Hunting the Right Game

The first rule for prospecting is to take action and stay active. Pick up the phone and start dialing or hit the road and visit with potential new customers.

This shotgun approach works if the activity level and frequency is high. However, taking a more thoughtful approach to sales can produce superior results.

Not all customers are created equal. Figure out which customers and prospects are likely to be the most profitable.

Sector 1) Low Profit/Low Conversation - Avoid at all costs.

Sector 2) High Profit/Low Conversion - Big game hunting should be reserved for those that can survive lean sales while trying to land the big one.

Sector 3) Low Profit/High Conversion - OK to stimulate activity and get the ball rolling, but beware spending too many cycles on these customers who take away time from the best customer segment.

Sector 4) High Profit/High Conversion - Spend most of your time targeting this quadrant.

The game plan to maximize your sales to Sector 4:

Step 1) Analyze and identify your targets.

Step 2) Get these customers to try your service.

Step 3) Spend extra time to find out how to get trial customers to become regular customers.

Step 4) Provide world-class customer service to these customers.

Step 5) Repeat Step 4 over and over again.

Despite your best efforts, you will still lose some of these premium customers. So the name of the game is to land and convert these customers at a far faster rate than your attrition rate. This works if you are targeting customers in quadrant 4, but can quickly derail if you spend too much time on Sectors 1, 2 or 3.

Happy Hunting.