Ditching the “Everyone” Mindset
This is something that I have learned throughout my sales career and experiences, so far, which will allow you to boost your sales and take business to new heights you never thought possible. Many of the thought leaders I follow, mentors, and people I discuss sales with all say, this is the way to go about selling.
Too often, people that are new to sales fall into the business of trying to sell to “everyone.” This is a very inefficient way of selling and is extremely counterproductive.
I will be exploring why you should shift your mindset and focus on creating an ICP, effectively prospecting, and the positives of targeting high-value clients.
Identifying your ICP
The first step to moving towards this practical sales approach is creating your Ideal Customer Profile or ICP. Your Ideal Customer Profile is a description of your perfect customer, which takes into account all of the criteria is takes to make it an ICP. These criteria could be their demographics, psychographics, behaviors, pain points, income, employees, or even buying patterns. By creating your Ideal Customer Profile, you will get a more narrowed focus on your customer, in order for you to promote and sell to them.
You understand your customer’s needs and preferences more when you have an ICP. In fact, it can help you align your product or services to their requirements. However, if a customer does not fit in your ICP, then why would try to sell to them? That could waste time and be unproductive for you and your team.
In order to create an ICP, you need to have extensive knowledge of your customer base and identify the customers that bring you the most value. Make sure they fit your specific ICP criteria before anything else. Then, once you have a clear vision of your ICP, you can strategize your sales process toward the right audience with an undeniable message.
Prospecting is Quality Over Quantity
Prospecting is one of the most important aspects of sales that no salesperson should ever overlook. This crucial step in the sales process involves identifying potential customers who fit your ICP and nurturing them into becoming loyal customers. The key here is focusing on quality over quantity.
Targeting everyone can end up hurting you, and here is why. You end up wasting time and resources on leads that are not likely to convert. By focusing on prospects in your ICP, you will dramatically increase your chances of closing deals.
To build a high list of prospects utilize tools such as social media, industry events, and referrals as much as possible. LinkedIn, for example, is an amazing social media tool to come across prospects and connect with them.
Focus on High-Value Clients
High-value clients are ones that not only bring in good revenue for your business but also support you and your company’s brand. These clients are most likely to refer their friends, keep using your product or service, and contribute to your long-term success.
By focusing on quality, high-value clients, you have more time to spend building your relationship with the customer. Furthermore, when the relationship goes beyond the sale itself, it creates a sense of loyalty and trust.
These clients tend to provide great feedback, allowing you to improve your product or service and customer experiences. The continuous feedback and improvements make for a competitive edge in the market.
Risks of the ‘Everyone’ Mindset
Pursuing the ‘everyone’ mindset can lead to risks that could affect your sales growth:
Wasted Time and Resources
Trying to reach every single customer and person you know can be very expensive and even a time waster. Taking time and money to try and reach audiences that have little interest in your offerings doesn’t seem like a good use of resources.
Missed Opportunities
By not focusing on your ICP and higher-value clients, you could miss out on extremely lucrative opportunities and have a loyal and profitable customer base.
Generic Outreach
Sending out emails to hundreds or thousands of people could result in generic messages that don’t work because there’s no specific audience. Being more personalized and targeting your ICP are more likely to capture attention and drive conversion.
My Last Reminder!
The ‘everyone’ mindset is an outdated approach that negatively affects your sales initiatives. By using an ICP, effectively prospecting, and focusing on high-value clients, you can improve your sales process and achieve greater results.
It is much better to do business with people who are devoted to you, show loyalty to you, and value your offering. Focus on those customers and embrace the power of targeted sales strategies.
I hope you all got something out of this blog and can start focusing on targeting your ICPs and driving sales growth.
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