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New episode on the SDR Game Podcast
Listen to the episode here: YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts
Listen to the episode here: YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.
Last week, we delved deep into the world of Creating your Ideal Customer Profile. The foundation stone of any successful outbound strategy.
Today, we’re progressing to the next chapter: The Buyer Personas Matrix.
Pause for a moment and think about this.
How many of us, as salespeople, have actually walked a mile in our prospect's shoes? How many of us genuinely comprehend the day-to-day intricacies of their roles? This lack of intimate knowledge is often the invisible wall we crash into.
So that’s why it’s hard to sell.
Now, I've seen companies stumble time and time again. The mistakes?
A disconnect to understand a prospect's role.
Misguided efforts focused solely on demographics—like assuming a CMO’s mindset solely based on their age.
Not recognizing that if you cater to five distinct personas, you need five equally distinct matrices.
It's time we demystify this. Let's embark on the journey of crafting (or refining) your Buyer Personas Matrix. Ready to dive in?
Step 1: Where to Source Information for Your Buyer Personas Matrix
So, you’re gearing up to craft a Buyer Persona Matrix that’s both robust and actionable.
But the first and most critical question:
Where exactly do you find the information about your personas?
Set aside dedicated time each week for this data gathering phase.
1: Engage with Your Customers
Nothing beats the raw, unfiltered insights you get from face-to-face (or voice-to-voice) conversations.
Schedule regular check-ins or feedback sessions with a diverse group of your customers.
2: Tune into Calls
Whether it's a cold call, discovery call, demo, or any other customer touchpoint, there's a wealth of knowledge waiting to be uncovered.
Allocate time to review a select number of calls each month. What pain points emerge?
3: Online Feedback Platforms
Platforms like G2 Crowd give you a window into candid feedback—both praises and concerns.
Monthly, dive into recent reviews. Track common themes and areas of improvement.
4: Your CRM
Your CRM isn’t just a tracking tool. Decode patterns. Who's eager to jump on the first call? Who holds the reins when it comes to decision-making?
Conduct bi-monthly analyses of your CRM data. Look for patterns that give insights into the personas you’re dealing with.
5: AI Platforms
Use ChatGPT: to find the information you are missing, and can’t find anywhere else.
Piecing together a dynamic and detailed Buyer Persona Matrix demands diligence, but the payoff? Immensely rewarding.
Stay curious, dig deep, and let the data guide your next move.
Step 2: Building the Buyer Matrix – Your Blueprint for Persona Mastery
The Buyer Matrix is your compass, guiding you through the landscape of buyer personas.
It’s not just about who they are, but why they make the choices they do.
So, let's build this matrix with purpose, clarity, and action in mind.
Dedicate a day to deep dive into each of the seven matrix elements.
1: Titles & Beyond
Don't get caught up solely on titles.
Who really owns the relevant process your solution aligns with?
For instance, when targeting SaaS businesses with a product for SDRs.
Identify whether it's the CMO, Marketing Ops Manager, Sales Ops, SDR director, or even the VP of Sales.
2: Role
Do you even know what a CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) is responsible for?
What's their daily grind? Their pain points? Their goals and how they aim to achieve them
3: How long have they been in their role
If a CMO's average stay is 2.5 years, and you’ve got a 12-month sales cycle?
Adjust your strategy.
Mold your messaging to resonate with their tenure goals and fears.
4: Decision Dynamics
Where do they stand in the buying cycle
Initiator
Decider
Buyer
Influencer
User
Gatekeeper
5: Content Consumption
Dive into their content world.
What podcasts, blogs, or communities are they engaging with?
Align with the content spaces they frequent.
For a data persona, if they're tuning into the "Data Engineering show", it's time you did too.
6: Business metrics
Understand the benchmarks that drive them.
How are they evaluated, rewarded, or even promoted?
Tailor your pitch to resonate with their success metrics and aspirations.
7: Relevance of Your Product
How does your product intersect with their world? What pain points does it alleviate? What's the real, tangible impact?
Talk to existing customers.
Ask them about their purchase motivations, fears, favorite features, and tangible changes post-purchase.
Use these insights to craft a more resonant pitch.
Step 3: Crafting Your Buyer Matrix by Industry/Company Size
In crafting the most effective Buyer Matrix, we need to zoom in with laser focus. The nuances of industry and company scale play a pivotal role. Personas in different industries, or even the same industry but different company sizes, inevitably have unique challenges and priorities.
Action Point: Deep-dive into your target industries.
Let's break down how this works:
CMO in the Retail Industry:
Customer Experience: Ensuring a seamless omnichannel experience can be challenging, as consumers use multiple channels to shop and expect consistency.
Adapting to Digital Trends: The shift to e-commerce means retailers must adapt quickly to changing digital consumer behaviors and trends.
Inventory Management: Ensuring the right products are in stock and marketed correctly, especially during peak periods.
CMO in the SaaS Industry:
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): Finding the balance between spending on acquiring customers and the lifetime value those customers bring.
Churn Rate: Reducing customer turnover and increasing customer retention is a persistent challenge.
Rapidly Changing Tech Landscape: Ensuring the product and its marketing remain relevant amidst rapid technological changes.
But there's another dimension: Company size.
CMO of a 50-employee SaaS Startup:
Resourcefulness Over Resources: With limited manpower and budget, prioritize ruthlessly. Every dollar and decision count.
Boosting Brand Recognition: It's not just about being known, but being trusted. Engage consistently with your audience.
CMO at a 1000-employee SaaS Giant:
Complex Organizational Structure: Managing and communicating within a larger team structure can be challenging.
Maintaining Company Culture: As a company grows, ensuring the brand message and culture remain consistent becomes crucial.
Data Management: Handling and interpreting large amounts of data from various sources for strategic decision-making.
Your Buyer Matrix isn’t just a tool; it's an evolving guidebook, one that demands regular updates and refinements.
It's your north star in the vast universe of customer personas.
Now that we have our ICP, and buyer personas.
We can start crafting our messaging.
I’ll talk about that next week.
So, there we go. Thanks for reading.
That's all for this Sunday.
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See you again next Sunday.
Happy prospecting!
Elric
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