The title of this post might seem a little odd, but if your company has solid positioning then you should be turning away many of your leads. If your ideal customer is “anyone”, then who are you really trying to serve?
If you’re well-positioned then you shouldn’t be getting too many ill-fitting leads in the first place, but when you do you should be quick to recognize them and pass them along to another company that is better equipped to handle that kind of opportunity. I’m good friends with most of our business “rivals”, and we pass potential clients to one another frequently in an effort to find the best solution for them.
This came up in a fantastic podcast episode where Stephen Houraghan interviewed Seth Godin about the state of marketing today, during which he unpacked this very idea. You can watch the full interview right here:
This reminds me of a story from years ago when I met an insurance agent that sold literally every kind of insurance, so I had no idea what he really was an expert in. If I had a specific need, he was never going to be the ideal answer. His audience was literally everyone so he was the perfect fit for no one.
None of us are going to be truly eager to turn down business, but if you have a clear position it should make it very easy to send business to your competitors. As a result, when the right opportunity comes along they’ll know that you’re the perfect fit for them.
