Prospect segmenting

Hi all,

Regarding 'scoring' prospects, what have you found to be the best criteria for segmenting prospects (A, B, C, etc.)?

Is it Budget, Timeframe, or do you base it on the sales stage they are in? Any suggestions or techniques would be appreciated.

Thanks -klozer

klozer, I'm not sure what you're asking. Do you "score" your prospects currently? What is the purpose? How does it help you sell?

You can analyze and categorize prospects in any number of ways, but the determining factor in the methodology used should be based upon your selling strategy. -Skip Anderson

Hi Klozer,

A number of years ago I spent a lot of time with pharma and medical device companies devising and testing segmentation models.

They found it best to use different models for different purposes.

At the simplest level, scoring/segmenting your prospects on a matrix plotting their potential (e.g. for a hospital it could be the number of procedures they carried out for "short term" potential; for a business it could simply be the total amount they spend on your category of products or even their revenue) vs your current "market share" with them.

That helped categorise prospects into ABC etc. - showing which could be worth investing in (high potential, low share), which worth defending (high potential, high share), etc.

Over the years we developed more sophisticated segmentation to layer on top - such as segmenting by the main prescribing motives (e.g. best pooosible treatment, good treatment at reasonable cost, concern over side-effects, etc.). We also at times segmented by technology adoption (early adopters, etc.) for new product launches; or sometimes by preferred/most influential communication channel - journals, face-to-face, peer influence, etc.

These segmentation models were used to define what strategies were put in place to sell to to physicians/hospitals in each segment (e.g. messages to use, channels to use, who to target first for new products, etc.)

But the basic potential vs share segmentation (in one form or another) was always there in some form to guide the very basic strategy of who was worth "investing" in.

Hope this helps,

Ian -ianbrodie

A very informative post, Ian. Assessment is a foundation of strategy. I believe from your post that strategy is something you understand. -Ace Coldiron

Ian, thank you for your very informative post. That certainly helped.

Skip, more specifically, I was wondering what techniques others were using in scoring, or grading, their leads/prospects. My intention is to develop a strategy that would give me a clear snapshot of my pipeline...

So that instead of just grading an opportunity on whatever stage in the sales process they were in at the moment, I wanted to also factor in project timing, potential revenue, etc.

I sell software and the cycle is long and complex, and I need to find ways to optimize my time with the right clients.

Does that make sense... am i splitting hairs here?

Thanks again -klozer

Hello Klozer,

Keeping it simple, I use the following system...
Grade your accounts.

A = An evaluation is currently taking place
B = Project is defined with a decision to be made in 6 months or less
C = No project. Not looking for 6 months to 1 year.
D = No project. Not looking for 12 months or more.
F = Not qualified or is a competitor

Prioritize your accounts by timezone, then grade each account A through F. Call the A’s and B’s first. Keep the C’s and D’s in follow-up mode using monthly reminders such as articles, news of interest, etc. Remove or code the F’s as “do not call or send info”. Remember you have a limited amount of selling time.
Ö Key point – Determine which types of prospects will be most profitable and focus your selling energy there.


Just my two cents.

Cheers!

Ron -accelerated-sales

Thanks Ace. I started off doing strategy consulting and moved over time more into sales - so I've always had that strategy mindset.

What I did find over the years was though that many great segmentations strategies failed miserably in implementation.

I remember working with one consulting firm who had developed a really clever model based on the drivers and barriers to prescribing behaviour. I asked them about how they identified which doctor was in which segment so they knew what strategy to use with them. They listed a long list of complex questions that had to be asked of the doctor. I asked how long it took to ask all those questions given the average sales meeting ("detail") was only a few minutes. They said it took around a year to have enought interaction to place the doctor in a segment. Given that the lifetime sales of a product are largely determined by what you do with it in the first 6 months post launch, it kind of made the whole exercise a bit pointless!

So it was often back to basics!

Ian -ianbrodie

Thanks for the clarification, and no, I don't think you're splitting hairs at all. I can certainly understand your need to grade a prospect in areas of project timing, potential revenue, etc. As I'm a B2C guy who typically works with a much quicker sales cycle (including the one call close), I'll leave it to others to help you in this thread. Good luck. -Skip Anderson

Klozer: you might want to take a look at some of Colin Wilson's free ebooks on sales methodology - particularly on qualifying pipeline prospects: http://www.firstborder.com/sales-ebooks/

Also take a look at his Focus pipeline management tool which has this qualification approach built in: http://www.firstborder.com/sales-tools/

Rgds

Ian -ianbrodie

... all things considered, I would rather sell than project! -Gold Calling