Sales & Customer Growth
Selling to other businesses starts with finding the right person, not the right company
A supplier of parts, packaging, software, services or training does not need thousands of leads. It needs a few dozen well-chosen businesses and the right person inside each. This session shows how to build such a list, learn enough about each company to say something relevant, write a short first message and follow up in a way that earns a reply.
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Business buyers are busy, and they get many messages.
A purchase manager, a clinic owner or a factory head receives offers all week. A general message saying "we are a leading supplier" is easy to ignore. A short message that shows you understand their kind of business, and asks for something small, is much easier to answer.
Business selling is also slower. It may involve several people, a trial and a wait for budget. That makes a tracker and a steady routine more important than any one clever message.
What the session covers
30 topics across 6 areas. Six parts, from the list to the follow-up.
Who Should Be on the ListFit before size.5
- The type of business that has the problem you solve
- Size, location and situation that suit you
- Signs that a business may need you now
- Where to find such businesses: directories, associations, trade events, maps
- Why twenty good names beat two hundred random ones
Start from your best existing business customers and look for others like them.
Who Inside the CompanyThe person, not just the firm.5
- In a small firm the owner often decides
- In a larger firm: the user, the buyer, the approver
- How to find a name and role through public sources and your own network
- Asking for the right person politely at the front desk
- Why starting with someone close to the problem helps
Ten Minutes of ResearchEnough to be relevant.5
Use only information that is public or that the person has shared with you. Do not guess at private details.
- What the business does and who it serves
- Something recent: a new branch, a launch, a hiring post
- What they probably buy from suppliers like you
- Who their current supplier might be
- One sentence on why you are contacting them in particular
The First Message and CallShort, specific, easy to answer.5
- Who you are, in one line
- Why this business, in one line
- A small request: a ten-minute call, a sample, a quote for one item
- Email, WhatsApp, phone or a visit: choosing by the relationship
- What to avoid: long brochures, vague claims, many asks at once
Check the current rules for commercial messages and calls before contacting businesses at scale.
Follow-Up Across WeeksPersistent without being a nuisance.5
- A schedule of four to six touches over several weeks
- A different, useful point each time
- When silence means no, and when it means busy
- A polite closing message that leaves the door open
- Respecting a clear "not interested"
Tracking the ListSo nobody is forgotten.5
- Company, person, contact, last touch, next step
- Status: not yet contacted, contacted, in conversation, trial, won, not now
- A weekly review of who is due for follow-up
- Noting what was said, so the next message is relevant
- Counting replies and meetings, not just messages sent
What participants leave with
- A first target list of twenty to thirty businesses
- A first message and a call opening written for their own offer
- A multi-week follow-up plan
- A tracker they can copy into a spreadsheet
- A weekly prospecting routine they can keep up alongside the rest of their work
What this session is not
- A bulk messaging or automation workshop
- A promise of meetings or orders
- Advice on any particular law or regulation
- A guide to buying contact lists
Who teaches it
- B2B sales and business-development practitioners
- Small-business owners who sell to other businesses
- Key-account and channel-sales staff
- Procurement practitioners who can describe the buyer's side
How the session runs
Three hours, in a small group, ideally with owners who sell to businesses. The practitioner works through one realistic hypothetical supplier to show the list, the research and the first message. Participants then build the first ten names of their own list, write a first message, and exchange it with a partner for feedback. A follow-up schedule and tracker are set up before the end.
What your students leave with
- A target list of twenty to thirty businesses they could realistically serve
- A clear idea of who inside a company usually decides and who influences
- A short research habit: five facts about a company in ten minutes
- A first message and a first call opening, written for their own offer
- A follow-up plan across several weeks that stays polite
- A simple tracker for the whole list
Scheduled sessions
Nothing scheduled yet
Sessions are arranged with a college once a date is agreed. Ask us and we will find the right person for it.
A student rather than a college? See what is coming up, or ask your placement team to host this.
A short, relevant message to the right person beats a long one to everyone.
Tell us who your students are and what stage they are at. Sessions are free for participants.