Your Top 20 Prospects

I often ask CEOs of client organizations if they can name their top 20 clients. Most every time, they can, and they do! No surprise there. My next question though brings no small amount of hesitation and it’s this. “Can you name your company’s top 20 prospects?” They might be able to come up with a name or two; sometimes. What’s going on here?

In their seminal article “Strategic Sales Management: A Boardroom Issue,” authors Benjamin Shapiro and Adrian Slywotzky describe in detail the importance of senior leadership taking responsibility for planning, guiding, and directing the business development efforts in their organizations. This runs counter to the more common approach where individual salespeople are charged with “prospecting” on their own. Few are good at it, fewer still even attempt it (at least, in earnest). Some are convinced that they have “paid their dues” and now have a book of established customers, the servicing of which requires their full time and attention (notwithstanding the presence of customer service representatives). How will your business grow?

A top priority for C-Suite executives, beginning with the CEO, is to drive the business development process. Here’s a good place to start.

Begin with your top 20 accounts. Identify what it is you are doing that keeps these key relationships intact. That done, consider other organizations that may be facing similar challenges, opportunities, or problems. These are the names that will populate your top 20 prospect list. Devise a strategy for attracting their attention (this is where a well-developed marketing plan comes in). Determine who is best equipped to execute the plan (note this may require a team approach).

Next, take a close look at your “next 20”; that is customers 21-40. Which of these accounts could be moved up on the list with the right focus and effort?

Think of your “Top 20” in three separate groups: top customers, customers who are best positioned to become top customers, and top prospect who are not yet customers. Oh, and don’t forget former customers (that’s a discussion for another time).

Imagine the positive impact on your business if you were to move resources in the direction of capturing and retaining significant, high-value clients. The results will be dramatic!

For more information on taking your customer and prospect analysis to the next level as part of a comprehensive strategy and planning process, contact me at joe@ajstrategy.com.