A Politically Incorrect Concept Applied To Your Customers
Monday, March 29th, 2010
Profiling. I’ve grown uncomfortable with this word over the last few years. But profiling is actually a very good thing in sales. The ability to profile is a competence we need in our sales skills arsenal.
Have You Ever Asked Yourself This Question?
Who are my customers?
I was guilty of selling for years without seriously asking myself what my ideal customer would look like. It’s so simple, but I missed it. I didn’t fully grasp what kinds of prospects I should be stalking (uh oh, there’s another term I should probably avoid) or the types of customers I should be spending time on.
Sales Tips For Properly Profiling, #1
With some help from my sales manager – yes, they actually can provide assistance – we sat down and defined the ideal target account and customer for my company and myself. The key word in that last sentence is “myself.” Profiling the perfect prospect or customer means that they’re a good fit for your company and they’re a good match for your skills and background. Make sense?
You’re probably thinking your company has already done this little exercise. Are you kidding me? Of course they haven’t. I don’t think I’ve ever known of a company that really knows exactly where their best opportunities lie. The reasons for this could fill many sales blog posts.
Sales Tips For Properly Profiling, #2
Once I profiled my optimal customer and prospect, I then needed to know how to invest my time. I knew by then that not all customers and opportunities represent the same potential. To treat them all the same means you’re thinking like a politician. These days, that is not a good thing.
Our customers and opportunities can be separated into 4 categories. Once we’ve put them in the correct category, it becomes clear how we should allocate our time. We will also give them a different level of service according to their category.
People who put down $100 bills at the tables in Vegas get a better level of service than those who put down $1 bills. There’s a reason they segment customers. It makes them more money.
Sales Tips For Properly Profiling, #3, Segmentation
1. The Why Bothers? These customers represent less than 5% of your business and 90% of your headaches. Invest zero time in them. Hope your competitors take them. Fire them. Now.
2. Target Accounts. You’ve profiled these highly qualified prospects and you’re not spending enough time on them. These are your competitors’ key customers. Spend time on them, but know it will take a long time to land them. But it will most assuredly be worth the trouble.
3. Your Key Accounts. These are the customers you’ve profiled that represent 80% of your business yet represent only 10-20% of your account base. We have to take care of the hand that is buttering our bread, but in actuality, these accounts don’t need as much hand holding as you’re giving them. Use some of this time to attack your target accounts.
4. Maintenance Accounts. They represent 10-15% of your business and 40-45% of your account base. These are your mom and pop accounts. Don’t let them suck up more than 25% of your time. We can waste time on them because they are easy, comfortable and always there.
Sales Blog Epilogue
I was spending too much time on customers that weren’t fattening my billfold and not enough on the kind of prospects that could. How I used my time was dictated more by what was comfortable and convenient rather than what was going to build my business.
Now start profiling.
©2010 Scott R. Sheaffer


