Sales · Lesson 1
Know your ideal buyer
Spend your selling time on people most likely to buy, pay and refer.
Not every prospect is worth the same effort. Your ideal buyer is the type of client who values your work, has the budget, decides reasonably quickly, pays on time and is likely to come back or refer others. Look at your best past clients to find the pattern.
Describe the ideal buyer in specifics: sector, size, location, the role of the decision-maker, the trigger that makes them look for help, and the signs they are a good fit. Also write down poor-fit signs: unclear budgets, many decision-makers, constant price focus.
Inside a client organisation there may be several roles: the person who signs, the person who uses your work, and the person who can block it. Know each one and what they care about. Selling only to the friendly contact who cannot sign is a common reason deals stall.
Example — Hypothetical: a buyer profile
'Private developers building 20–80 unit residential schemes in Lagos and Abuja, with funding secured, led by a founder or development director who wants approvals in under four months.' Clear enough to say yes or no to any lead.
Try this
List your three best clients ever. Write down what they had in common. Draft a one-paragraph ideal buyer profile.
Reflect
Which current prospect are you pursuing who does not fit your best-client pattern?