“If You Fail to Plan, You Are Planning to Fail” - This is a famous quote by Benjamin Franklin that rings true today just as much as it did back then. Even though most people nowadays know this statement is true, many business owners and salespeople still don’t heed these wise words, especially when it comes to landing and securing new accounts. They still ride around town and “wing it” with cold calls, thinking they can just walk in a business and give them their pitch. But there’s a much better way, and it involves planning. Here are some questions to ask yourself to come up with the type of potential customer you want to target. Which sectors… Have the most profit (dealer, PCMO, industrial)? Have the most potential volume? Will you have most success in and why? Are you least likely to succeed in and why? Will you target first? Which geographic areas will you target first? Now that you have the answers to those questions, you can come up with specific companies to go to. Go online to do some preliminary research, peruse association membership lists and look into other resources that contain the pertinent information you [...]