Your best client might be those that purchase your most expensive products or services. Or not.

Either way, you need to know who your ideal client is. Who are they, where are they, what motivates them to buy, when do they buy, why do they buy, how do they buy? (For help begin with the Resultist Ideal Client Persona Worksheet.)

After identifying your best current client and creating your ideal client persona, the next step is to evaluate your prospects as compared to your ideal client. This will ensure that your sales team is investing in the “right” opportunities. Our team uses the  Sales Qualification Matrix.

To grow profitable revenue, I recommend that you do more of what’s working and less of what’s not. A key to achieving this state is knowing the characteristics of your ideal client. Actually, not just the characteristics, but also their demographics, psychographics, and purchasing patterns. In other words – their persona.

Have you ever been presented with a product or service that made you think the person who created it was reading your mind? It was almost as if they had followed you around, understood what made you tick, and knew exactly what buttons to push to get the desired reaction.

While they probably didn't trail you through rush hour traffic or tap your phone, this isn't far from the truth. The most successful marketers have developed the ability to find out what their target audience is thinking and then provide them with solutions to their biggest issues at just the right moment.

Account development is the smartest path an organization can take to increase profitability. This approach utilizes existing clients as assets to generate revenue, rather than requiring marketing teams to generate more leads or sales teams to convert more leads. The result is a viable roadmap for long-term growth rather than a short-term surge.

However, like any other business endeavor, internal and external barriers can stymie the success of any account development plan. Recognizing these obstacles upfront gives an organization a chance to sidestep their effects before they can impede effective implementation and execution.

The bottom line success of your business hinges on its ability to execute the sales that will generate revenue. Developing a reliable means of reaching clients is a challenge for many sales and marketing managers. The way that you choose to communicate with clients and sell your products or services is reflected in your choice of sales distribution model. Unfortunately, picking the wrong strategy could impact your bottom line, requiring that you re-assess those missed opportunities for the sake of your long-term survival.

It's no longer enough to simply target your chosen customers and hope for the best in this competitive environment. Any B2B enterprise that wants to grow and remain a going concern has likely woken up to the reality that the landscape has shifted. To stay ahead of the competition, you not only need to create distinctive value and experiences for your clients, but you also have to approach everything you do in the most pre-planned way possible. This is where using project management for client development can put you ahead of the curve.

A targeted marketing strategy has the potential for generating far more revenue than a generalized mass marketing approach. However, proper targeting is contingent upon segmenting your audience into distinct groups that share the same needs or characteristics.

Nobody wants to have a ‘networking conversation,’ especially those who are at the highest levels of business. They are hungry for real conversations and real relationships. It has to be authentic, genuine and sincere.”  -  Rich Stromback

Even with a plethora of information, books, classes and generous experts, rooms are full of people who have yet to develop excellent communication skills (and who you prefer to avoid).