What I’m really saying by that from a marketing standpoint is, don’t try to be all things to all people. You really must find a target market. That may not sound like new news or new information, but it is amazing how easy it is for SAP partners.
The phone rings, they pick it up and somebody on the other side asks if you can you do “x” or if you have worked in a particular industry.

Typically, you say you’ve never done it before, but how hard can it be? The next thing you know, you end up being scattered so thoroughly that no matter what you started out to do in your business, you end up off target.

In many cases, when I ask partners to describe their target market, it comes down to anybody they think will pay them. Unfortunately, the problem with that is that it becomes so difficult to distinguish your business from another. Prospects want to believe that somebody can truly fill their needs.

A good example is a partner who works with food related businesses or maybe a partner who bills himself as a specialist in working with high tech distributors. If I’m a food related business owner or I own a high tech distribution business, whether his claim is true or not, I will be predetermined to believe that his business is more suited to fill my needs.
It doesn’t matter if it’s true. It doesn’t necessarily matter if that person who works with high tech distributors has any more special knowledge or experience than I do. If you say you work with just anybody, a lot of times your prospects will look at that and say they want to work with the other person who says they work more specifically toward their needs.

The problem really comes down to trust. One of your biggest challenges as a small business is to overcome this lack of trust.
They’ve never heard of you. Why should they trust what you have to say?

For many people, if they believe you understand them, you serve their needs or if you’ve served somebody just like them, you are more likely to get their business.

What I’m really asking you is to take a look at your ideal client.

For those of you who have been in business for any amount of time, I want you to think in terms of what makes up your ideal client.