Understand your target prospects for better success with B2B Sales

Understand your target prospects for better success with B2B Sales

Note: This post originally appeared on the Venture Accelerator Partners website. It has been reposted here with permission from the author.

I was talking to a new prospect the other day and our conversation started with specific companies that they would like to target.  The companies seemed to be incredibly varied; they were different sizes and verticals.  I asked the prospect what their target customer was and they said they had not worked that out yet.

Growing companies are often constrained on money and time and not having a proper target market can impact both; as discussed in my earlier blog about the importance of focusing on a target market. The need to determine what makes a great customer is essential for a successful B2B Sales Strategy.  Here are some things to think about when creating your target prospect list.

  • How big is the problem you are solving for them?  Organizations typically buy B2B solutions to help grow revenue, decrease cost, improve productivity, or avoid something bad, like a lawsuit or breaking the law.  Can you define what your solution will help them with?  Estimating a quantifiable benefit for the organization can help the target to understand if the solution is worth investigating.
  • Are they big enough? It is important that the size of the target account would be big enough to support the effort.  How much revenue will they bring?  If your solution is bought through the web with little interaction with people as part of the sales cycle, then size is not important.  If you are using resources to actively target an account, there needs to be a return on investment for the time spent.  It often takes as much time to close a large account as it does a small account.
  • Is there a vertical or 2 that you can focus on?  Many industries have their unique challenges and nuances.  Getting experience with a vertical can help you tailor your pitch and talk about the specific environment.  Once an account is closed, the name of the account can be referenced, which will help get the sales process started with other targets.

Setting your targets will help you focus on sales and marketing efforts, saving your organization time which should lead to revenue faster.  If you would like to have a conversation on your target prospects, please connect with me and we can discuss.