The Ideal prospects profile

Time is a finite resource, which means that it is a resource that is limited. Time is probably your most valuable resource and we need to make the most out of the limited time we have.

Its possible to increase the percentage chances of closing business by defining our ideal customer profile, and focusing on the right kind of prospective clients for our products.

For years the sales force has suffered hundreds of leads produced by exhibitions, and is then told to call them all up and qualify them to find out if they are interested in buying. The marketing department is judged by the number of leads they produce so the more badges they scan the better job they did.

But they are filling the To Do list of the sales team with useless leads and wasting the time of the sales force because the badges they scan are of people that are "tire kickers" just taking a look at the product, competitive people learning about the company, PR people trying to get the companies' business, complimentary product providers looking to partner, etc

So the good sales people need to be able to find their own leads and to do this we need to identify the kind of prospect we want to find, and then go after finding them.

So make a list of what the ideal prospect would appear like. This exercise will improve our closing ratio, and average sale value.

Every sales person needs to identify their own ideal customer profile from their own territory, market segment, market vertical target, etc. Here are some example traits of an ideal customer profile for example:

• The product is the kind of product this kind of customer has benefited from in the past
• The product's feature set is focused in on this kind of prospect's requirements
• The product's unique selling points are somethings this client can benefit from
• The company has numerous references of other customers from this vertical market, that are willing to testify that the company is a great company to buy from and the product works like a dream
• The prospect decision makers have had a bad experience of the competition
• The decision makers are within my sales territory and are interested in a solution. They are approachable and helpful towards making a buying decision
• You've met the decision makers and they are all in agreement about the requirments and that your product can meet their requirements It is a world-wide rollout with central buying from yousales territory meaning that you are going to close a very large deal and therefore reap large benefits
• The prospect has the resources internally to implement and use my product successfully
• Numerous people at the prospect organization have confirmed the existing requirement
• Budget is available and timeframes are planned. This is a buyer versus a shopper (or tire kicker)
• The prospect has a bad opinion of the competition / supplier and wants your product because of your features and advantages
• The prospect is in Trouble Mode, or Improvement Mode. (further explained in Prospect Response Modes later in the training)
• The User Decision Makers prefer the product's unique selling points, and are demanding it. (User Decision Makers are explained on the Decision Makers page)

Your own Ideal Prospect Profile will include characteristics required by your product and feature set. Take 5 minutes and list your own ideal customer profile for use later in the training implementation.