If you're in sales, or sales intelligence what do you consider to be more important; a huge heap of knowledge syphoned from lots and lots of data, or calling at exactly the right time? This is an important question in today's market as two trains of thought appear to forming about the best way to tackle the vasts amount of information on the web and turn it into valuable sales insight. It's data v timing and both corners would claim to have a considerable amount of support.
Personally, especially from a workload perspective, timing seems like a bit of a no brainer to me. Data, and building up a knowledge of a customer is of course crucial as well and can help out no end in a difficult introduction or a challenging moment during pre-sell. Knowing the ins and outs of a company, the CEO's ideologies and the likely scenarios can only benefit your methodologies in completing a deal. But all that data takes time for a sale rep to digest and action; to build uses out of. A trigger event, something that hits the spot at exactly the right time doesn't.
For example: data is knowing that the best way to the train station is to take the A road, cut across town and take the 2 mile jaunt through a local village to arrive at your destination 20 minutes before the train leaves. A trigger event is knowing there's been a accident on the A road.
Timing doesn't hang around. Timing is like a reflex, a spark that puts you in the right place at the right moment. Data allows you to make the most of it. Whilst the data therefore means you can exploit the opportunity to it's fullest potential, the timing provides the opportunity in the first place. So if I had a life or death decision to choose one or the other, I know which corner I'd be backing.
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