Buckets of Revenue
I've found that simplifying revenue opportunities and talking about them in the most straightforward terms helps the people around you understand how they can support money-making activities.
1-minute read
I think of revenue opportunities in three buckets:
(The order of priority and focus will shift.)
1. People who already know us.
Account management: Expansion and retention.
Warm outreach to existing customers and dormant accounts: New offers and product updates.
Referrals.
2. People who know people who already know us.
Using our highest targeted accounts to connect dots between someone at those companies and people in our network who can make warm introductions.
Important: You have to enable intro-making. It’s an art. How to make this easy: The people you’re asking to make intros for you are incredibly busy. Don’t just ask for an intro. Send an email asking for intros to specific people. List them. And provide your intro-maker with an email template that includes a blurb. Do all of the work for them—in one email. No asks that require back and forth.
A general example: Hi Steve. It looks like you're connected with [Name] at [Company]. [Company] fits our ideal profile on just about all fronts. Not sure if you’re connected well enough to make an intro. If so, I’ve included an email and blurb for you to easily copy/paste—or just forward this email. Thanks! Happy to return the favor for anyone in my network whom you’d like to connect with. Lemme know.
3. Strangers who need to know us.
Brand marketing: Paid ads and organic social through personal accounts.
Cold 1:1 outreach: Writing high-context, 1:1 emails that speak very specifically to a buyer. Business personal, relevant, thoughtful. No fluffy crap.
Currently, this is how we have these buckets broken down by effort:
People who already know us: 40%
People who know people who already know us: 25%
Strangers who need to know us: 35% (always on)
P.S. I've found that simplifying revenue opportunities and talking about them in the most straightforward terms helps the people around you understand how they can support money-making activities.