The Business Journal

Who do you want to sell to? Or, more importantly, who is most likely to want to purchase your products or use your services? Not identifying the customers is probably one of the major errors that sales people make. This oversight is even more common with people who set up their own businesses.

People can get into business with an enthusiasm and belief in their product or service and then in many cases waste a great deal of money in advertising and targeting too broad a customer base.This is the shotgun approach as opposed to the rifle approach,which is much more targeted.

You must draw up a very clear customer profile. This of course varies according to your product or service. If you are in B2B you must define exactly the businesses that would most benefit from your product or service. If you are in B2C, again clearly define the customer who would most benefit from your product or service. The profile could include age, sex, socioeconomic standing and similar purchases that the customer is currently making.