I Buy My Suits, Tires, and Bait From the Same Store

As my team and I go around the country speaking to banking associations and organizations on how to sell and market electronic payment services, we are constantly preaching and reinforcing the message of “Don’t Try to Be All Things to All People“. We build on this message by explaining that the most effective organizations, in any market, identify and target a profitable customer profile.

Those organizations that have tried to be all things to all people have failed. Some have taken longer than others, but eventually they will.

“Getting Rich in Your Niche” should be the cornerstone of your marketing and prospecting strategies.

To illustrate, look at Walmart, Sears, and Nordstrom’s.

When you think Walmart, you think “Low Price”. The legend of Sam Walton includes a story about one of the reason’s Sam changed the name of his store from “Ben Franklin Five and Dime” to “Walmart” was that he only had to buy 7 letters for the top of the store. Now, do you expect superior, award-winning customer service when you go to Walmart? Not really. Looking for the Armani aisle? Not going to find it. Want to pay a consistently low price on commodity products? Yep, got you covered.

Conversely, Nordstrom’s associates are trained and rewarded when they go that extra mile for their customers. A friend shared that when he and his family were clothes shopping at a store in Atlanta, an associate came over with some toys for their 3 year old, and played with the child as mom and dad tried on some jeans. They were $100 jeans, but still.

Nordstrom’s has built their revenue model with enough margin to support superior customer service, Walmart built their entire organization around providing the lost price possible. So where does that leave Sears?

Sear’s net profit in Q3 of ‘07 dropped by 50+% from the previous quarter. Their top management is going through a fruit basket turnover and they are taking a hard look at how they are organized. The problem? When you think Sears what do you think of? I think appliances and tools. But go into a store and you will see clothes, bedding, jewelery, electronics, etc. Do people really want to buy their lingerie and their oil filters in the same trip?

Sears is far from alone. As sales organizations our first inclination is to chase every dollar. Ever work a deal where the prospect had a total budget that was 50% below your average price? Ever chased a big dollar, high-profile deal “that would put your company on the map” regardless of the fact that actually winning the deal may ruin your company? Yep, we all have.

As I get older (40 this year), and wiser (I have a blog, don’t I?) I now understand the value of picking your battles and your prospects. Figuring out and spending the most time with those prospects who have the highest probability of actually doing business with you, is the key tenet that seperates the Sales Warrior from the rest.

My good friend, Gilligan, has taken this discussion down to a scientific level. If you want to take a glimpse into some serious lead scoring, click here.
Technorati Tags: Prospecting, Lead Scoring

Powered by ScribeFire.