Prospecting is the lifeblood of selling. And AI, our Wizard of Oz, provides its definition – “The process of identifying and contacting potential customers to generate new business”. True, of course, but the reality is that those we strive to identify and contact cover a more diverse background than “potential customers” only. Our actual targets represent constituencies with different attributes that must be clearly understood to increase the likelihood of successful contact. These attributes are the traits and tendencies of the groups of prospects whose business we would love to win. So, how do we begin to understand what really matters? We start with a framework. As salespeople, we do love our frameworks, don’t we? These rules of the road simplify our lives and save time by adding clarity and focus. And the most powerful sales prospecting framework is KARE, which I developed as a guide for what really matters. Over the years, KARE has served many sales reps and organizations well in increasing the effectiveness of their prospecting. It accomplishes this by building an understanding of prospects so well that you connect with them in the ways that matter most – to the prospects themselves!
How does it work? Think about this. In selling, we work with logical groupings as we bundle our accounts in vertical categories like finance and healthcare. We also differentiate by geography, increasing efficiency by combining accounts by location. Organization size is another designation, the grouping of firms with similar revenues, numbers of employees or other relevant metrics. And we always separate commercial from public sector accounts to be more effective in our efforts to win business and to serve appropriately. All these categories are helpful, but what do they tell us about the actual traits and tendencies of accounts? How do they help us build meaningful strategies? How do they tell us what really matters?
Ponder this. In wildlife, we group creatures into designations that provide scientific value. How valuable is it, though, to know that two different creatures are both snakes? While King Cobras and Rat Snakes belong in the same classification, their individual traits and tendencies are quite different, to say the least. What about spiders? It would be much more valuable to have information about what to expect from a Black Widow versus a Daddy Long Legs than simply knowing that they’re members of the same family. While scientifically precise, creatures’ designations tell you nothing about how to prepare for them. Truthfully, while in different categories, the Black Widow and King Cobra actually have much in common. They’re both killers. And that’s certainly something you very much need to know.
The same applies to your prospects, although not at such a dangerous level. For understanding accounts’ traits and tendencies can be valuable in much the same way as knowing that you’d rather have a Rat Snake slithering around your living room than a King Cobra.
So, how can you develop impactful account understanding, not about tactical groupings but about what you can truly expect from accounts in your interactions? Understanding that matters. Think traits and tendencies. Think KARE, the pragmatic profiling framework using four categories – Keep, Attain, Recapture, and Expand. Consider each. Keep accounts are your average current clients. They’ll never change your life, but in total, they generate most of your revenue. As a result, you’re happy to have them. Attain accounts represent your profile prospects, those you actively target to win their business. Recapture accounts are previous clients that are currently inactive. Unlike past clients whom you consciously choose not to pursue, you’d be delighted to welcome Recapture accounts back. Finally, Expand accounts are your most treasured assets – your truly strategic current accounts that drive major revenues, profits and potential. For most sales reps and selling organizations, Expand accounts dictate the future.
And yes, you certainly do prospect into your current clients. Their business is not a gift – it must be continually won. And identifying the traits and tendencies of your Keep and Expand accounts through KARE increases your chances of account growth through streams of transactions over time.
Of course, one selling organization’s KARE accounts are different from another’s. As such, you carefully craft your customized KARE profiles with attributes specific to your business and then match your clients and prospects with the appropriate profiles. Each account fits into a KARE category, again, customized to your business model. Once all are matched, you’ve earned the right to develop the common actions that apply to each category. For example, your Recapture account actions will focus on winning them back. While some customized strategies may apply, your Recapture actions will apply to all past customers, saving you time and effort. The same goes for Keep, Attain, and Expand accounts. The actions apply because, remember – the accounts in each profile share the same traits and tendencies. That’s the selling beauty of KARE profiles – they’re actionable!
KARE, of course, is a dynamic process because things constantly change. Attain accounts whose business you win become Keep accounts. On the flip side, changes may dictate that some vulnerable Keep accounts may be on the verge of becoming Recapture accounts. With the KARE framework, it’s easy to react to the dynamics of our selling world.
Know your prospects well. But don’t be satisfied with tactical knowledge. Understand and embrace their traits and tendencies. When you do, you’ll increase your chances of driving both sales success and client satisfaction – winning, keeping and growing your accounts for the long term.
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