It's all in the data, right? But what's good is the data if you don't know how to utilize the information? In this episode of "The Sales Evangelist Podcast," Host Donald Kelly chats with Derek Rahn about current sales data trends and the need for sellers to niche down within their industry. Tune in and discover how to help you build your pipeline and close twice as many deals as you are now. Derek Rahn’s Background Derek has over 15 years of experience in sales and marketing, specifically within the B2B space. He is the VP of demand generation of Lead Genius, which crafts tools to help companies find their ideal customers. His position allows him to see the current trends and changes within the sales industry. Challenges in the SaaS Landscape One challenge Derek sees within the SaaS industry is that too many team members interact with one customer. This harms the client's relationships with the company and can easily cause misunderstandings. He suggests limiting the number of employees speaking with potential clients during the sales process. Derek also noticed that sales representatives have too much going on with their daily workloads. For example, IC roles are becoming more management-oriented due to the increased team size. He explains whether this has a positive or negative impact on sales companies. Current Sales Data Trends One trend that Derek notes is the rise of verticalization within the industry. The old method of selling was based on geographical areas, and sales reps would know the insides and outs of the business within this region. However, the way sales companies niche down is different now, thanks to remote work. The focus shifts towards pain points, subject matters, and specific industries.  For example, there used to be only two well-known CRMs that were used for all industries. Now, there are millions of CRMs for specific industries. The second trend Derek observes is that sales companies must actively target SMBs. This is because there’s a need to continue growing revenue, and more data tools are needed to help sales teams reach SMBs. Utilizing the Data as a Sales Leader Derek shares how sales leaders can utilize data effectively to help their teams reach goals. He suggests starting with the ICP and segmenting it into different, unique categories. He also explains how he helped a company break down its ICP categories and their benefits. The money is in the data! Pay attention to your data if you want your sales company to reach its fullest potential. This is where you’ll find everything you need to grow your business. Listen to this episode to discover how to use data effectively and why you must niche down! “If teams want to see more success, automation is the only way to achieve this.” - Derek Rahn. Resources Derek Rahn on LinkedIn Lead Genius  Sponsorship Offers This episode is brought to you in part by Hubspot. With HubSpot sales hubs, your data tools and teams join a single platform to close deals and turn prospects into pipelines. Try it for yourself at hubspot.com/sales. 2.            This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn. Are you tired of prospective clients not responding to your emails? Sign up for a free 60-day trial of LinkedIn Sales Navigator at linkedin.com/tse. 3.            This episode is brought to you in part by the TSE Sales Foundation. Improve your connection on LinkedIn and land three or five appointments with our LinkedIn prospecting course. Go to the salesevangelist.com/linkedin. Credits As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The