Identifying new customers is always an important strategic growth initiative for businesses and especially important in today’s challenging business environment. Hilty Moore & Associates is assisting a number of clients who want to ‘clone’ their best customers or identify potential customers in new markets. We recently assisted a client with prequalifying potential customers that has resulted in a number of new orders and continuing opportunities that are being pursued.

Client: Large global industrial manufacturer with regional centers serving their local customer operations.

Challenge: The client had established a goal to grow sales by increasing their customer base in FY’08 but need help reaching this goal.

Objective: To develop a program to identify new business opportunities for the client by prequalifying potential new customers.

Solution: The client provided lists of their ten best non-distributor accounts for each geographic region. HM&A then analyzed these accounts and identified customers, applications and industries key to the business. From this data HM&A provided a base of industries (SIC codes) that reflect current customers. This provided an understanding of industry accounts within each of the client’s regions. With the client, HM&A built a first draft industry-based opportunity plan for each region. HM&A identified a field of customers by county that fit the target industry and application focus. HM&A then pre-qualified each account with a brief telephone interviews, providing pre-qualified leads and immediate ‘Hot Leads’ to the client for the appropriate sales representative to follow up.

Results: 300 leads were developed and provided to the sales group for follow up. To date the client has quoted approximately 50 potential orders and was able to close on almost $200K in new business to date from this program. Additional orders are anticipated from the leads developed.

If you would like more information on how Hilty Moore & Associates can help you locate new customers, please contact Jan Lindstrom at 440.543.1520 ext. 202 or jalindstrom@hiltymoore.com. We would welcome the opportunity to assist you.