For this episode of Test. Learn. Grow., we were thrilled to welcome Level client FinListics to the podcast! We cover everything from who FinListics is to what digital marketing has meant to their business.
Rather listen than read? Head over to the Test. Learn. Grow. podcast to hear the full episode!
Who is FinListics?
FinListics, according to President and Founder Dr. Stephen Timme and Chief Revenue Officer Melody Astley, is in the sales intelligence business. Working predominantly with B2B technology sales organizations, they help companies better understand their customers—from goals and strategies to financial performance—so that they can elevate their conversations beyond what is commonly discussed. As our podcast guests explained, they’re giving their clients the ability to have executive-level conversations about business, not just product.
A new digital approach
In March of 2020, FinListics formed a partnership with Level Agency—and then the world changed drastically. In a sense, it was perfect timing for the beginning of the relationship. Pivoting from the noise of cold calls to an innovative digital approach to their marketing, FinListics was prepared with a strategy that dynamically responded to their audience.
Leaving behind a marketing strategy that wasn’t providing any ROI, Stephen admits he was skeptical about a new approach. What he did know for sure was that something had to change. “I knew we had to do something… We know that our space is getting more and more crowded. It’s crowded with hundreds of companies who will help you grow your sales and close deals faster. So, we knew that we had to have a much sharper message. We had to do much better targeting. We knew that to stay competitive—even though we felt like we had a very competitive product—our message had to get to the right people.”
What’s changed today?
As Melody puts it, it’s all iterative. “It truly is a flywheel effect. Once you start, once you kick it into gear, you just start to see results and results and results.” What this new digital marketing approach has introduced is the ability for the FinListics and Level teams to get really laser focused—what does their ideal customer profile look like; how do we reach them, and what does one person want to hear versus another? Now, they’re finally able to see their marketing strategy bear fruit.
Insight-Led Selling
In 2020, finding themselves stuck behind a desk more often just like the rest of the world, Stephen and Melody decided to check off a bucket-list item—writing a book. There’s a statistic that stuck with them: 70% of buyers think that sellers don’t know their business, and only 25% of sellers can align their solutions. They both felt very passionate about creating a framework to dismantle that, which in turn formed the basis of “Insight-Led Selling: Adopt an Executive Mindset, Build Credibility, Communicate with Impact.”
When coming up with the title for their book, Melody says, “When sellers stop and begin to form these insights around what they’re trying to pursue with their customer, it lends itself to the qualities that these buying executives want to see. It lends itself to a natural curiosity. It lends itself to showing you’ve actually been thoughtful about what’s happening with their business, not with your product, and it just resonates much, much better. So, the insight part is key, and that’s why we coined the term.”
What’s next for FinListics?
This past summer, FinListics released a new product called Client IQ, a complete revamp of their legacy product. As they’ve discovered, just like their marketing approach, the development of their product is iterative. Considerations like market needs and wants, plus how to build tools for them, are daily undertakings. Ultimately, they want to continue taking out the guesswork for sellers and being prescriptive in their approach for next steps.
As for Stephen’s initial skepticism about digital marketing for FinListics? “One of the things that you all did is that you told us about what you’ve done for others. And you just can’t beat customer stories. You had a very well-organized plan where others just seemed to have a shotgun approach. I’m not just going to say, ‘Here’s a bunch of money, and I hope it works.’ So, set the metrics, and if you’re meeting the metrics, find a way to beat them going forward. If we’re not meeting the metrics, figure out what’s happening, and work it out. So, I’m a believer.”
Melody wholeheartedly agrees. “I’ve been a believer. The metrics are so key. People think about marketing as this artsy creative, pie-in-the-sky stuff—and it is that—but it is also a science, how you use the data to dial those knobs into exactly where you want to be. It’s just constant iterating, and it’s all grounded in those metrics.”
“Insight-Led Selling: Adopt an Executive Mindset, Build Credibility, Communicate with Impact” can also be found at Barnes & Noble. For additional Insight-Led Selling content, check out https://www.insightledselling.com/.
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