experts to curate valuable content and events.

Competing with Data Center Real Estate Brokers

Joshua Feinberg discusses the need for data center real estate brokers to adapt to the self-driven buyer's journey.
Advises investing in digital adoption, thought leadership, and positioning as consultants and subject matter experts.
Emphasizes the importance of understanding the competitive landscape, including direct, indirect, and non-business model competitors.
Recommends building a strong professional brand through educational resources and events to stay relevant and competitive.

Resources

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