Studies suggest that the best athletes have developed a greater ability to visualize than others.
The best can visualize the ball going into the hoop or the ball rolling into the cup. For these athletes, the focus remains on the ideal target.
Like athletes, successful eCommerce salespeople understand the power of visualization.
Visualizing The Ideal Client
It’s human nature to want to please everyone. Ecommerce salespeople are no different. We all want tons of customers so we find ourselves trying to please everyone.
The problem with a broad approach is that when you try to please everyone you end up pleasing no one.
Years of experience in eCommerce B2B selling have taught us that narrowing your focus and visualizing your ideal client produces the best results.
We call this finding your sweet spot.
You can also think of it as focusing on your bull’s-eye client.
Dartboard Client Focus
When the best dart throwers in the world target a bull’s-eye they focus on a very small target.
Successful eCommerce businesses do the same with target clients.
For example, instead of targeting all etailers, focus instead on apparel etailers located in the United States with annual revenue of $5 million.
The more defined you can get the better.
With the bull’s-eye approach, even misses can bring success. Focus on bull’s-eye clients will bring you ideal clients and even if you miss you’ll still succeed.
You won’t be targeting etailers on the outer rings, but you’ll get a few by aiming at the bulls-eye.
Homework Assignment
This post isn’t just for reading. It’s for action (and for results).
1. Define your bull’s-eye eCommerce client (ex: Sports etailer in the US that’s less than two years old and does $2 million in annual revenue).
2. Reach out to them with the service you provide. Let them know the value of your services, but offer to provide your services in exchange for their cooperation for a case study instead of payment.
3. From the experience create a story complete with measurable results (ex: sales increased by 50% in six months…). Use the story as a selling tool to get full-price clients that fit your bull’s-eye criteria.
We’ve seen this approach work great for eCommerce sales teams. Clients would much rather hear stories (and salespeople would much rather share stories) than have products pushed onto them with no context.
Targeting eCommerce Companies
This is how we’ve found success with targeting eCommerce companies. Honing in on a specific customer tightens the focus and makes the offer more appealing.
Have you had success with this focus or have you found something else to be successful?