How to Validate a New Vertical Before Committing Headcount to It
Moving into a new vertical or buyer segment means testing an ICP you don’t have proof for yet. memoryBlue runs that test through live outbound — real conversations, real qualification — so you learn what resonates in the new vertical before hiring a team built around an unproven segment.
$2 bn+
Pipeline created for our clients in a year
15 days
Average time to first meeting
91%
Average meeting acceptance rate
650+
SDRs in-office receiving daily coaching
The Challenge of Vertical Expansion
Companies expanding into a new vertical or account tier describe a specific kind of pressure — proving out a segment fast, often across a large, unfamiliar universe of accounts:
- “Scaling outbound coverage to penetrate a large SLED and mid-market account base. Increasing meeting volume across a footprint of approximately 70,000 accounts.”
- “Rapidly capitalize on the exploding CMMC compliance opportunity across the Defense Industrial Base… expanding the target universe from thousands to ~80,000 companies.”
This differs from international expansion in one important way: the geography usually doesn’t change — the buyer persona, qualification criteria, and messaging do. That means a new vertical push needs its own testing ground, not a repurposed international playbook.
That’s exactly where we can help
memoryBlue Partnership
Live messaging tests, not guesswork
Fast coverage of large, unfamiliar account universes
Moving from a thousand-account footprint to tens of thousands without a proportional internal hiring lift.
Vertical-specific qualification criteria
Built and refined in real time as the new segment’s buying signals become clear.
A low-risk commitment
Before committing to a dedicated internal team or product investment around it.
Industries Where We Help
Break Into New Ground
We run new-vertical outbound across nearly every industry we work in — Cybersecurity, Professional Services, Big Data, Health Tech, AI, FinTech, Gov Tech, and more. Whether you’re a cybersecurity company moving into a new compliance-driven segment or a data company testing a mid-market motion for the first time, chances are we’ve already run a comparable playbook somewhere adjacent to where you’re headed.
Delivering for global enterprises
Related services to
New Verticals
Case Studies
Discover how we’ve helped our clients
Explore all
FAQs
How is entering a new vertical different from international expansion?
International expansion changes geography while often keeping the same product and buyer. New-vertical expansion usually keeps the geography the same but changes the buyer persona, qualification criteria, and messaging — which means it needs its own proof points and testing approach rather than an international playbook.
How do you validate a new vertical without committing to a full internal build?
Through live outbound testing — running real conversations against the new ICP to see what messaging lands and what qualifies as a genuine opportunity, before deciding whether the segment warrants a dedicated internal team.
Can outsourced outbound cover a very large target account universe?
Yes — companies expanding into new verticals or account tiers often need to cover tens of thousands of accounts quickly. We’ve worked with companies targeting universes as large as 70,000-80,000 accounts in a single push, which is typically faster to stand up through an outsourced motion than through proportional internal hiring.
What happens to the qualification criteria once a new vertical proves out?
The criteria developed and refined during the test phase become the starting playbook for whatever team — outsourced or internal — takes the vertical forward long-term, rather than starting from a blank page.
Get in touch
Let’s build your pipeline
Tell us about your goals. We’ll come back with a clear picture of how memoryBlue can help — no pressure, no boilerplate pitch.