Visible Accounts
In addition to making community contacts or working with key center-of-influence types, salespeople can also cultivate visible and influential accounts that will influence other buyers. In smaller communities, buyers may be impressed if a salesperson is selling to one of the community’s larger companies(e.g., GM, Ford, Westinghouse). Doing business with this customer may give the salesperson credibility with other prospects, and these customers could become key accounts, especially if the larger company is well respected for choosing good suppliers. Testimonials from a key account may influence other companies in the salesperson’s territories.