How tank terminal data will increase the effectiveness of your sales conversations

Data-driven decisions provide equipment suppliers an edge in a challenging market

In today’s highly competitive and challenging tank terminal marketplace, data is key for every strategic decision a business makes. Based on the information gathered from data, data-driven decision-making allows you to allocate resources exactly where you need them. This saves you significant investment in effort, time and costs while generating the best return on sales leads.

The vast and globally diverse tank terminal market in particular can benefit from data-driven analyses and information when resources are scarce. By enabling your sales force to enter into sales conversations backed by data, you provide them with a competitive edge because they will understand the particular challenges potential customers are facing in real-time.

Sources of information are changing: data emerging as the new source of leads

Traditionally, the tank storage sector is known for its large industry events where suppliers and operators would convene to meet, socialize and generate potential leads for each other. More recently, a shift has simultaneously emerged in which gathering sales information from computer-generated data has become more commonplace. The onset of the Covid-19 crisis meant that many industry events have had to be cancelled, postponed or held in a hybrid setting with a small audience present and a much larger audience attending virtually. Since connecting with potential sales leads in person has become significantly hampered, the shift to relying increasingly more on data has been greatly accelerated. In fact, by studying data ahead of time you can actually generate your own leads.

Solid customer insights before you make contact

With over 6,000 tank terminal facilities worldwide and a multitude of players active in the tank terminal market, knowledge about each individual location is crucial for determining customer demand especially since the first contact most likely will not be in person. As an equipment supplier, by investing time in analyzing data and identifying where the greatest opportunities lie for your business, you will be pinpointing leads with the greatest sales potential before you make contact with a potential customer. When you are prepared with a wealth of relevant and detailed data ahead of time, once you have made contact, you will be able to enter the initial sales conversations more confidently. This will make a knowledgeable impression of you on your potential customer. Most importantly, you will appear genuinely interested in the needs of your customer and how you can solve challenges together. By not doing your homework ahead of time, you run the risk of not only wasting your own valuable time and resources, you also appear to be wasting your potential customers’ valuable time and resources. Clearly, this is not the lasting first impression you want to make.

Selecting the most comprehensive and relevant data for you and your customer

There are a number of factors to consider for your business and your potential customers’ business when determining which data is the most relevant for your sales leads. Whenever you use data to identify market potential, starting with a bird’s-eye view and zooming in on specifics will help you determine the most promising sales opportunities. For example, the number of tank terminals in a given country or region can be good indication of the potential scale of business there. Tank quantity and tank capacity are also good indicators of scale. However, larger scale can also incur greater risk if your business does not have the resources to meet the demands of large-scale contracts.

Drill down to even more precise data

From overarching factors such as location and potential scale, there are other types of more specific data available which should indicate whether you are pursuing business in the right places. The number of tanks, tank types, and access modes to and from the terminals will indicate whether you are offering your products and services in the right sales market. Historical data can provide insight into fluctuations when markets are volatile, but also trends that are more applicable when markets are stable. New terminal construction, expansion and/or decommissioning plans are also valuable indicators about future business potential. These types of data combined will help you strategize for the markets with the most lucrative potential now and in the future.

From data-driven insights to market segmentation strategy

By selecting markets and locations that are based on data-driven insights, you will be able to identify customers most suited to all aspects of your business. This will allow you to allocate your resources more efficiently and effectively. Once you have gathered all the relevant data for your business, you will be able to create a market segmentation strategy that offers your business the most potential, while saving you and your customers precious time and resources.

The information in this article was gathered from the tankterminals.com database platform, where information on market players globally is just a few clicks away.

For more information, contact: Michael Muijen, Marketing & Sales Manager at Insights Global by following this link.