Key takeaways
- Base it on real customers, not on who you wish would buy.
- Include an "avoid" list. It saves more time than the "target" list.
- If you cannot turn it into a search, it is too vague.
Step by step
- Pick your five best customers. Best means profitable, quick to close and still happy.
- Find what they share. Industry, employees or revenue, geography, business model and tools they use.
- Name the trigger. What happened just before they bought: growth, a new hire, a failed vendor, a regulation.
- Name the buyer. The title and seniority of the person who signed and the person who uses it.
- Write the avoid list. Segments that churn, stall or cost too much to serve.
| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| Industry | Residential HVAC and plumbing contractors |
| Size | 5 to 50 employees |
| Location | Florida, Georgia and Alabama |
| Trigger | Adding trucks or a second location |
| Buyer | Owner or general manager |
| Avoid | New-construction-only firms, franchises with central buying |
What to know
The test of a good profile is whether a new salesperson could build a list from it without asking you anything. "Mid-market companies that value innovation" fails. "Owner-run HVAC companies with 5 to 50 employees in the Southeast" passes.
In Buzzlist this profile lives in your Hive. Buzz reads your website to draft it, you correct it, and it then shapes searches, Sales Briefs and email sequences so results look like your best customers.
