Becoming a Growth Driven Organization: A CEO's Story

The Prospect Gap™
I began by telling Charles about the first misconception The Prospect Gap™.

"Most people think if you just cast a bigger prospect net, you'll attract more prospects," I explained. "It's like exposing your products and services to more people, and expecting that the law of numbers will fill the pipeline."

"Actually, we suggest narrowing, or focusing, your market in order to fill your pipeline with more qualified prospects. At the same time, it's important to consider the definition of a prospect. We define a prospect as a profitable potential buyer who can truly benefit from the product or service you offer," I continued.

"By further defining your target market in this way, you'll automatically start to attract more of your best prospects. Think of your business as having a window front on Main Street. I'm sure that today there would be people - people qualified to become customers - that would pass right by your window without coming in. This lack of interest on their part has to do with a lack of clarity in your message, and failing to solve a specific problem for a specific segment of the market."

Charles said, "I think I get it. You're asking me to sacrifice a chunk of the market - maybe a chunk that isn't really profitable for us, or maybe a chunk that we don't serve very well - in order to attract more of the good ones, right?"

"Exactly!" I answered. "Congratulations, you just discovered the first opportunity to grow your top-line - fill your pipeline with more qualified prospects."

"I agree," he said, "But just having more prospects in our sights doesn't move our growth needle."

"You're right, Charles," I continued. "But it's a great way to maximize the other four growth opportunities. It's time to move on to misconception number two - The Customer Gap™."

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