How one 30-minute conversation can shortcut years of agency growth
Want to know the fastest way to get traction in a vertical market? Let me tell you a story.
I just watched one of my agency coaching clients discover something that took me years to learn at my last agency. Something so powerful, yet so simple, that it completely changes how fast you can succeed in a new market.
It's finding and interviewing your vertical insider.
Imagine you're an agency ready to specialize in manufacturing. You could spend months reading industry publications, attending trade shows, and making educated guesses about what matters to your prospects.
Or you could spend 30 minutes with a former manufacturing CEO who tells you exactly why they fired their last three marketing agencies.
Here's what a vertical insider could be:
- A retired C-suite executive from your target industry
- A former marketing director who hired agencies like yours
- A well-connected industry consultant
- A sales veteran who understands the buying process
- An operations leader who knows the real pain points
What makes these conversations pure gold?
These insiders will tell you:
- The actual language your prospects use internally
- Which metrics drive their decisions (not what you think matters)
- Where they look for solutions
- Who really makes the buying decisions
- What makes them immediately dismiss an agency
- The real problems keeping them up at night
One of my clients just had this experience in dentistry. In 30 minutes, their insider revealed more about operator decision-making than they would have learned from a year of proposals and lost deals.
Think about that. One conversation potentially saved them 12 months of costly trial and error.
But here's the thing: Don't just interview them once. Build a relationship. Make them your guide. Your translator. Your bridge to an industry that speaks its own language.
Because when you truly understand an industry's inner workings, your marketing stops being about pretty websites and clever campaigns.
It becomes about solving real problems that matter.
CQ
