Finding the Right Prospects for a B2B Sale
While the seller only wasted about two minutes for me, there are quite a few people who live in Pine Township, Pennsylvania. I can only imagine the amount of time this seller was spending to call people with no interest in his horses. After all, just because you want to sell something doesn't mean there is anyone who will buy it.
Targeting the correct prospects for your products will increase your success rate. When I was in college I sold books door to door during the summer. They were reference books to help kids do better in class and improve reading. Note: this was pre-internet. Whenever I left one house, I would ask if the next couple of houses had kids. I did not want to waste time going to a home without children. This means every conversation enabled me to further refine my efforts.
Today, focusing on the right prospects is very important. Your time is valuable and the people you are contacting are constantly being solicited in person, by phone, via email and through social media, not to mention the myriad of other advertising vehicles. Pin-pointing your efforts and targeting the most receptive buyers is critical.
Here is my advice to you.
Identify Unmet Needs
Define who will need your product or service based on the problem it solves or the desire it meets. Those people or companies form your prospect list. While it may take longer to create a list this way, the names on it will be much more meaningful and worth contacting: think quality over quantity.