One thing I'm learning from prospecting work is that the next customer isn't always sitting where we normally look for customers.
A business can spend months posting on Instagram, running adverts and asking for referrals while there are companies, organisations, events and partnerships around them that could open completely different doors.
Look beyond the obvious customer.
If you sell a service to businesses, your next opportunity may be another business that already serves your ideal customer.
If you run events, there may be organisations holding regular programmes that need suppliers. If you provide professional services, there may be companies growing into a new location that suddenly need exactly what you offer.
The point isn't to chase every possible opportunity. It is to get curious about where demand already exists.
What I look for
I like starting with a simple question: where are the people who already have a reason to buy this?
From there, I look at the businesses, organisations, markets, partnerships and decision-makers connected to that demand.
That kind of research can reveal opportunities that aren't obvious from your social media feed.
Sometimes the work is not convincing people to want your offer. It is finding the people who already have a reason to need it.
That is the part of business development I find fascinating: digging around until the opportunity becomes visible.
← Back to Insights