Transcript CHAPTER TWO The Make-It Or Break-It List 3 Characteristics of a Good Prospect Company List Now that you’ve decided how you’re going to stand out from your competitors,

CHAPTER TWO
The
Make-It Or
Break-It
List
3 Characteristics of a
Good Prospect Company List
Now that you’ve decided how you’re
going to stand out from your
competitors, you need to determine your
best company-level prospects. Which
companies are going to be most
interested in your experience, expertise,
and what you have to say? Which
companies do you think you can help the
most? What companies are you
especially interested in and excited to
work with…and sell to?
Now that you’ve defined the list you
need, you need to get the list you need.
Easier said than done.
Actually coming up with that list is hard
work. Let’s start by defining what makes
a list great.
1.
Accurate and Timely. Your list should consist of
accurate and current information for each of your
target companies. Things change – your list needs to
change as well. Keeping your list up-to-date with key
facts and information about your prospects will make
your list work hard for you. You need to pull
companies off who you later determine are not good
sales prospects, and add in new companies that you
may have initially excluded. You also must be diligent
at keeping your prospect list separate from your client
list, so that errors aren’t made and someone
erroneously calls a client, thinking they are a
prospect. You need to demonstrate that your whole
organization is “buttoned-up”, and on the same page.
Size. How many prospect companies do you
need? It depends on you and the resources that
you plan on bringing to bear in your sales effort.
One approach is to think about your hit rates and
work backwards: How many proposals does it
take to generate a sale? How many sales
presentations does it take to generate a
proposal? How many people do you have to
contact to generate a sales lead/ capabilities
presentation? What sort of sales resources do
you have? In our experience, anywhere from
100-200 companies is generally in the ballpark.
You don’t want too many that it’s overwhelming,
but you also don’t want to have to go through
the process again for awhile.
2.
You only get one chance…
3.
Ranked or Tiered. Consider ranking the
companies on your list in terms of desirability,
from 1 to 5, A-F, or whatever works for you, so
you have a starting point. Some prospects will
always be ahead of others in terms of
desirability…so why not start there? With that
said, if you’re just setting up your outreach
effort, or testing a new service, it can be best
to “test the waters” with lower-tiered
companies to make sure you have everything
tightened up. “You only get one chance to…”,
well, you know.
Here are some “how to” steps for building your list of companies:
• Start with your current company prospect list. Are the companies on
your list still the ones you want to work with? If not, take them off
or give them a lower rating.
• Whenever possible, consider starting with a clean database. It can
be incredibly frustrating and time-consuming to clean someone
else’s list…and oftentimes it’s best to just start from scratch.
• To build your list of companies, consider using free market research
industry publications like Quirk's Marketing Research Review
(www.quirks.com); buyers guides such as Greenbook
(www.Greenbook.org); research conference attendee lists (including
CASRO, PMRG, ARF, etc.); paid resources such as Hoovers
(www.Hoovers.com), Data.com, or ZoomInfo (www.ZoomInfo.com);
and general internet searches.
Whether you have a dedicated outbound sales force, depend on emarketing, or are just doing it yourself, the quality of your company
target list is paramount to your sales success. If you have any questions,
need a fresh perspective, or just want someone else to do the work,
the team at Bridgemark Solutions can help.