That nine-year-old girl sitting on the floor is your real customer.

The bookstore seller noticed I was browsing the world literature section, asked about my preferred genres, and before we knew it, we were talking about authors from the 1930s and the postwar era. Sitting on the floor, my daughter was quietly listening to our conversation, eager to ask a question but too shy to jump in.

After about ten minutes, she seized a brief pause in our chat and finally caught the seller’s eye. She asked if he had the third book of a certain obscure saga. Suddenly, the guy realized he’d been wasting his time on me, and off he went with my daughter, leading her around the store. She came out beaming, with three books tucked under her arm.

THE HOLY GRAIL OF MARKETING IS KNOWING WHO YOUR REAL CUSTOMER IS

My office is right next to the marketing manager’s. This guy has a twenty-volume business library filled with books very similar to mine—though apparently not as entertaining or practical (according to ChatGPT). We’ve known each other for twenty years, and he even helped me choose my cover. By any logical parameter, he ought to be my customer. But he’s not. He would never buy the book, and if I held a gun to his head, he still wouldn’t read it.

Yet, there’s someone else who once worked with me on a project. Not only did that person love the book, they recommended it on every social network and gifted copies to all the executives in their firm. So why does one person say “yes” while another says “no”? Could it be due to perceived value, empathy, a will to power, or just the fun of it? I’m not sure.

That question is the Holy Grail. If we don’t figure it out, our sales costs can blow up the business—or worse, our campaigns might flop with a conversion rate of zero, and we go under.

I SEE FIRSTHAND HOW SALESPEOPLE GET IT WRONG WITH ME

They chase me for a meeting, and when I say, “Sure, if you want to, let’s meet, but I won’t buy anything,” they don’t believe me. They see it as a challenge and end up wasting their time. On the other hand, sometimes I walk into a store—which I only do if I’m actually willing to make a purchase—so I’m the perfect customer. The price is the last thing on my mind. Yet, to my surprise, it’s as if I’m invisible. No one approaches me, so I leave empty-handed and can’t understand what’s going on with these folks.

THE CUSTOMER IS A MAGICAL CREATURE

There are 8 billion human beings on this planet, and maybe only 5,000 will truly connect with us and buy what we’re offering. That’s like stumbling upon a leprechaun with a pot of gold—5,000 in 8 billion.

That’s why I despise automated, talentless, routine marketing processes. I’d deep-fry those people in oil! Finding the right customer is like hunting for a magical creature. We need:

1. To put our brightest, most perceptive person in charge of the top of the funnel.

2. To arm that person to the teeth with cutting-edge analytics and AI, but more importantly,

3. To ensure they are willing to go into the store, talk to the people window-shopping, and learn to perceive the depths of their souls.
   

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There’s no other way to spot those magical creatures with pots of gold who walk among us—people we call customers.