In her excellent book "Selling to BIG companies", Jill Konrath has a chapter on Targeting.

Jill says that, in today's hypercompetitive market, buyers "prefer to work with experts who understand their business". A key to success in getting in front of potential major new accounts, is targeting: it's not a "numbers game" anymore.

I couldn't agree more. In fact, I sometimes think that Jill's book could have been based on my life ;-)

Clearly understanding what your customers want and being able to find the right person are crucial factors to opening doors with large organisations.

The other day, I set up a meeting for a client with a Senior Departmental Head within a major global company. I found the contact through my online network and then approached him by phone. Because I knew exactly what this guy was interested in, I was able to quickly identify where my client could help him.

My client called me after the meeting. Not only was it a great meeting which we're confident will result in some very lucrative business, but the guy said this to my client:

"Tell David his approach was spot on. I get 100's of calls every week and it's very rare that I agree to meetings, but he was right on the money".

To me, that's the power in targeting. It respects people's time and seeks out real win-win propositions. And while everyone else is "cold-calling" and making so much white-noise, our approach clearly stands out.

Labels: marketing, sales