Prospect profiling and market research are the first steps in creating a sales pipeline that’s kept full with a healthy supply of leads. After all, how can you attract and convert leads if you don’t know who they are? And how can you craft the content and marketing messages that’ll generate interest in your business and product if you don’t know who you’re speaking to? Prospect profiling isn’t just about finding out a prospect’s name, email address and job title. It's about asking the right questions that’ll give you a detailed and accurate description of your prospect. One you can use to truly understand what makes them and their business tick.
With the right information, you can tailor your marketing to a specific account and individuals in that account
What type of content would you be more interested in: a guide clearly pitched at the masses, or a guide written specifically for you? The answer is obvious. The reason why marketing methods like account-based marketing (ABM) can be so effective is because it’s relevant and personalised to each and every prospect. But to create this highly personalised and targeted content, you need a thorough understanding of your prospect and their business objectives. Once you know this, you can craft your content to their needs. Weaving in the kind of solutions your business can offer that align with these needs. If your prospect appreciates the value your product can bring, it’s far more likely that they will sit up and take notice of you. The same applies to the marketing messages and campaigns you create around each prospect.
By knowing how a prospect gauges the success of their business goals, you can ensure that your product can satisfy this criteria
By doing in-depth prospect profiling, you can also get a picture of how your prospect’s business gauges the success of a solution they invest in. As well as how they measure their own business goals and the metrics they use to do this. If they have strict criteria for selecting and adopting a product, you need to make sure that your solution delivers on all fronts, and that the sales team is aware of these criteria during the closing phase. Knowing how they measure the success of business goals will also give you an idea of how (or whether) your product can assist in achieving them. You need to ensure that these criteria are met on an ongoing basis, long after the deal is closed. Without this information, your team (and the sales team) could waste precious resources pursuing leads that are not a suitable match for your business.
Sales offers designed for your prospect are far more likely to precipitate a meeting than ones that aren’t
Getting your foot in the door with a prospect is key for moving them down the sales funnel. One of the most effective ways to do this is by arranging a meeting with them. Not the easiest task in the world. Though with the right type of prospect profiling, you’ll already have a wealth of data with which to conceptualise and execute a sales offer designed just for them. And as I mentioned above, offers that speak to the pain points and objectives of your prospect are far more likely to spark their interest than a generic sales offer. Part of prospect profiling is also grasping the nuances of their industry. Getting a sense of what drives their goals and objectives – this can then be fed into the sales offer you create.
Account-based marketing (ABM) hinges on knowing your prospect and their business, as well as the challenges they face. To find out how ABM works and how it can help you generate leads, download our guide:
