by Amy Keuper, VP Sales

In an earlier post, we introduced our underlying premise that the terms “profiled” and “qualified” are not synonymous when it comes to target accounts in the complex sale. The purpose of this post is to further outline the steps involved in profiling accounts: objective targeting, high-level sorting and contact verification.

We are of the opinion that it’s better to invest getting your CRM in workable order so you can market directly to real names at the right companies than it is to spend more in order to market broadly to prospects and people you merely hope are right.

We define profiling as high-level analysis based on a prospective customer’s revenue, geography, industry, offering and (sometimes) the name and title of a person. When you buy a list from a broker (InfoUSA, ZoomInfo, Hoover's, D&B, etc…) and you narrow your results on the basic information listed above, you are beginning the profiling process by setting some objective parameters around who is a fit for you.

The next level of profiling includes a review of your target accounts’ offering(s). We have found that you can “bucket sort” and effectively eliminate about 25% of your target accounts just by reviewing their website. This step seems basic, but we have seen hours of calling wasted on accounts that, upon closer examination, were obviously never a fit. Someone should objectively ask, “From everything we can tell at this point, does this company meet our basic customer criteria?”

The final element of profiling is assembling or verifying contact names and information. Our experience is that purchased lists are typically at least 30% invalid. So, while a list may not cost much (between .10 and $1 per name), the data may not be very usable unless you invest in it further. Our recent work confirms that your cost for labor to verify a purchased name and title then secure a valid email address will run between $10-14 per contact.  Factoring in the cost of list purchase and other related expenses, the final cost per name may run up to $25. Keep in mind these key steps in focusing your efforts occur before what we call “qualifying” begins.