Mid-sized workstream — Segmentation
Segmentation: focus effort where it pays off.
Many mid-sized businesses serve everyone and really only make money on a fraction of their clients. Clarifying the segments that carry margin frees up sales time and boosts profitability without selling more.
Symptoms
The signals you probably recognise.
- The client portfolio was built by opportunity, never by choice.
- The sales pitch changes at every meeting for lack of a clear target.
- Small accounts consume as much energy as large ones, for ten times less margin.
- No one can say which type of client is most profitable to serve.
- Marketing produces leads that sales consider off-target.
- Growth relies on two or three long-standing clients: losing them would endanger the company.
Impact
What it really costs.
A vague segmentation costs little in appearance, but it scatters the team, lengthens sales cycles and lets growth be carried by the wrong clients.
of margin often comes from 20% of clients: you still need to know which ones.
shorter sales cycle observed once the pitch finally targets the right segment.
priority segments are enough to align offer, pitch and prospecting.
Our approach
Four steps, a course you can hold.
- 1
Framing
A 60-minute conversation about your market, your current clients and your growth ambitions.
- 2
Data-driven diagnosis
Portfolio analysis: revenue, margin, cost to serve and potential by client type.
- 3
90-day plan
Choice of two to three priority segments, promise and pitch tailored to each.
- 4
Guided implementation
Rollout to the sales team, targeting adjustments and results tracking by segment.
Deliverables
What you actually get.
Documents you can use from the following week, not a report gathering dust in a drawer.
- A map of the client portfolio by revenue and by margin.
- Two to three priority segments defined and justified.
- A promise and a pitch for each chosen segment.
- A list of priority target accounts.
- Performance tracking indicators by segment.
To go further
Related programmes.
Frequently asked questions
What business owners ask us.
- Almost never overnight. We prioritise sales effort and marketing investment on the winning segments, while setting fairer terms for clients who are expensive to serve.
- The portfolio diagnosis takes two to three weeks. Rolling out the targeting to the team then takes place over a quarter.
- We start from what exists, including simple accounting exports, and rebuild the missing elements during the diagnosis.
- Unbalanced negotiating power, volatile cash flow and strategic vulnerability. Losing a single client can jeopardise the year's financial balance.
- No. The goal is to rebalance the portfolio by developing new accounts, while renegotiating terms with major clients so they remain profitable and stable.
- When an account represents more than 20% of revenue or margin, or when its departure would jeopardise a fixed-cost item, it enters the watch zone.
- You can set a direction and launch the first actions within six to eight weeks. A significant reduction in concentration generally takes a quarter to a year, depending on the sales cycle.
A first 60-minute conversation, no strings attached.
We start from your real situation, identify the two or three levers that matter, and you leave with a clear view of what comes next.