Who Should I Target?

OK … so you have just been hired into Business Development, Lead Generation or a salesperson. You are excited.

Now what? What are your next steps in finding qualified leads?

Step 1: Find out what kind of companies should buy from us and why

For some industries, the target market is obvious. But …. a company that can buy is different than a company that should buy. Simply put, realize quickly that what you offer will be perceived very differently by different audiences.  Some will view you as a strategic solution and a “need to have” for their business, while others will see you as a commodity and only “nice to have”. 

Understanding why one company would value you more than another will not only help you target the right type of leads, but it will also come across in your delivery when talking to them.

My Story:

When I founded Focus in 2003, we started out as just another “sales consulting company” that offered 4 or 5 services to any company.

Over time, we realized that the audience that got most excited by our value was the b2b, small owner/operator who was too “too small” to afford/need a full-time sales manager but “too big” to have nobody running sales.

These owners were lonely, frustrated &/or worried because they often relied too heavily on themselves for sales and had no scalable, growth, transition or exit plan.  They helped us understand our “positioning” and our purpose as a Rent-a-Sales Manager company to those companies. 

Best of all, we knew exactly the industries and markets to target with a focused and compelling message.

Step 2: Find a pathway in

Armed with the right target markets and right messaging/positioning, there are 2 ways to generate leads.

1. Direct: Whether by phone, email, LinkedIN and/or other industry activity, one way to generate leads is to target your audience directly.  For some industries, this works very effectively. A consistent commitment by a salesperson to build their network, manage their leads via nurture & follow ups, etc… can yield consistent results.
2. Indirect: Often, targeting your audience directly can be very slow. Your audience needs someone else to give you the credibility needed to get in the door.  Often the more corporate & ownership-level you go, the more important it is.  As they say … it’s “who you know”. This is where COI’s become so critical.

COI’s (Centres of Influence)

COI’s are people & companies who have access to your audience and can open doors for you. 

I quickly figured out that my best COI’s were:

• Other professional service firms (accountants, corporate lawyers, other consultants, recruiters) provide articles to their audience as a “value-add”.
• Associations & Trade Show companies 
• CEO, Entrepreneur Type groups and clubs

Here is what I do:

• Nurture the personal relationships over-time (using my CRM as a reminder)
• Offer to do free workshops, lunch/learns and/or provide articles to their audience as a “value-add” (win:win:win)
• My “value add” education topics include how to “Turn Leads Into Sales” & “Scale Your Sales Organization”.

Question: Who are your best COI’s? What value can you bring them?

Related Module:  Check out Working Your COI’s (Centers of Influence) module for more on the process and content.