Stop Chasing “Anyone Who Asks”: Lock In Your Ideal Target Market

By Alison Fell – Practice Partner | SalesStar

Manchester’s business scene is thriving. New firms are scaling fast, established employers are investing, and there’s no shortage of “potential” conversations.

And that’s exactly where many B2B sales teams get caught out.

When a market is buoyant, it’s easy to drift into reactive selling, replying to every inbound, quoting for every enquiry, and chasing any opportunity that looks like revenue. The team stays busy… but the pipeline becomes unpredictable, margins get squeezed, and deals stall because you’ve been pulled into conversations with the wrong companies (or the wrong people inside the right businesses).

If your sales forecast feels like guesswork, it’s rarely because your team isn’t working hard enough.

It’s usually because they’re working hard on the wrong targets.

The Hidden Cost of “Taking What We Can Get”

Every proposal has a cost:

● Time from your salespeople

● Time from technical teams / delivery / finance

● Management time in reviews and approvals

● The opportunity cost of what you didn’t pursue because you were buried in admin

In fast-moving regions like Greater Manchester (where good businesses are spoiled for choice), the hidden killer isn’t competition, it’s distraction.

The pattern looks like this:

1. A wide net brings in lots of leads

2. The team starts quoting to keep up

3. “Quick wins” become low-margin deals

4. Bigger opportunities stall because you’re speaking to influencers, not decision-makers

5. The quarter closes… and the number still comes down to last-minute pressure and discounting

You don’t fix this with more activity. You fix it by getting clear and staying consistent.

Why a Locked-In ICP Beats “More Leads”

Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) (or Ideal Target Market) isn’t just a description of who could buy.

It’s a strategic decision about who you should invest time in because they deliver the best return; in margin, speed, retention, and long-term growth.

This level of focus is not optional if you want predictable sales. For example, TOPO’s 2019 Account Based Benchmark Report found that organisations with a strong ICP achieve 68% higher account win rates than those without. And it’s not just about win rate. Clarity improves conversion, too. HubSpot reports that companies with clearly defined ICPs see 36% higher conversion rates than those without.

In plain English: when you stop trying to sell to everyone, selling gets easier.

The Manchester Reality: You Can’t Serve Every Sector Equally Well

In the North West, you’ll often find opportunity across a mix of sectors: professional services, manufacturing, logistics, tech, property, construction, healthcare, education, and beyond.

But here’s the uncomfortable truth:

Even if you can sell to all of them… you can’t prioritise all of them.

A strong ICP gives your team permission to:

● pursue the best-fit customers faster

● disqualify poor-fit opportunities early (politely and professionally)

● protect margin because you’re selling on value, not scrambling for volume

This is how you move from “busy” to in control.

How to Build an ICP That Actually Helps Your Sales Team

A locked-in ICP needs to be explicit, not a vague statement like “SMEs in the North West.”

Here’s a practical structure that works well for Manchester-region B2B teams:

1) Sector Focus

Pick the sectors where you win most often (and deliver the strongest outcomes).

2) Geography You Can Serve Properly

Be honest about where you can support customers well not just where you can sell.

3) Size + Complexity Sweet Spot

What size of organisation gives you the best ROI on sales time and delivery effort?

4) Buying Signals

Define what “ready” looks like. Signals might include: rapid growth, compliance pressure, operational change, new leadership, system upgrades, new sites, or risk exposure.

5) Disqualifying Criteria

This is the part most teams avoid, and it’s the part that saves you months. Examples might include: unrealistic timelines, constant tender-only buying, chronic price-shopping, no clear owner for the problem, or a history of supplier churn.

Your ICP should make it obvious who you need to stop chasing.

Don’t Just Define the Company, Define the People

A lot of deals stall in Manchester (and everywhere else) for one simple reason:

Salespeople build momentum with a friendly contact… and never reach the real decision-maker.

In many B2B sales cycles, you’ll meet:

● users/influencers (helpful, engaged, detail-oriented)

● procurement (commercial gatekeepers)

● budget holders / problem owners (the people with urgency, risk, and accountability)

If you spend too long with influencers only, you’ll get stuck in “positive meetings” that never convert.

Your ICP work must include: Who are the target roles, by title, that you need to engage early? (And what problem do they personally own?)

That’s how you shift the conversation from price to impact.

Make It Visible: Use the Target Marketing Section of the One Page Sales Plan

Clarity only works when the whole team can see it and act on it weekly.

That’s why we use the One Page Sales Plan: it forces focus, keeps the strategy visible, and simplifies execution.

If you’re completing your plan, the fastest way to sharpen this is to go straight to the Target Marketing section in “How to Complete Your One Page Sales Plan (Without Overthinking It)” and work through: sector, geography, company size, buying signals, and target contacts. And if you need the template itself, you can download it here: SalesStar’s One Page Sales Plan.

Final Thought: In a Booming Market, Focus Is Your Competitive Advantage

Manchester is full of opportunity, and that’s a brilliant problem to have.

But the teams that win consistently aren’t the ones chasing the most leads. They’re the ones who are crystal clear on:

● who to target

● who to avoid

● what problems they solve

● and who in the buying organisation actually cares enough to act

Lock in your ICP, make it visible, and your sales activity stops being random effort and becomes predictable growth. Download your One Page Sales Plan: SalesStar’s One Page Sales Plan.