A Directory Is Only Overwhelming If Every Business Looks Like a Prospect
One of the easiest ways to make prospecting miserable is to begin with a giant list.
- Hundreds of companies.
- Dozens of categories.
- No obvious starting point.
That is not really a sales strategy. It is a phone book with ambition.
A more useful approach is to shrink the list.
Start With the Customer the Business Already Understands
Most established companies eventually notice patterns in their best customers.
- They may tend to come from certain industries.
- They may operate in a particular geographic radius.
- They may have a certain number of employees, locations, vehicles, properties or recurring needs.
Those patterns can become prospecting filters.
Instead of asking: “Who in TradeFirst can I sell to?”
the better question may be: “Which TradeFirst members look most like the customers we already serve well?”
That produces a very different list.
Category Can Be a Shortcut
Some products and services naturally fit certain industries.
- A sign company may find strong potential among retailers, restaurants, contractors and property-related businesses.
- A promotional-products company might focus on employers, schools, event-driven organizations or businesses with active sales teams.
- A commercial service provider may concentrate on offices, facilities, medical practices or multi-location businesses.
The goal is not to assume every company in a category needs something.
The category simply helps narrow the field.
Geography Can Be Just as Valuable
Location matters for many businesses.
A company might decide that the strongest prospect list is not “every member in Michigan.”
It might be:
members within 15 miles of the shop.
-or-
businesses in three neighboring cities.
-or-
Toledo-area businesses that fit one specific customer profile.
-or-
Fort Lauderdale-area members the company can serve efficiently.
A smaller geographic list can improve follow-up, scheduling and the relevance of the sales conversation.
Build a Short List, Not a Call Center
A focused prospecting session might produce 15, 25 or 40 businesses worth investigating.
That is manageable.
- The seller can look at each business, understand what it does and decide whether there is a legitimate reason to make contact.
- Some will quickly come off the list.
- Others may become obvious priorities.
The objective is not maximum activity.
It is better selection.
Use All Three Directory Formats Differently
- The online directory can make active searching and category exploration convenient.
- The TradeFirst app can make member discovery accessible while someone is away from the office.
- The annual printed directory offers something different: it can be scanned, marked, flagged and revisited in a way that sometimes makes patterns surprisingly easy to notice.
There is no requirement to choose one.
A salesperson can use whichever format best fits the task.
A Good Prospect List Makes the Sales Call Easier
When the list is built thoughtfully, the opening conversation becomes more natural.
- The seller knows why the prospect was selected.
- The prospect fits a category, geography or business need the seller understands.
- That makes it easier to say something meaningful.
And meaningful beats generic.
The TradeFirst directory contains businesses across many industries and markets. Its value increases when members stop seeing it only as a place to search for something they need and start occasionally asking another question:
Which of these businesses might need us?
A shorter, smarter prospect list can turn that question into action.
Recommended next read, The Warmest Cold Call in Town May Be to Another TradeFirst Member