Picture your ideal customer.
Do your current clients and leads look like your ideal customer? If not, you’re missing out on revenue and expanding your business.
71% of companies that exceed revenue and lead goals have documented buyer personas.
So, what is a buyer persona and how to create one for your business?
A buyer persona represents a fictional representation of your business’s ideal customer.
Deciding who your target audience will be should be the first step before even starting your outreach campaigns.
You don’t want to send cold emails to everyone because a high percentage of people will not relate and, will not open your email, reply, or get into business with you.
Not a good plan, and certainly no good implications to your sender reputation either!
But don’t sweat it. There is a simple solution to this problem.
It’s called your buyer persona.
Theoretically, this sounds simple enough, but how exactly do I craft my buyer persona?
We are going to show you 3 examples so you can use them as a template or inspiration (or just to get the point) 😉
You can create your business buyer persona based on characteristics such as industry, demographics, behavior, pain points, desired outcomes, and more.
Once you’ve crafted this person, you’ll have a clear path to finding your actual prospects.
Creating your ideal customer profile takes time, especially if you don’t have a large client database to rely on.
So, how can you speed up the process?
All you need is your business email so lemlist can get the value proposition and business description for you.
Then, select your market focus (either B2B or B2C) and click Confirm & create personas.
Not all buyer personas are going to follow the same pattern.
We’ve broken them into three different categories that you should bear in mind when searching for your ideal customer.
Let’s break these categories a bit further… ⬇️
Your buyer's age is significantly going to influence how they look at sales and meetings.
You will also have to modify the language and the level of seriousness that you employ, as a Gen X may not appreciate an excessively formal approach, nor will a Gen Z be interested in stoic seriousness.
Seasoned buyers
We’re referring mainly to Gen X buyers. Having lived all stages of technological advancement, they work very well with technology.
Generally, managers are disciplined and highly collaborative. They have made their way up in the same company.
This generation tends to be very communicative, so proposing a meeting or a coffee chat could be the way to go, instead of being limited to emailing back and forth.
Newer buyers
This new generation of buyers is, generally looking to build their own entrepreneurial opportunities, they don’t wish to climb up the ladder in one company. So they would be ideal targets for new business opportunities, selling software, etc.
One thing you should bear in mind when targeting this group, they tend to live by the “work to live, don’t live to work” motto, so always try to reach out to them during typical office hours.
Collaborative
When targeting collaborative people in sales, you must first build a relationship with them. They need to trust you before seeking out the rest of the team on your behalf.
You should be transparent and include social proof to build trust.
Commanding
This buyer persona is very assertive; they know what they want and will not settle for less.
You should appear very sure of your product/service, and be commanding.
You should be upfront, honest, and realistic about the benefits you can provide and tackle the pain points head-on.
Commanding people generally have tight schedules and very little flexibility, so think about including a link to your calendar to have them pick a time slot for a meeting.
Competitive
The competitive buyer is highly competent and wants the best, so they leave their decision-making until the last minute.
Allow them to see that you are the best possible option by including a link to your LinkedIn, for example, in your signature.
Another helpful tactic is adding urgency. Your offer is way too good to wait!
Spontaneous
The spontaneous buyer is quick in making decisions.
They want things in the moment and do not want to prolong situations.
Story-telling is your best approach.
Methodical
They need all the details.
The methodical buyer will not make a decision without knowing every detail.
Although, once they commit, they will have the best follow-through.
Include links to in-depth comparisons or analytics.
Humanistic
They are based on emotions when buying.
Humanistic buyers value relationships and are more likely to base their decision on the relationship than facts.
They need to feel trust.
Your best approach could include a video testimonial as social proof.
Let’s set a scenario.
You are a supplier of retail materials and are targeting small retail manufacturers.
They are on a tight budget and are having difficulties with keeping within the budget without sacrificing quality.
You have an e-commerce business and are an expert in graphics, layout, and website design.
Your target audience is photographers/videographers who post their content online, but do not have an optimal web page to make their sales.
You are a seasoned writer looking for new job opportunities.
You want to write daily for a large company and design a new mind map for their blog.
Manually crafting your buyer persona can be a bit of a pain, so this is going to blow your mind!
With lemlist’s free tool, you can leave crafting your buyer persona to AI!
Simply add your information and let AI do the rest.
You can also find your buyer persona or ICP using ChatGPT ⬇️
Going into sales without a clear objective can be very tricky.
Questions such as: “Where do I even start?” quickly arise.
So set a buyer persona and narrow down what you’re looking for as much as possible. This will give you a clear objective you can work on later.
You can do this manually with the tips provided, or you can create your account with lemlist and have AI lend you a helping hand… Your choice!
G2 Rating | Price | Best for | Standout feature | Con | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
4.9 star star star star star | $30/mo $75/mo $2,999/mo | Large, distributed sales teams | AI evaluation precision, gamified KPIs | Lack of tracking system | |
4.6 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Sales operations and finance teams | Powerful configurability | Limited training resources and complex to navigate | |
4.4 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Mid-market and enterprise businesses | Comprehensive incentive management | Potentially high cost and steep learning curve | |
4.7 star star star star star-half | $15/user/mo $40/user/mo Enterprise: custom price | Complex sales structures and businesses of all sizes | Complex sales structures and businesses of all sizes | Steep learning curve | |
4.6 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Collaborative teams | Connected planning | Complexity and steep learning curve | |
4.6 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Companies with complex sales structures | Complex incentive compensation management (ICM) with high efficiency and accuracy | Complexity for smaller teams and potentially high costs | |
4.7 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Companies who want to automate commission calculations and payouts | Simplicity and ease of use | Lack of features like redirection | |
4.7 star star star star star-half | $30/user/mo $35/user/mo Custom: upon request | Businesses that need a comprehensive and user-friendly sales compensation management software | Ease of use and adoption | Lack of ability to configure the product based on user needs | |
4.8 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Companies with modern sales culture and businesses who want real-time insights | A built-in dispute management and real-time visibility | Users say it works slowly, customer support is slow | |
4.9 star star star star star | $30/user/mo $50/user/mo | Smaller sales teams | Powerful automation | Lesser user base and average user interface | |
4.7 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Companies with scalable needs | Automated Commission Calculations | Lack of filtering by date, no mobile app |
PRM Tool | Rating | Feature | Pro | Con | Mobile App | Integrations | Free Plan | Pricing |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4.65 star star star star star-half | Org-wide alignment | User-friendly layout and database | Suboptimal as a personal CRM | square-check | Lack of tracking system | square-check | Team: $20/month Business: $45/month | |
4.7 star star star star star-half | Social Media Integration | Easy contact data collection | No marketing/sales features | square-check | Lack of tracking system | square-xmark 7-day trial | $12/month | |
4.75 star star star star star-half | Block Functions | High customization capability | Not a dedicated CRM | square-check | Limited | square-check | Plus: €7.50/month Business: €14/month | |
N/A | Open-source | Open-source flexibility | Requires extensive manual input | square-xmark | Limited | square-check Self-hosted | $9/month or $90/year | |
3.1 star star star | Simple iOS app | Ideal for non-tech-savvy users | iPhone only | square-check iOS only | Limited | square-xmark 1-month trial | $1.49/month or $14.99/month | |
3.6 star star star star-half | Smart Contact Management | Feature-rich and flexible | Reported bugs | square-check | Rich | square-xmark 7-day trial | Premium: $13.99/month Teams: $17.99/month | |
4.4 star star star star star-half | Customizable Interface | Customizable for teamwork | Pricey for personal use | square-check | Rich | square-xmark | Standard: $24/member Premium: $39/member | |
4.7 star star star star star-half | Integrated Calling | Integrated Calling | Too sales-oriented & pricey | square-check | Rich | square-xmark 14-day trial | Startup: $59/user/month Professional: $329/user/month | |
4.8 star star star star star | Business Card Scanning | Business Card Scanning | Mobile only | square-check | Limited | square-check | $9.99/month | |
4.45 star star star star star-half | 160+ app integrations | Comprehensive integrations | No free app version | square-check | Rich | square-xmark 14-day trial | $29.90/month or $24.90/month (billed annually) |
Capterra Rating | Free Trial | Free Plan | Starting Price (excluding the free plan) | Maximum Price (for the most expensive plan) | Best for | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4.5 star star star star star-half | square-check 14-day | square-check | €15/month/seat billed annually | €792/month/3 seats billed annually + €45/month for each extra seat | Versatility and free plan | |
4.2 star star star star | square-check 30-day | square-xmark But it offers reduced price to authorised nonprofit organisations | €25/user/month | €500/user/month billed annually (includes Einstein AI) | Best overall operational CRM | |
4.3 star star star star star-half | square-xmark | square-check Limited to 3 users | Comprehensive incentive management | €52/user/month billed annually | Small-medium businesses and automation | |
4.5 star star star star star-half | square-check 14-day | square-xmark | €14/seat/month billed annually | €99/seat/month billed annually | Sales teams and ease of use | |
4.1 star star star star | square-xmark | square-check Limited 10 users | $9.99/user/month billed annually | $64.99/user/month billed annually | Free plan for very small teams up to 10 |
CRM goal | Increase the sales conversion rate for qualified leads from marketing automation campaigns by 10% in the next 6 months. | ||||
SMART Breakdown | 1. Specific: It targets a specific area (conversion rate) for a defined segment (qualified leads from marketing automation). | 2. Measurable: The desired increase (10%) is a clear metric, and the timeframe (6 months) allows for progress tracking. | 3. Achievable: A 10% increase is possible based on historical data and potential improvements. | 4. Relevant: Boosting sales from marketing efforts aligns with overall business objectives. | 5. Time-bound: The 6-month timeframe creates urgency and a clear target date. |
Actions | Step 1: Refine lead qualification criteria to ensure high-quality leads are nurtured through marketing automation. | Step 2: Personalize marketing automation campaigns based on lead demographics, interests, and behavior. | Step 3: Develop targeted landing pages with clear calls to action for qualified leads. | Step 4: Implement lead scoring to prioritize high-potential leads for sales follow-up. | Step 5: Track and analyze campaign performance to identify areas for optimization. |
Outcomes | Increased sales and revenue | Improved marketing automation ROI | Marketing and sales alignment | Data-driven marketing optimization |