Two-Level B2B Targeting
Target accounts by observable fit, then win the champion who carries the deal.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 97%
The model separates two targeting decisions that B2B marketers often blur. First, segment the market at the company level using traits correlated with strong wins: company size, revenue, geography, team structure, budget, installed software, or another observable condition. A useful segment can become a concrete account list and guide campaigns or outbound sales. Second, map the people inside those accounts. Enterprise purchases may involve five to seven participants, but they are not equally important. The champion is the person assigned to research options, form the shortlist, and build consensus across users, IT, security, purchasing, legal, and the economic buyer. Positioning must win that champion first or the product never advances. Later in the deal, the company equips the champion with the arguments and evidence needed to sell the choice internally.
Origin
April presents the model while distinguishing B2B segmentation from personas. She uses a CRM purchase to show why the target account and the internal champion are separate but connected go-to-market choices.
Core principles
- 01B2B segments describe companies, while personas describe people
- 02Useful segments are observable enough to turn into target-account lists
- 03The champion matters more than peripheral personas because the champion controls the shortlist and consensus process
- 04Positioning must first resonate with the champion or the wider buying group never sees the deal
- 05Later-stage enablement should help the champion persuade every other constituent
How to run it
- 1
Find account-level win conditions
Look across customers who love the product and pitches that consistently succeed. Identify the company characteristics they share rather than starting with a stereotype of an individual buyer.
Pro tip Consider installed software, team size, budget, and operating model alongside ordinary firmographics.
Watch out Surface differences between companies can hide a common operational trait.
- 2
Create an actionable segment
Express the best-fit account as observable criteria that marketing and sales can use to find real companies. Use those criteria to shape campaigns, account lists, and outbound priorities.
Pro tip Test whether a salesperson could make a list of matching accounts from the definition.
Watch out A segment that cannot be found or acted on will not guide go-to-market execution.
- 3
Map the buying process
List the people who influence the deal and the sequence in which they enter. Distinguish the economic buyer, end users, technical reviewers, and other constituents from the person who drives the evaluation.
Pro tip Follow the actual path from an executive naming the need to a final consensus decision.
Watch out Do not assume every named persona has equal influence at every stage.
- 4
Identify the champion
Find the person responsible for researching the market, building the shortlist, evaluating vendors, and coordinating consensus. Treat that person as the primary persona for positioning.
Pro tip Look for the person whose acceptance determines whether the product ever reaches the other stakeholders.
Watch out If the positioning misses the champion, the deal is dead before secondary personas matter.
- 5
Arm the champion
Give the champion a clear reason for choosing the product and material that answers the concerns of users, IT, security, purchasing, legal, and the economic buyer. Let the enablement follow the deal's real sequence.
Pro tip Help the champion explain both why this approach is right and why this product is the right choice.
Watch out Building elaborate one-page profiles for every participant does not replace enabling the person carrying the deal.
In the wild
A vice president of sales decides the company needs a CRM and assigns John in sales operations to investigate. John confronts a crowded market, creates the shortlist, speaks with vendors, and narrows the choice before bringing in sales users, IT, security, purchasing, legal, and the executive who pays. The vendor must first give John a defensible reason for its place on the shortlist, then help him address each constituent's concerns.
→ Winning and enabling John allows the vendor's case to travel through the full buying group toward approval.
Common mistakes
Using personas as company segments
Consumer-style demographics describe people, but B2B account selection often depends on company traits such as size, team structure, budget, or installed software.
Creating decorative stereotypes
Details such as whether an IT persona enjoys video games do not explain the buying process or help the company win the deal.
Treating every persona equally
The champion determines the shortlist and carries consensus work, so equal attention to peripheral personas wastes effort and can miss the gatekeeper.
Is it for you?
Best for
B2B companies selling through multi-person buying processes where one internal champion researches vendors and builds consensus.
Not ideal for
Simple consumer purchases with one buyer and no account-level targeting need.
From the episode
April Dunford on product positioning, segmentation, and optimizing your sales process