The Sales Hunter Podcast

Episode: How to Prospect in a New Industry or Territory

Host: Mark Hunter
Date: March 30, 2026

Episode Overview

In this episode, Mark Hunter dives deep into the practical steps required to successfully prospect and sell in an unfamiliar industry or new territory. Drawing on his extensive experience training sales teams and breaking into new markets himself, Mark lays out a nine-step framework that any salesperson can put to use immediately. The tone is direct, energetic, and pragmatic—true to Mark's "integrity-first" approach to selling.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Scour Your CRM and LinkedIn Connections

[03:00]

• Start by mining your CRM for existing contacts—don’t overlook potential internal connections or historical relationships, even if those colleagues or customers have moved companies.
• "It’s amazing at how many people don’t do it…You start there because again, this is easy fruit." – Mark Hunter

2. Research Trade Associations

[04:25]

• Identify the main trade associations in your new industry or territory.
• Two purposes: educate yourself on industry norms and issues, and find opportunities for networking at events—not necessarily as an exhibitor, but as an attendee to observe and meet people.
• "You’re going to begin to learn the language, you’re going to begin to learn what’s going on, the key issues." – Mark Hunter

3. Identify the Big Players

[06:10]

• Make a list of both influential companies and individuals.
• Monitor their moves: acquisitions, new products, leadership shifts—these often signal broader industry trends.

4. List People You Want to Meet (Upstream & Downstream Connections)

[07:00]

• Start with at least 10, but let the list grow as you discover more relevant contacts.
• Include not only target customers, but also suppliers and vendors (upstream), and customers of your target industry (downstream).

5. Rapid Industry Immersion

[09:20]

• Immerse yourself to understand the ‘heartbeat’ of the industry—focus on its flow, current events, and main challenges.
• "Don’t think for a moment that…this is going to take me six months. No, you can do all this within just a couple days…you can become pretty knowledgeable." – Mark Hunter

6. Identify the Pain Points You Can Solve

[11:30]

• Break complex sectors into manageable segments and focus on learning (and eventually helping) one segment at a time.
• "You gotta help them solve a problem…break it down into smaller pieces." – Mark Hunter

7. Target 3-5 High-Profile Customers

[13:00]

• Choose three to five high-profile organizations or influencers to focus your attention.
• The goal is to land one of these as a customer to leverage their name in future outreach.
• "If I target three to five customers who have high profile, the better and I get one or two of them, now I can begin saying, hey, we work with so and so." – Mark Hunter
• Caution: Don’t give away your pricing to win them—discounts may be needed but maintain your margins.

8. Prepare 7-10 Knowledge Briefs to Share

[16:15]

• Develop 7 to 10 brief, insight-driven points you can share (not lengthy whitepapers; think "10 bullet points") that demonstrate your understanding of key challenges or trends.
• Use these as conversation starters via email or at industry events—repetition helps establish credibility.
• "These are not 5, 6 pages…just 10 bullet points around a subject, a topic of relevance..." – Mark Hunter

9. Start Outreach—Low then High

[18:30]

• Reach out first to "low level connections"—not decision-makers, but users or influencers who can provide insight and confidence.
• Then approach higher profile targets using all your accumulated knowledge and, if possible, referrals.
• "There’s just something about momentum, creates momentum…get some low level connections, then go to your high profile." – Mark Hunter
• Give top targets a "head start" (focus your early efforts on them) for the first several weeks, then widen your funnel as your knowledge and credibility grow.

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On the urgency of learning:
  "You can do all this within just a couple days…you can become pretty knowledgeable." – Mark Hunter [09:25]

• On segmenting for complex industries:
  "There was no way that I could learn the industry all at one time...I could learn small segments of the industry…" – Mark Hunter [12:05]

• On the necessity of value-driven outreach:
  "If you pick up the phone and you try to call them, hey, buy from me, buy from me. They’re not going to buy from you because they don’t know you." – Mark Hunter [16:30]

• Community engagement:
  Shoutout to Andy Greenberg for sharing his experience breaking into a new industry and winning a major customer first. [17:50]

Timestamps for Major Segments

• Opening & Context – 00:00–03:00
• Step 1: Utilize CRM & LinkedIn – 03:00
• Step 2: Trade Associations – 04:25
• Step 3: Identify Big Industry Players – 06:10
• Step 4: Build Your Contact List – 07:00
• Step 5: Learn the Industry – 09:20
• Step 6: Define Pain Points You Solve – 11:30
• Step 7: Target Key Customers – 13:00
• Step 8: Develop Briefs for Outreach – 16:15
• Step 9: Begin Calling & Emailing – 18:30
• Q&A/Community Interaction (Andy Greenberg) – 17:50
• Wrap-Up and Book Plug – 21:30

Actionable Takeaways

• Systematically approach a new industry or territory with a structured, research-first process.
• Leverage existing networks before trying cold contacts.
• Focus initial outreach on high-potential targets, balancing with lower-level connections for rapid learning.
• Share short, insightful content consistently to build credibility and get conversations started.
• Don’t rush breadth over depth—in the beginning, meaningful connections and targeted learning trump mass outreach.

“Momentum creates momentum”—follow Mark’s nine steps and you’ll not only understand a new industry faster, you’ll win influential customers sooner and cement yourself as a credible, trusted sales professional.