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Leveling the Playing Field: How Local Commercial Services Companies Can Integrate Solutions to Compete with National Players
Erika Carmichael
Introduction
If you’re running a local business, it can sometimes feel like David versus Goliath.
National enterprises have seemingly unlimited resources: big marketing budgets, teams of specialists, and access to the latest tools and technologies. Meanwhile, you’re dealing with rising costs, finding good employees, and wondering if you can make payroll next month.
Sound familiar?
The good news is that the digital age is the great equalizer. With the right strategies and tools, even the smallest businesses can compete on the same level as the giants. The key lies in using technology as the backbone of your growth strategy. And one of the most powerful tools in your arsenal is automated sales intelligence software.
Integrating Powerful Solutions
Imagine this: Instead of relying on cold calls, word of mouth, or simply hoping to land a new client, you’re working with data-backed insights that tell you exactly who’s ready to buy your services. You know their pain points, you understand the property they manage, and you’ve automated half of your outreach. That’s what a sales intelligence platform and property intelligence can do for you.
Let’s dive into exactly how these tools work and, more importantly, how you can implement them to compete with the big players. Accurate and verified contact data is crucial in enhancing sales processes, streamlining outreach, and improving lead generation efforts.
Sales Intelligence: Your Secret Weapon for Customer Insights
If you’ve ever felt like you were flying blind while trying to bring in new business, b2b sales intelligence is about to change the game for you.
Think of it like having a virtual assistant who knows everything about your target customers: their buying behavior, preferences, challenges, and even the latest market trends. Sales intelligence solutions provide actionable insights that help you gather and analyze data about prospects, markets, and competitors. Tools like Convex provide data that allows you to tailor your approach so your pitch is more than just noise. It’s relevant and timely, hitting the right notes when your potential client is ready to listen.
For example, imagine you’re an HVAC business owner. With sales intelligence, you can see which buildings in your area are likely to need an upgrade based on the age of their equipment. Instead of cold-calling hundreds of companies, you’re calling the ones that are most likely to convert. That’s not just efficiency; that’s a competitive edge.
Mike Rose, VP of Business Development, Comfort Systems USA, implemented Convex’s sales intelligence software four years ago, and sales have doubled.
Convex’s Atlas transformed how they approached sales. Before, the team was bogged down with slow onboarding times and manual lead research that took up 1-2 days per week- but now, they’re laser-focused. Convex gives their sales team instant insights into properties, allowing them to double the business in just a few years. “It’s like having a roadmap to the perfect client, which completely changed how we scale. Atlas is our secret weapon for sustainable growth.”
Property Intelligence Software: Understanding the Playing Field
Now, picture this: You’ve identified a few buildings that could use your services. But what if you could go even deeper—like knowing the building’s owner, manager’s contact data, and the square footage of the building- and even be able to view aerial imagery of the systems in place?
That’s where property intelligence comes in. By gathering detailed information on commercial properties and company data in your area, you can approach potential clients with more than just a general sales pitch. You’re coming in with tailored solutions based on their specific needs. Customer relationship management plays a crucial role in managing these client relationships, automating tasks, and optimizing interactions. That’s the kind of insight that builds trust fast.
Adopting Account-Based Marketing: A Strategy for the Small and Mighty
Account-based marketing (ABM) used to be something only the big players could afford. Think massive corporations with equally massive budgets, launching hyper-targeted campaigns aimed at high-value accounts. But times have changed, and now, with tools like Convex, local businesses can “get in on the action” too—and get big results.
Here’s the beauty of ABM: Instead of casting a wide net and hoping something sticks, sales and marketing teams collaborate to focus on a handful of high-value clients. You craft personalized campaigns tailored specifically to their needs, speaking their language, solving their problems. By leveraging intent data, organizations can identify active buying signals, allowing sales teams to tailor their outreach efforts based on real-time insights into buyer behavior. And here’s the best part—it works.
The result? Your conversion rates skyrocket because you’re not just another salesperson knocking on doors. You’re offering solutions tailored to the specific pain points of your ideal clients. That’s how small businesses win big—by getting personal.
Automation: Scale Without Sacrificing Quality
One of the most valuable assets you have is time. And automation allows you to have more of it without doing low-value tasks.
Automation tools can help you streamline repetitive tasks like sending follow-up emails, scheduling meetings, tracking customer interactions, and optimizing the sales cycle. But more importantly, they give you time back to focus on what really matters: building relationships and closing deals. This means sales reps can concentrate on closing deals rather than getting bogged down by administrative tasks.
The Results: How Local Businesses Are Winning Despite Challenges Local Businesses Face
Now, you might be wondering: “Does this actually work for small businesses?”
Yes, it does—and let me show you how.
Take the story of a small, family-owned landscaping company in Austin, Texas. They implemented Convex and have increased their win rate so much that they’ve already booked $1.8M in new business for the next three quarters.
Here’s what Tiffany Peters, VP of Operations North by Northwest (NXNW Landscaping), had to say:
“With Convex and PropertyIntel working together, we’ve taken our sales process from reactive to proactive. Now, we know exactly what our potential clients need before we even talk to them. We’ve cut our lead research time in half, and our win rate has skyrocketed. It’s a complete game-changer for us—Convex isn’t just a tool; it’s the engine that drives our growth.”
Or look at JAN-PRO Commercial Cleaning. Before using a sales intelligence tool, they were spending hours researching leads, only to find that most of them weren’t even in the market for their services.
But with property intelligence, they could zero in on buildings with high foot traffic that would need regular cleaning. These tools have significantly improved their sales teams’ efficiency. Their lead research time was cut in half, and they saw a 25% increase in new contracts.
Implementing These Solutions in Your Business
By now, you might be thinking, “This all sounds great, but how do I actually get started?”
Here’s a simple roadmap to implementing these tools in your own business:
1. Assess Your Needs: Start by taking a hard look at your sales process. Where are the bottlenecks? Where are you spending the most time on tasks that could be automated? Identifying these pain points will help you choose the right tools.
2. Choose the Right Tools: Not every software is going to be a perfect fit. Look for platforms like Convex that offer a combination of sales intelligence, property intelligence, and automation. Make sure the software you choose integrates with any systems you’re already using, like your CRM. Consider the best sales intelligence tools to ensure you are leveraging the most effective solutions available. Using the right sales intelligence tools is crucial for enhancing business success by empowering your sales team with better data and strategies.
3. Train Your Team: Even the best tools won’t work if your team isn’t using them correctly. Invest in training to make sure everyone is up to speed. Many platforms offer onboarding services to help you get started.
4. Start Small, Scale Fast: You don’t need to overhaul your entire system overnight. Start with a small segment of your process—maybe automating follow-up emails or using sales intelligence for one sales territory. Once you see the results, scale up.
Conclusion: The Future is Bright for Small Businesses
The playing field has never been more level. With the right tools, even the smallest local businesses can compete with the biggest national players. Sales intelligence, property intelligence, ABM, and automation aren’t just for the big guys—they’re for anyone who’s serious about growth.
Embracing these technologies, including a sales intelligence platform, will not only streamline your processes and improve efficiency, but you’ll also provide a better, more personalized experience for your customers. Sales intelligence tools play a crucial role in delivering actionable insights and automating data analysis, which enhances the personalized experience. And when that happens, growth isn’t just possible—it’s inevitable.
So, if you’re ready to play on another level, Schedule a demo of Convex today to see how intelligence tools built for commercial services sales can accelerate revenue for your business.