If you’re looking to improve your close rate in the financial services industry, you want to consider your deal desk. The financial services industry is going through a complete digital transformation currently. CFOs need to address things like compliance impeccably, but they also need to address a myriad of priorities that impact every department.

For IT security sellers, it’s important to keep in mind that the decision-makers are looking not only for high ROI but for the maximization of their investment. They want providers that offer a full range of benefits in a cost-effective model. These are companies that are highly motivated to prioritize their technology.

For IT security sellers, the deal desk provides a way to break down these complex deals more easily for an improved close rate in the financial services industry. Through the course of this blog post, we’ll highlight what a deal desk is and why it’s important for your IT security sales and marketing departments. We’ll also give you 5 tips to improve your close rate and go into greater detail on how to showcase the ROI behind your offerings.

What Is the Deal Desk?

If you haven’t worked with a deal desk before, this is the ideal way to approach the very specific task of selling IT services to this particular vertical. Let’s start with the basics.

The deal desk is the hub and support of your sales services. It’s a central location to keep all the information and resources that will be imperative in closing deals. For IT security services, this is an important function. Sales and marketing team members have very specific training in their field. After all, that’s why they were hired for the team. But sales and marketing often don’t have the technical IT background. 

Having a deal desk in place consolidates all the data on individual clients to help your teams understand how to negotiate with them and develop more complex deals that meet the client’s needs. The deal desk also helps to streamline the sales process for your staff and your clients.

5 Tips for IT Security Sellers

Financial services clients have specific needs from their IT vendors. The industry they’re working in is currently going through a large-scale digital transformation, and they’re currently constricting their budgets in many areas. For sales teams, here are some tips to help engage with these clients and close deals.

  • Education. Technology is obviously a technical field. Your target audience may understand the basics, or you may be dealing with people from the firm’s IT department, where the understanding is exceptional. But you can’t assume their base of knowledge is the same as yours. Develop communication that is educational without talking down or using a lot of jargon.
  • Highlight Business Benefits. So many times IT security sellers lead with the risks. Putting fear into the target audience isn’t usually the right way to go. They already know the risks. Your target audience NEEDS compliance and cybersecurity, but they are prioritizing solutions that help them gain business insights and improve their own productivity or efficiency. They assume compliance and security. Focus on how you help them holistically.
  • Showcase Your Knowledge of the Financial Industry. CFOs are looking for vendors that understand their industry so that they can be 100% sure they’re covered in compliance and the specific constraints their businesses need to navigate.
  • Target Their Pain Points Positively. The financial industry has specific pain points. Currently, they’re working with digital transformation, shrinking margins, and stricter regulatory compliance requirements. These things pivot. Make sure that your sales team understands the current needs in the finance industry so that they can frame your solution in the most positive light.
  • Build Cases Studies and Testimonials. Having general case studies across industries is helpful, but it’s more beneficial to have case studies and testimonials specific to the industry you’re targeting. You might build out individual pages on your website for these clients to see your work within their industry at a glance.

Showcase Your ROI

Clients in the financial services industry are most interested in how your solution impacts their business. For your sales team to close deals, the solution should showcase how their business will profit more, use resources more efficiently, or eliminate/decrease costs.

With IT security services, some of that will mean showcasing how you reduce the risk for their organization. They also need to see how your service would work in practice. Here are some things to consider:

    • Address Current Trends. They need to see how your solution meets current needs. Pay attention to trends in the industry.
    • Highlight Integrations. Clients need solutions that integrate with their current technology without increasing the workload for their employees or causing issues in their business process.
    • Showcase Support. Financial organizations need partners that offer excellent support and work as another division of their own company.
    • Give Solutions for Layered Management. Financial organizations often have complex business hierarchy structures. This means a deep understanding of roles and authority and impeccable execution of security measures to protect data, sensitive information, and intellectual property.
    • Offer a Long-Term Projection. Clients are looking for long-term partners in their IT security. Showcase your company history, lengthy business partnerships, and the way that your company is equipped to meet organizational needs in the financial industry.
    • Offer Training. Offer training initiatives to streamline the process of implementation and decrease any downtime.

There’s no question that financial service organizations need IT security. When marketing to this audience, you don’t need to sell them on basic premises, such as the impact of breaches or the heightened need for cybersecurity. These customers are already familiar and sophisticated. Your sales team needs the tools to help these clients see deeper benefits and build trust with your organization.

 

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Need Help Composing a Deal Desk?

Selling into the financial services industry is an intricate vertical to master. Emissary’s advisor network can help you streamline your process and develop the right strategy. Contact us today to get started or call us at (646) 776-0510 to discuss your business needs.