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Smaller Target, Bigger Bull's-eye
By David Tabor, Tabor Sales Mentoring
Smaller target, bigger bull's-eye... it's a paradox that most small business owners struggle with. Ask a typical small-business owner who his customer is and he'll tell you, "We focus on mid-sized technology companies but many of our customers are small companies and we can easily scale to handle even the biggest companies, plus, we can really serve any industry." This lesson is about how you sell more by selling to a more targeted market.
A good way to decide how to sell to customers is to look at how you buy. Say you are shopping for a high-end plasma screen TV for yourself. Do you tend to buy one at a department store? Not me. I always go to a place where I think there's a good chance that the people will be able to help me, know issues that can affect my satisfaction, ask me questions that make me feel important, and make sure that I get a great value based on information they know that I don't. Plus, I want someone that will be around to honor the warranty, and so on. Would I buy from a store that proudly states, "We sell everything EVERYTHING from garbage bags to jet aircraft?" Never. Would you?
Most small businesses attempt to sell to anyone who will listen out of a false fear of missing a sale. Why do I say, false fear? Because successful small businesses are niche players. It's not possible for a small company to effectively compete against a big one or against many other small ones by trying to sell anything to anyone who could buy.
Why am I, a SALES mentor, talking about positioning strategy? Because I care about selling. I care about the ability of salespeople and selling executives to make a strong impression to their prospects when they face them. As a small company facing competition, you win much more when your prospect feels your company is focused on them and on their needs. This isn't possible unless you focus. You'll GET MORE BULL'S-EYES BY REDUCING THE SIZE OF YOUR TARGET.
Here's what I mean. Picture a typical target with 4 rings. The Bulls-eye is a closed sale. The other rings are how close you came. Many businesses find themselves hitting the target a lot, but coming in 2nd or 3rd or simply creating unproductive relationships. I don't know about you, but for me, I don't care how many times I hit an outer ring. I only get paid for bulls-eyes. In fact, to me hitting outside the bull's-eye is worse than missing the target completely. Why? Because in sales, hitting outside the bull's-eye means that I've taken time and energy for conversations, meetings, letters and a proposal, all to lose. I could have been getting other customers. Now picture another target, half the size. The whole target is the bulls-eye. THAT's the target I want to shoot at... every time I hit it, it's a bull's-eye, a sale!
Earthnet is a small Internet services company in Boulder, Colorado that provides advanced hosting services. It had defined itself as a leading provider of corporate Internet solutions for small as well as large companies. Did it have any large company clients? No. Did it have any medium sized clients? One, maybe two. In fact, Earthnet offers advanced technology services to small, growing companies that rely on the Internet and need advanced services that they could otherwise get them from a big company. Earthnet customers know that if they go to a larger provider, they'd be an unimportant account. After some analysis and reflection, Earthnet now defines itself narrowly and sells its services as the only hosting company in its area that provides Tier One technology to customers that rely on the Internet and want a partner that is passionately focused on the needs of small and growing companies. They are aiming at a smaller target but when they are communicating with a prime prospect, that prospect feels a connection with Earthnet and does business with a much higher closing ratio. Their target is smaller and the bull's-eye is bigger!
A small business, even more than a bigger company, must focus. Most of those I help are nervous about turning away any work. The target paradox is that the more a company tries to sell to anyone who'll buy, the less they sell. The good news is that small companies are already focused more than they realize. Take a close look at your customer list and you'll find that most fit a niche, size or pattern. Is this the customer base you want? If so, have the courage to say who you are and who you serve. If your current customer base isn't who you want to serve, decide that too, and then define your company by whom you want to sell to and attract those customers. Either way, make a smaller target to get more bulls-eyes!
Onward!
David Tabor is an entrepreneur and a sales mentor with Tabor Sales Mentoring. He mentors selling executives and key salespeople at small companies that rely on direct sales and need to get better at selling. By working one-on-one with his clients, Dave helps his client make more sales faster, and he guarantees results. He can be reached at (303) 520.5525 or at dave@salesmentoring.com.
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