Most markets present businesses with an array of potential customer opportunities. But no matter how great the product, solution, or service that you are selling might be, you can’t be all things to all people.
There is an old saying, “If your product is for everybody, it’s for nobody, because nothing is for everybody.”
As may of you may know I enjoy the game of golf almost as much as I enjoy being in sales. (I have even written about the commonality between the two) It’s a passion that I have enjoyed since my father first introduced me to the game at the ripe old age of eight.
When my dad first introduced me to the game he talked about the importance of hitting the “sweet spot”. He would always say, unless you’re hitting the “sweet spot”, you are not going to be very successful.
The same can be said of success in sales. If you aren’t selling to your “sweet spot” you probably aren’t going to be successful.
All too often, and for a variety of reasons, sales organizations waste a lot of time and money trying to sell their offerings to people who aren’t good potential customers. A review of the sales pipeline will quickly reveal the real story. The odds are that your pipeline is littered with prospects that don’t fall into the “sweet spot”.
The problem is usually lack of clarity and the inability to clearly define the ideal customer. As my mentor would often say, without clarity, you end up chasing the wrong squirrel up the wrong tree. When you are looking for opportunities, the question isn’t who could possibly use your service or product? The question is who is your ideal client? There is a big difference.
Not to overstate the obvious, but defining the ideal customer, aka, your “sweet spot” focuses on the buyer. What problems or challenges are they facing? Given these challenges, what specific problem does your offering address? How exactly does it address these challenges? What value does the customer obtain by utilizing your solution? What key business metrics are derived as a result of your offering?
Identifying and focusing on the ideal customers in your “sweet spot” is critical to your sales success. If you’re dealing with the wrong customers, you’re missing opportunities to court the right ones. This doesn’t mean that they’re the only clients with whom you can and will work. Inevitably you will find and attract customers that fall outside the parameters of your sweet spot. But the greater clarity you have with regards to selling to clients in your sweet spot, the more focused and effective your sales efforts will be.
Bottom line, if you cast a narrow net, you can catch more of the best fish. So if you want to be successful, focus on selling in the sweet spot.
Thoughts? Comments?
Categories: Sales
Bruce Zimmerman . . . 
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