Develop a Contact Strategy

Learning Objectives 

After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:

• Identify how to segment prospect accounts.
  
• Explain how to tailor your messaging for specific contacts.
  

A strategic approach to prospecting involves understanding which people and companies to target. As you’ve learned, it’s not always productive to simply reach out to as many people as possible, hoping that a small percentage will respond positively.

Sometimes less is truly more when you reach out to a shorter list of prospects who have a greater potential interest in what you offer. So how do you do this? 

Segment Your Accounts

Since it isn’t possible to give everyone the same level of attention, it’s best to segment your prospects to prioritize them, focus your time, and customize your approach.

One approach to segmenting prospect accounts is to place them into tiers.

• Tier 1 are those most likely to be interested and actually purchase. They are the ones you likely want to focus on with a high-touch approach.
  
• Tier 2 are those that may not be ready for that level of engagement, but can be developed with a little effort.
  
• Tier 3 are the larger pool of prospects that definitely require nurturing before they’re ready to enter the sales pipeline.
  

Develop Your Sales Messages

Reaching out to prospective customers is never a one-size-fits-all endeavor. Customers are more knowledgeable than ever, and they want salespeople to understand their businesses. This gives them confidence that you can provide an effective solution that is customized both to them and their customers. 

When you create your messages, first look at who to target. 

Don't just focus on one level. Look at all levels of the company to ensure the right people are engaged in the process. Develop personas by looking at your existing customers and identifying who is most frequently engaged in the buying process—for example, IT directors, VPs of sales, and VPs of marketing at medium-sized technology companies.

Once you understand the roles critical to purchasing, you can start developing the right messages for each role. Messages that grab attention are:

• Short
  
• Specific
  
• Results-driven
  
• Conversational
  
• Positive (both in their message and energy)
  
• Inspiring
  
• Unique (demonstrate the benefits of doing business with you)
  
• Beneficial to the prospect (address “What’s in it for me?”)
  

Make sure that your messaging is something you’d respond to personally. If you wouldn’t respond to your own message, your prospects certainly won’t! Now that you know what it takes to create a contact strategy, in the next unit you learn when and how to reach out.