A: Navigator, since it's solely focused on the SLED IT market, should definitely be part of that onboarding process. We have an entire team of dedicated member service representatives to help you do just that. As far as the go-to-market strategy, it's beyond just that initial onboarding. It's that continued training and education where it's not just setting up your daily or weekly market alerts based off your territories, but really taking that deeper dive into funding insights, public sector index and intent data. You can utilize those features to maximize your selling efforts.
Q: What would you say to those who don’t want to overwhelm their sales teams with another tool?
A: It’s definitely a ‘less is more’ mindset, especially with Navigator, because we're aggregating so much information into one tool to really maximize your seller's time. And since it's solely dedicated to the state and local government and education space, they don't have to go to other places for information. Navigator can be the one-stop shop for that. And I think the other key factor is that it really meets your sellers where they are. Most people are traveling, they're meeting with clients, they're on the go. So, utilizing the app and getting that data instantly will be key to maximizing that effort.
Q: Navigator is much more than just a prospecting tool – tell me about how you see it helping shape strategy, especially now that we’re at the start of a new year?
A: It’s more than a prospecting tool. I think that sometimes, we see RFP and bids and we immediately think prospecting. But Navigator is much more than that. There's so much information in Navigator and I have a colleague of mine that uses the saying, “In sales, you go from hero to zero in a matter of days and minutes.” We have to take the time to really invest in our sales strategy by looking at funding insights, IT plans and the public sector index to really understand how to use that on a day-to-day basis. It's not just knowing what the IT budget is, but also knowing how that budget is being dispersed, how it’s relevant to your solutions and how you sell.
We do sponsor briefings for a lot of our Digital Government Summits and every single CIO, deputy CIO or leadership role that is headlining those sponsor briefings tells our audience to do their homework by coming prepared. This includes understanding what the agency’s challenges are before you take time to meet with their leadership. I believe that Navigator allows our customers and clients to do that. It allows them to be relevant, maximize their time and not be transactional with government.
Q: As a sales leader, what advice do you have for other sales leaders to maximize Navigator’s impact on their operations?
A: Support is daily. We have our member service team that will help you through that entire process. As a member, you will get a dedicated member service representative. As it relates to sales, training can be set up through email or requested through Navigator.