“Less is more” is also true in business development
In English, it's called spray-and-pray. Loosely translated, shooting blindly. An attempt to reach the widest possible audience without precise targeting, with the hope that something will come of it. Does it work? Not really. Data shows that companies that approach potential clients with deliberation are significantly better off.
Few companies can leave business development entirely to fate. Sometimes you have to “go for it” for the best business opportunities, not wait for them to appear. But how do you do that?
One option is the aforementioned spray-and-pray approach. In short, throw your nets everywhere and wait to see what happens. However, it is increasingly true that such a procedure can not only conflict with legislation, but is also expensive, time-consuming and not very effective.
Why doesn’t “carpet bombing” work?
Mass contacting potential clients is not only inefficient, it can directly harm your business in at least three ways:
1. Reputational damage
Stealing people’s time with irrelevant offers is not worth it these days. It comes across as unprofessional and desperate. Instead of opening doors to future collaboration, you may actually close them. A targeted approach, on the other hand, positions you as a specialist that potential clients can trust.
2. Poor quality relationships
Your potential clients are not naive. If you approach them with the style of “I just want to check off another item on a very long list,” they will recognize it. Even if one of them responds – which is unlikely – you are starting to work together without mutual trust.
3. Team demotivation
Salespeople who are forced to use ineffective methods lose motivation and trust in their leadership. When they see that their work is not producing results, it is difficult for them to maintain their drive and enthusiasm. These are qualities that a successful salesperson cannot do without.
The key problem with mass outreach is that it ignores a fundamental principle of successful sales: Every prospect has different needs, problems, and expectations. This is why less is often more.
Three prerequisites for successful targeting
Successful business development is based on three basic pillars. All are equally important, and if any of them is missing, results will be difficult to achieve.
1. The right companies
You need to identify companies that fit your ideal client profile . Without quality data and detailed filtering options, it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack. It’s often not enough to know what industry the company operates in. You often need to know other parameters as well:
- company size
- the location in which it operates
- the technology it uses
- products that it purchases, manufactures or distributes
2. The right people
Finding an interesting company is just the beginning. You need to reach competent managers with decision-making power . Otherwise, your offer will end up with an assistant at best, or in the trash at worst.
It is therefore essential to know who has what competences in a given company and to have up-to-date contact information available.
3. The correct way to address someone
Even the best offer needs a thoughtful approach. When targeting foreign markets, it is important to communicate with potential clients in their language – relying on English alone is often not enough.
It is also crucial to systematically set the right sequence of steps : from the first contact through follow-up communication to closing the deal. And of course, you need to have an overview of what stage each business case is in and what needs to be done as the next step.
How to achieve precise targeting in practice
We told ourselves that less is more. That carpet bombing doesn’t work. That you need to aim precisely and not shoot blindly. It sounds good in theory. But how do you implement it in practice? Especially when you don’t employ dozens of data specialists.
We have a solution for you. Tuned, robust, user-friendly and at the same time affordable even for smaller companies.
With Intedat you get:
- access to a top-notch, continuously updated company database (280 million companies worldwide, 1.5 million companies in the Czech Republic)
- information about competent persons, often including direct contacts
- advanced filtering options including unique mirror selection
- possibility of connection with your CRM system
- the ability to search for manufacturers, distributors or users of a specific product or technology within minutes
Don’t you have the capacity to contact the selected companies?
We can help you with that too. As part of the Intedat Business solution, we will address the selected companies by your name and in their language. We will present your offer to them and only pass on to you for final consideration those that have expressed interest.
Get started today
The era of mass outreach is (thankfully) over. Companies that rely on the spray-and-pray method are wasting valuable time and money. And their competitors are gaining a head start.
Business development can be more efficient and professional. You don’t have to wait in the corner for someone to find you, or waste time on ineffective outreach. More than 900 companies have already proven that there is a better way. Join them.
Contact us and we will show you how you can achieve better results with less effort during a non-binding consultation.
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