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There are four types of customers in every company.

1. The customers you are currently selling. These are the customers, big and small, that are paying the bills. They constitute the “customer base.” You have accumulated these customers intentionally, accidentally, by good luck, by bad luck, etc.

2. The customers you used to sell. For one reason or another the customer has left the fold. The reasons for this are endless: out of business, moved to a competitor, don’t have a need for your products or services anymore, etc. It is difficult to know why we lose many of our customers.

3. The ones you would like to be selling. I’ve never met a VP of Sales who didn’t have a grand vision for the kinds of customers his “salespeople-should-be-getting.” No company is ever happy with the customers they have; they want bigger and better ones. They want brand names. They want ones that they’d be proud to talk about at a party. This can be a source of discomfort for the salesforce. Salespeople look around and think, “Gee, we may not have the sexiest sounding customers, but they are paying my bills and the company’s. What’s the problem?”

4. The ones you should be selling. This is where the rubber hits the road. After careful consideration it is possible to determine what your sweet spot is. A smart company will ask the question, “What kinds of customers will leverage our strengths and make us the most money?”

Current customers are important because they pay the bills, today. But current customers that are high maintenance and low revenue can hurt more than they help. Sift through these and terminate some of them. Free up your time to find better customers.

The junk pile of lost customers can be sorted. Look for the ones that might be salvageable and that have a lot of potential. Have a fresh face contact them and see if they can be resurrected. Things may have changed since you last dealt with them. A change in chemistry may be all that is needed.

If your ideal customer description doesn’t fit the type of customer you’d like to talk about at the country club, then either come down to earth or get a job where you sell that kind of customer. Determining your best prospect is one of the most important things you and your company can do. You don’t have to wait for your employer to do this; you can start today in your own account base or territory. Accurately defining your sales sweet spot will cause your sales effectiveness to expand exponentially.

Tags: types

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