This is the crucial and straight forward step to massively improve your chances of substantial gains in sales. Every small business service or product has the potential to appeal to a certain definable group of individuals rather than the mass market.
There are 3 ways to target prospects.
1. Geographically – within a close proximity of your location or alternatively in an area where our starving crowd predominately live or work. If you have heard of Russell Conwell’s classic masterpiece Acres of Diamonds, you will understand the power of discovering what is right under our own backyard. Often close to us is the best option for finding new prospects and ultimately new clients. Having said this geographic targeting of prospects does not have to be local. It is anywhere our prospects live, work or play.
Examples: Flyer drop within 2 mile radius of our agency.
Advertising our products in a newspaper that only goes to certain suburbs.
Putting a display in a shopping centre in the heart of area and only a 2 minute walk from our travel business.
2. Demographically – This is targeting prospects via statistical, behavioral or psychological means. Most likely for your business it is targeting age groups or gender groups or associations where a certain type of person predominates.
Examples could be selling cruises to retirees if you are a travel agency business.
Selling Contiki Tours (18-35 year old tour customers) to sporting groups where younger people hang out.
Promoting a gourmet cooking school tour of Italy to females aged 30-50 knowing this age group and gender does the most cooking.
3. Mutual Associations – This could be targeting people of groups and clubs you belong to. Or could be a hobby, professional association you know of and they know you. It could be a networking group.
Example: I once belonged to an inner city networking club with 18 other business people and we met weekly to swap ideas, leads and to inform each other of our services.
Through this association I uncovered several new clients over time which brought me in $40,000 worth or consulting work. Without my involvement here, I simply would have missed these clients altogether.