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Developing Your Target Prospecting List

Evan Polin • September 13, 2022

An effective business development plan begins with an understanding of your ideal client, meaning the type of prospect you'd like to target.


Prospecting sounds simple enough, but often we find that professionals will chase after opportunities before they take a step back to determine exactly what they would like to accomplish, or before identifying whether the opportunities that happen to be in front of them fit into their long-term plan. Ramping up whatever you are doing now, or thinking of doing now, may not always yield the best results.


The first step for targeting clients is to look at the clients who you are currently working with. Which segments of your business are the most profitable? Which would you like to expand? Are you built to be a high volume, low margin business or are you built to be a high margin business that is more targeted in the work that you do. In addition, you need to make sure that you have both a philosophy and a business process that you are in alignment with your goals.


Once you determine the types of clients that you are targeting, you can start to look at what attributes you are looking for in the ideal client, and what factors to consider when reaching that audience. My clients look at several factors when targeting their ideal client.


1. Industry Verticals - What industries are you looking to target when you get to market? Are you looking at professional service firms, industrial companies, retail, or something else? Once you decide on the industries where you would like to focus, you can build lists and look at professional associations that will give you a better chance of meeting the right people.


2. Company Size - When we look at the company size, we could be talking about the number of employees or revenue. Does a company need to be a certain (revenue or employee) size for you to work with? Can you provide different types of services based on the size of company?


3. Target person/title at your targeted prospect organizations - It is important to determine who your buyer is when you are targeting a new client. Tactics to meet the owner of a business are different than the tactics used to meet the HR or marketing person. Do you need to go through purchasing or procurement? I’ve seen people struggle with sales because they were talking to the right company, but they were talking to the wrong person within that company and their sales efforts stalled.


The biggest mistake you can make in prospecting is to try to be a “jack of all trades and a master of none.”

Take an honest inventory of your strengths and weaknesses. Set goals and determine what will define success for you and your company/firm. Track the results so that you can identify what is working and what is not working. Tweak your plan based on the results that you are seeing (or not seeing). Work with a professional so that you can work smart rather than just working hard when it comes to developing and executing your sales plan.

 

Create a sales plan --> Track the sales plan -->  Adjust the sales plan -->



Polin Performance Group provides real-world sales solutions by training you and your team with the sales skills needed to maximize business development performance and increase revenue. Ask about our sales training programs and fractional sales management services. Contact us today.

Consumers have many attributes. Explore several factors when targeting YOUR ideal client.

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