If you were a detective seeking an unknown assailant you’d go about questioning witnesses, and gathering up all the important evidence in an effort to build a composite profile description of the individual you are looking to apprehend. The same goes for sales prospecting and filling your sales pipeline. 

Not everyone qualifies as a prospect so you need to follow the clues that lead to the best possible prospect for your business. As a first step, may I recommend that you think like a ‘sales detective’ and write down a description of your ideal sales prospect in a simple paragraph or two? The common sense in all this is that before you can get more of what you want, like more new business, you must first have a clear definition of what you are going after. The main reason for this is that time is limited. There are only 24 hours in a day. Building a profile of your ideal prospect will help you to make the most of the limited time you have to find the right prospects; the ones most likely to buy what you sell. 

Also, thinking like a sales detective causes you to focus your attention on the particular details that build the most accurate description of your ‘assailant’ sales prospect. Then, once you have the profile clear in your mind of the person most likely to buy what you have to sell, you can then go about executing the steps necessary to 'apprehend' your most qualified sales prospects instead of wasting valuable time. Case closed!