E197 - IT Trends 2025: Insights from IDC's President on Market Direction and Essential Seller Knowledge

In this episode of Tech Sales Insights, Randy Seidl is joined by Crawford Del Prete, President at IDC, to discuss IT trends for 2025 and what every seller should know about the market direction. The conversation covers Crawford's extensive career path, the role of AI in sales, infrastructure growth, and IDC's new Tech Match product. They delve into the importance of understanding customer needs, leveraging AI for sales preparation, and the transformation in application software businesses. Crawford shares insights on successful sales strategies, the significance of mentorship, and how IDC is positioning itself for future technological trends. The episode is sponsored by ZoomInfo and brought to you by the Sales Community.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• AI in Sales: Embrace AI tools for significant enhancements in preparedness and effectiveness in sales meetings. Lean into AI to stay competitive.
• Industry Growth: Infrastructure layer investments will continue growing, driven by AI advancements, with notable 55% growth in the past year.
• Customer-Centric Approach: Successful companies understand and address the specific "jobs to be done" by customers, leveraging deep market intelligence.
• IDC Tech Match: IDC's new platform helps IT buyers with AI-assisted RFP generation and vendor shortlisting, easing the buying process.
• Leadership & Training: Continuous training and adapting to industry trends are crucial for maintaining relevancy and operational excellence.
• Use of Data: Effective data sovereignty and orchestration are vital in AI adoption for mitigating risks and ensuring data control.

QUOTES

• "If you're a seller and you're not getting prepared for meetings with AI, you're going to get screamed at."
• "Michael Dell has an uncanny ability to capitalize on industry transitions effectively."
• "Technology has reinvented itself five times since I started. You gotta love that transition to keep up."
• "Companies that use IDC services effectively are those that deeply understand customer problems."

Find out more about Crawford Del Prete through the link/s below:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/crawford-del-prete-082221/

This episode is sponsored by ZoomInfo, the GTM Platform sponsor of the Sales Community. ZoomInfo is the go-to-market platform that helps businesses find, acquire and grow their customers. Businesses use ZoomInfo data and platform to increase efficiency, align sales and marketing teams, and consolidate technology stacks.