Forged For Growth

Trust & Cost Savings in IT with Diandra Ford-Wing


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Episode Summary


Diandra Ford Wing, Director of Sales and Customer Success at Rectitude 3609, shares how a 25 year sales career shaped her relationship first approach to winning and growing accounts. From her early days at Dell working the EPP program and managing the HEB account, to navigating SaaS, fintech, and government sales cycles, Diandra explains what it really takes to build trust and solve operational problems. She also breaks down what Rectitude 3609 does as a data center centric MSP, how they lead with customer success, and how she earns meetings on cold outreach by focusing on practical value like cost reduction, coverage gaps, and proactive monitoring.


What You’ll Learn

  1. How Diandra built long term enterprise relationships through weekly presence and partner mindset
  2. A real example of thinking outside the box to execute a large scale rollout using third party logistics
  3. What Rectitude 3609 does as a data center centric MSP, including NOC and SOC support and co location
  4. How to open doors on cold calls using a clear value hook and the right questions
  5. Why higher education and healthcare require a different sales approach, especially around budget and compliance


Key Topics Covered

  1. Career path lessons from Dell, SolarWinds, fintech, and managed services
  2. Selling into large accounts and expanding through partnership and proactive problem solving
  3. Government and higher education buying cycles, approvals, and the realities of RFPs
  4. Rectitude 3609 services: monitoring, security, staff augmentation, and co location
  5. Differentiation in a crowded MSP market through value framing and attention to detail
  6. Trade shows as a growth channel, and why speaking opportunities matter
  7. Entering new verticals like higher education and healthcare with tailored messaging


Chapter Timestamps

00:00 Intro and Diandra’s role at Rectitude 3609

00:01 Diandra’s early career at Dell and the EPP program

00:02 Managing the HEB account and expanding over time

00:02 Transitioning into SaaS, fintech, and government focused sales

00:04 Sabbatical, writing a book, and joining Rectitude 3609 (January 2, 2025)

00:06 The reality of government buying cycles and low margins

00:08 How Diandra grew HEB through relationship building and weekly on site presence

00:09 The 385 store server rollout and solving logistics with a third party warehouse model

00:14 Rectitude 3609 overview and what they do differently

00:17 Cold outreach strategy and the value hook that opens doors

00:20 Asking the question that challenges a prospect’s confidence in their current provider

00:22 Expanding beyond large public venues into higher education and healthcare

00:28 Trade shows, networking, and why speaking slots are worth it

00:31 How to contact Diandra and Rectitude 3609


Memorable Moments

  1. “Every single sale I ever won at HEB was hard fought.”
  2. “Security never stop.”
  3. “Often we are not replacing providers right away. Instead, we compliment what’s already there.”


Guest

Diandra Ford Wing is the Director of Sales and Customer Success at Rectitude 3609, a data center centric managed services provider focused on reliable technology solutions and customer service.


Links and Mentions

Website: rectitude369 dot com

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Forged For GrowthBy StrategiqHQ.com