For people who build products, real user feedback is simply invaluable. It’s the only way to learn about the challenges your customers face, and find out what kind of features they need from you.
But along with that practical insight, you also get great stories — concrete examples of how your work makes a difference in people’s lives, from the first time they check the email over their morning coffee to the moment they close their laptops at the end of the day.
In this post, we’ll meet three ZoomInfo customers — Alan, Nic, and Thomas — to learn how ZoomInfo has helped them streamline their workflows, improve their performance, and grow in their careers.
Smarter Prospecting in Less Time
For experienced sales professionals, using ZoomInfo for the first time often feels like discovering a secret; after spending years going door-to-door, suddenly having a world of information at your fingertips can be an invigorating experience.
This was how Nic Castro, a business development representative and new ZoomInfo user, felt after using the platform for the first time.
Castro began his career in sales in a field role, which has long been shorthand for good old-fashioned door-to-door selling.
Meeting people face-to-face was a valuable experience. But in terms of results, it was as tedious as it was ineffective — and that’s before you factor in the bitter Minnesota winters in which Castro found himself pounding the sidewalk.
When he moved from field sales to a digital-first approach, Castro found himself overwhelmed by the sheer volume of administrative work that went into prospecting. But soon after beginning to explore ZoomInfo, he discovered a world of prospecting information, from up-to-date business contacts to real-time Intent data such as acquisitions, funding rounds, and major personnel moves.
“It just makes prospecting so much easier in every respect,” Castro says. “Finding companies in new markets, identifying individual prospects and their contact info — it’s all right there in one place.”
Since making ZoomInfo central to his workflow, Castro has saved countless hours in his prospecting efforts. These time savings not only make him a more efficient rep, they have allowed him to cultivate deeper, more meaningful relationships with his clients.
“ZoomInfo saves me so much time,” Castro says. “When you’re trying to make 30 or 40 calls and have meaningful conversations, you need as much time to prep for those calls as possible, versus doing all that research across five different websites or services.”
Gaining Greater Insight into Customer Needs
“I wouldn’t have time to talk to you if I didn’t use ZoomInfo.”
Meet Steve Westra, a sales professional in the medical devices and equipment sector.
Selling in today’s economy is tough enough. For sales professionals in highly specialized industries such as medical equipment, it can be even harder.
Like many ZoomInfo customers, Westra had been spending dozens of hours a week sourcing prospecting information. Finding the right people to connect with often took days, precious time that could have been spent discussing the products and services Westra’s company offers with potential customers.
“I have to talk to hospitals, reference laboratories, clinical resource organizations, and pharmaceutical companies on a daily basis,” Westra says. “Being able to find names and contacts, having that capability to dig down to exactly who I need to be in front of, that’s the biggest thing for me.”
In addition to the considerable efficiency gains of using ZoomInfo to handle his prospecting workflow, Westra has been able to gain greater insight into the challenges facing his prospects — a vital advantage in such a competitive industry.
“The ability to find specific individuals and their contact information is valuable enough, but the additional context is invaluable,” he says. “I can examine what these people are doing. What are their pain points? What’s in their pipeline for projects? It’s all just a couple clicks away, and I’m better prepared for my meetings.”
In addition to being better prepared, Westra is more efficient than ever before in his sales career. This efficiency has translated into less administrative work and more sales — not to mention less stress.
“I’ve reached more people so far this year than I have during the previous five,” Westra says. “It’s just phenomenal. I’m working hard, sure, but I’m working so much smarter.”
Consistently Exceeding Client Expectations
In public relations, timing is everything — and few people understand this better than Alan Roberts of Newswire.
As one of the world’s leading news distribution services, Newswire helps tens of thousands of organizations spread the word about their products, services, and clients via press releases. For Roberts, this means accurate data is mission-critical.
“ZoomInfo has opened up an entire channel of potential sales that didn’t exist for us before,” Roberts says. “We were typically targeting inbound leads, as well as current and past customers. If you bought a press release from us a year ago, we’d try to sell you more press releases. But if you’ve just received $10 million in funding and suddenly have a board of directors breathing down your neck trying to make sure you drive that company forward, that’s the pain point I’m going after now.”
ZoomInfo’s Intent data has been instrumental in reshaping Roberts’ workflow to target companies that can benefit from Newswire’s services. Now he and his team proactively build relationships with emerging and established companies, rather than limiting growth efforts to upselling existing accounts.
“I use ZoomInfo primarily to research companies that have raised funding over the past few days,” Roberts says. “Specifically, I seek out early-stage companies, typically seed or Series A, because they haven’t hired a PR firm yet and just got millions in funding. Their first reaction is often to go and hire a marketing team, so I try to get to them before any of that happens and get them to see another way to build valuation through earned media.”
As a startup veteran himself, Roberts has seen firsthand how fledgling businesses can stumble after securing funding. This allows him to identify with his prospects and forge meaningful connections.
“I feel that pain because I’ve been in that position,” Roberts says. “I worked at a startup that got funding, and you could write a book on how many missteps were made from that point on.”
As one of many reps, Roberts works closely with his colleagues in other territories to avoid overlap on specific accounts and route potential deals to the best possible rep. This makes for happier customers, higher win rates, and better relationships with colleagues.
“ZoomInfo has made me a more empathetic employee,” Roberts says. “I frequently send information to my coworkers on companies that just secured funding in their territory, and they’re always extremely appreciative.”