Let's face it: watching your sales team struggle with unqualified leads is a waste of valuable time and resources. You need to ensure your message reaches the right audience – companies actively seeking skilled platform engineering talent. This focused approach is the key to unlocking high-intent leads and transforming your sales pipeline.
Why Target Companies Hiring Platform Engineers?
Platform engineering is revolutionizing software development. As companies navigate increasingly complex tech stacks and strive to deliver software rapidly, platform engineering has become essential. Gartner predicts that by 2026, 80% of software engineering organizations will have dedicated platform teams (“Why is Platform Engineering one of Gartner's Top Strategic Tech Trends for 2023?”). These teams, equipped with reusable tools and services, will drive streamlined development and accelerated growth.
The Problem Platform Engineering Solves (and the Opportunity It Creates)
Platform engineering empowers developers to focus on building exceptional software by freeing them from time-consuming infrastructure management tasks. It breaks down silos, reduces friction, and enables companies to scale their software development efficiently.
Companies actively seeking platform engineering talent present a significant opportunity:
- Growth Obsessed: They are heavily investing in their tech stack and infrastructure to facilitate rapid expansion, creating a demand for solutions like yours.
- Tech-Forward Trailblazers: These early adopters embrace innovation and cutting-edge solutions, making them your ideal customers.
- Ready to Invest: They recognize that building a world-class platform engineering team requires premium tools and expertise and are willing to invest in solutions that provide a competitive advantage.
Go Beyond the Buzzword: Different Roles, Different Needs
Platform engineering encompasses various roles, each with unique responsibilities and requirements:
- Head of Platform Engineering: Sets the strategic vision and oversees execution.
- Platform Architect: Designs and builds the underlying infrastructure and architecture.
- DevOps Engineer: Streamlines software development and deployment processes.
- Site Reliability Engineer (SRE): Ensures platform reliability and scalability.
Understanding these nuances allows you to tailor your messaging to each role's specific needs and challenges. For example, a company seeking a Platform Architect might be interested in infrastructure-as-code solutions, while a company hiring DevOps Engineers might prioritize tools that optimize CI/CD pipelines.
Quick Win: Why Target Companies Hiring Platform Engineers?
- High-Intent Leads: They are actively investing in a specific area and need solutions now.
- Growth Potential: These companies are often on a rapid growth trajectory, with budgets to match.
- Early Adopters: They are open to adopting the latest technologies, making them ideal customers for innovative B2B offerings.
Zeroing In: Identify Companies Actively Hiring Platform Engineers
Targeting companies hiring platform engineers is a strategic move, but it's crucial to have a well-defined Ideal Customer Profile (ICP).
Don't Skip the Fundamentals (Even with a Niche Focus)
Your ICP is a semi-fictional representation of your perfect customer, outlining their characteristics, pain points, and buying behaviors. It guides your sales and marketing efforts.
Key ICP Criteria for This Niche
When crafting your ICP with a platform engineering focus, consider these factors:
- Industry: High-growth tech, fintech, e-commerce, and companies undergoing digital transformation are likely to build platform engineering teams.
- Company Size: Large enterprises, SMBs, or startups have unique needs, budgets, and hiring patterns.
- Tech Stack: Companies embracing cloud-native technologies like Kubernetes, Docker, and Terraform indicate platform engineering investment.
- Growth Stage: Rapidly scaling companies are more likely to require platform engineering to support their growth. Look for funding announcements, expansions, or product launches.
Pro Tip: Let Technology Do the Heavy Lifting
Sales intelligence platforms gather valuable data about your prospects by analyzing job boards, company websites, social media, and news sites.
Example: If you're selling a Kubernetes-integrated developer productivity tool, a sales intelligence platform can identify companies that:
- Have open roles like "Kubernetes Engineer" or "Platform Architect."
- Mention Kubernetes in their engineering blog posts or technical documentation.
- Are active in the Kubernetes community on platforms like GitHub or Stack Overflow.
The Sales & Marketing Toolkit: Find Your Perfect-Fit Companies
Let's explore the tools and tactics to identify those perfect-fit prospects.
The Power of Sales Intelligence Platforms
Sales intelligence platforms act as virtual researchers, providing valuable information about your prospects.
Example: If you're selling a Kubernetes-integrated developer productivity tool, a sales intelligence platform can identify companies that:
- Have open roles like "Kubernetes Engineer" or "Platform Architect."
- Mention Kubernetes in their engineering blog posts or technical documentation.
- Are active in the Kubernetes community on platforms like GitHub or Stack Overflow.
Don't Just Rely on Job Postings (Go Deeper)
While job postings indicate hiring intent, explore other indicators of platform engineering investment.
Example 1 (Content Analysis): Analyze company websites and blog content for thought leadership pieces on platform engineering best practices or case studies showcasing internal platform team successes.
Example 2 (Community Engagement): Look for companies actively engaged in the platform engineering community, contributing to open-source projects or speaking at relevant conferences.
Actionable Tip: Create a checklist of data points and signals to look for using sales intelligence tools:
- Job Posting Titles: Platform Engineer, DevOps Engineer, Site Reliability Engineer, Platform Architect, etc.
- Company News: Mentions of "platform engineering" in press releases, funding announcements, or blog posts.
- Technology Usage: Evidence of cloud-native technologies like Kubernetes, Docker, and Terraform.
- Social Media Activity: Engagement with platform engineering thought leaders, communities, or events.
Speak Their Language: Craft Messaging That Converts
Once you've identified your ideal prospects, craft compelling messaging that resonates with them. Personalization is crucial for technical audiences like platform engineering teams. Demonstrate a deep understanding of their world, challenges, and aspirations.
Personalization Is Key (But Go Deeper Than First Name)
Generic messaging is ineffective. Platform engineers are discerning and receive countless outreach messages. To capture their attention, your messaging must be personalized and demonstrate a genuine understanding of their specific pain points and goals related to platform engineering.
Tailoring Your Messaging to the Platform Engineering Journey
Companies are at different stages in their platform engineering journey. Tailor your messaging accordingly.
Consider creating messaging frameworks that address different stages of platform engineering maturity:
Stage Description
| **Stage** | **Description** | |---|---| | Exploration | Just starting to learn about platform engineering and its benefits. | | Early Adoption | Actively researching and evaluating platform engineering solutions. | | Building | Building out their platform engineering team and infrastructure. | | Scaling | Scaling their platform engineering operations to support rapid growth. |
About Autobound
Autobound's leading AI-powered platform delivers 350+ unique insights for go-to-market teams from financial filings, social media activity, 35 news events, competitor trends, job changes and more. Trusted by 7,000+ companies including TechTarget and validated by 220+ 5-star G2 reviews, we're unlocking hyper-personalization at scale, with native integrations for Salesloft, Outreach, and more. Leverage our developer-friendly API, try our Chrome extension, try our platform free, or contact our team to eliminate guesswork and drive measurable growth →
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