Boundary Management
Sales Strategy Worksheet
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Identify
the characteristics of desired customers:
1. _____________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________
4. _____________________________________________________
What are the characteristics that define the customers that your organization desires? From your current customers, which ones typify the kinds of customers that you would like to have more of? What are the defining characteristics of these customers?
Identify the
characteristics of undesirable customers:
1. _____________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________
4. _____________________________________________________
What are the characteristics of customers that your organization could do better without? From current customers, which ones cost more than they are worth? Of potential customers which ones are unlikely to ever become customers? What are the defining characteristics of the groups?
Identify the boundaries
between acceptable and unacceptable customers:
1. _____________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________
4. _____________________________________________________
The critical piece of this process is to identify the boundary between customers and non-customers. It is this boundary that makes this sales strategy so successful. The clearer it is, the better the organization can respond to potential customers. It is tempting to be less precise, thinking that this will capture more customers, but that logic misses the fact that it means expending more time on marginal customers and less time on desired customers.
Identify questions or
indicators that will differentiate customers from non-customers
1. _______________________________________________
2. _______________________________________________
3. _______________________________________________
4. _______________________________________________
5. ...
What questions or indicators can be identified that will allow the organization to quickly identify customers from non-customers. These indicators should focus on identifying non-customers. If the potential customer fails to be identified as a non-customer by these indicators, then by logic that potential customer is very likely a desired customer.
Where
could these be placed in the sales process so that non-customers are identified
as early as possible:
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
The final component is to place the indicators early is the sales process so that usage of time and resources is minimized on non-customers. Can these be asked in the initial stages of customer contact? Is it possible to use these indicators as part of pre-screening or qualification efforts?