Where’s Waldo?
You’ve got a list of contacts and companies, great! But where do you begin? Finding the right prospects within your accounts can be like finding Waldo in a “Where’s Waldo?” book. Follow these steps to learn how to more efficiently target the right people within your accounts, and how to repeat that process in the future for your next account.
1) Figure out what Waldo looks like.
The first step is to understand the defining features of Waldo: glasses and a red and white striped shirt.
Think about your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) — what the title and responsibilities of the decision maker would be, and which department in the organization you would find them. More often than not you’ll find a “sweet spot,” and soon “Waldo” will be popping up in the same department with a similar title across multiple different companies. Identifying those trends will help you match up your ICP to where you’ll strike Waldo gold.
By understanding what your ideal prospect looks like you’ll be more effective at picking them out within the organization. You’ll also be better at disqualifying those that don’t fit your ICP, so you can focus time and effort on the right contacts.
2) Take a look at the scene that Waldo is in.
The second step is to take a look at the overall scenery.
Look at the environment of the business — it could be growth within the company, a merger, or any other kind of trigger event. Trigger events means that changes are being made, or they’re well on their way to being made. A barrier can be turned into an opportunity. By understanding the barrier that the company is facing, you can show the prospect how your product is the solution to their needs. For example, if a company is seeing rapid growth they might need more robust and scalable solutions than ones they previous relied on. If they’re going through a merger it might make more sense to ditch their old solution rather than work at training a portion of the company on their current one.
Also think about the amount of time that decision maker has been at the company. In some cases when the decision maker is relatively new, they’re looking to make changes right away. If they’ve been there for a while they might be more rooted in their current processes. Take all of these environmental cues and work them to your advantage, pinpointing the few that can help you further your business case.
3) Run your finger across the page looking for the identifying features of Waldo.
Finally, scroll through the page looking for Waldo.
Begin to reach out to your accounts in an effort to find the decision maker (aka Waldo). This can mean both reaching out to the prospect you’ve been given as well as reaching out to other prospects in the same department or on the same team. Getting a hold of the appropriate contact isn’t always as easy as a single call or email, it often takes referrals to get to the right person.
In this case contacting other employees and getting live referrals will eventually point you in the right direction. Taking the information you’ve gathered from those other prospects will also help you have a more fruitful conversation once you find the decision maker, and it will paint you as more of an expert in their eyes.
4) And repeat.
Turn the page of the book and begin on the next scene.
Once you’ve begun targeting the appropriate people within a company, repeat the same process for the next account on your list.
Finding the right prospect in a company is a challenge, but looking at both the big picture and the small details of both the prospect and company will help you to target the right people with the right message. What might seem like the daunting task of picking Waldo out of a horde of people becomes much more manageable if you scroll through the account with a defined process and fine-toothed comb.
