You have worked really hard and built an innovative and stable product– great! But, you only have a few sales reps to actually sell your product. You also have a tight marketing budget. How are you going to get the word out to everyone and grow your sales?
This is where it becomes important to define and sell to a specific buyer persona. Whether you are selling something with mass appeal, like a soft drink, or niche appeal, like machinery to cut gemstones, it is critical to know who you are trying to sell it to. Here’s why:
Personas Give You Direction
It’s usually a good thing to hear that “the possibilities are endless”, but this isn’t actually the case when it comes to people who could buy your product. If your sales team attempts to sell to everyone they will spread themselves too thin. Your product has benefits that appeal to a specific group of people, and you need to discover and define that group of people so that you can sell to them effectively. Speak with your customers and prospects to find and understand the characteristics of people who find value in your product. Group them together to create a persona of your target buyer, and give your sales team the clear direction they need to be successful.
They Help You Develop a Clear Message
Once you know who you are speaking to, you can determine what you want to say. When you are trying to speak to a broad audience that has different needs, your message becomes watered down, confusing, and ineffective. Once you narrow your audience and determine your buyer persona, you can develop a bold message that speaks to them and their needs. It may seem counter-intuitive to think that a narrow audience and specific sales pitch will drive more sales, but this is exactly what the outcome will be.
They Help You Build Better Products
Selling to a specific persona will help to open your eyes to new features, product lines, or other possibilities that you wouldn’t have discovered otherwise. When you focus your selling efforts on one group of people, they will share information, knowledge, and feedback that will help you become an expert on that specific market. You will find new areas and pain points that need to be addressed, and you can develop new products to generate more revenue for your organization. With better products, you’ll build a stronger business.
Without a specific persona to focus on, sales teams are left with ambiguous direction and information. They will have some understanding of a few of the pain points each group feels, rather than a deep knowledge of the challenges a specific group feels. Help your sales team succeed by giving them the ability to focus on one persona, perfect their message, and provide valuable insights for better product development.