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In today’s email:
3 Hours of Research, 5 Emails, 5000 Units: How to Target Enterprise Accounts
The Daily 30-Minute Tier 1 Prospecting Block
Growth Partner Insight: The £100 Lesson in Client Retention
3 Hours of Research, 5 Emails, 5000 Units: How to Target Enterprise Accounts
You don’t need size to win big contracts. You need a targeting system.
Most owner-operators chase local SMEs, rely on referrals, and compete on price. Result? Feast-or-famine revenue and owner dependency. Meanwhile, enterprise accounts sit untouched — even though they’re easier to win.
In January 2024, LITTA’s COO handed me the UK’s top 20 fit-out contractors. “This is who we should be working with.” Top of the list: ISG — £1bn+ revenue.
By June, we were on their supply chain. We tendered for their UK-wide waste contract.
But the bigger win? Allsop — UK’s #1 property auctioneer, managing award-winning developments.
3 hours of research. 5 emails. 5000 managed units.
This wasn’t luck. It was systematic.
Here’s the exact process.
The 5-Step Tier 1 Targeting System
Step 1 — Identify Your Dream 100
Build your Tier 1 list—enterprises with recurring need, market-rate budgets, and lengthy contracts.
For LITTA: UK’s top 20 fit-out contractors. For cleaning: the top 50 property managers. For maintenance: the largest housing associations.
No list?
Ask: “Who are the biggest players in my market?”
Use Google, trade associations, and LinkedIn. Build your Dream 100 list — 20-100 companies worth winning. Target selection matters more than volume. Test it for 90 days. Track the difference.
Step 2 — Map Decision Makers + Influencers
You’re not pitching one buyer. You’re navigating a committee.
Find:
Decision Makers — C-Suite, Directors (final commercial decisions)
Influencers — Managers (they whisper in the Decision Maker’s ear)
For LITTA:
Procurement Directors + Managers
Pre-Construction Directors, Commercial Managers + Project Managers
Sustainability Directors + Managers
Use company websites (Team/Leadership pages) and LinkedIn Sales Navigator.
Consolidate into an Account Map — names, roles, contacts, LinkedIn profiles.
Bottom line: Map the committee, not just the buyer.
Step 3 — Research (Industry + Prospect + Context)
Most operators skip this step and send generic emails. That’s why nobody replies!
I use 3-pronged research:
Industry:
Trade associations (market insights, member directories)
Regulatory bodies (compliance positioning)
Competition (gaps to exploit)
Prospect:
Annual reports (growth strategy, risks, projects)
Press releases (news, leadership interviews)
Job postings (tech stack, KPIs, reporting lines)
Context:
LinkedIn activity (what are Decision Makers posting?)
Industry trends (current challenges)
Triggers (new projects, ESG mandates, regulatory changes)
When I researched Allsop, I found their clients: Barings, Goldman Sachs, and Mitsubishi. All institutional investors.
That led me to ESG.
I downloaded Barings’ 80-page Sustainability Report. Searched “waste.” Page 47: ESG objectives tied to waste reduction. Then I researched ESG in property management to connect the dots.
Total time: 90 minutes. That research opened the door.
Bottom line: Research isn’t optional. It’s the difference between inbox and ignored.
Step 4 — Find Triggers
Once you’ve researched, find personalised reasons to reach out:
Recent LinkedIn posts or comments
Company announcements (new projects, awards, partnerships)
Industry news relevant to their business
Shared connections or interests
For Allsop, the trigger was their institutional clients’ ESG focus and waste-reduction mandates — directly aligned with LITTA’s services.
I didn’t guess. I researched, then personalised.
Bottom line: Generic emails get deleted. Triggers get replies.
Step 5 — Launch Your Cadence (7-10 Touchpoints)
Map 7-10 touches combining cold calls, voicemails, personalised emails, and LinkedIn messages.
The key: personalisation, not volume.
Here’s what happened with Allsop:
Email 1 (to COO): Generic follow-up after voicemail. No response.
Email 2 (to Mobilisation Manager): Asked who handles waste. Got out-of-office reply.
Email 3 (to contacts in OOO): Used my research. Referenced Barings’ ESG objectives, Allsop’s institutional clients, and how LITTA could support their waste reduction strategy.
15 minutes later: reply.
A few emails later: call booked. Arranged a pilot at one of their 250+ unit schemes, opening the door to all 5000 units.
3 hours of research. 5 emails. 5000 units.
Bottom line: Nail the research, then nail the sequence.
What Wins Enterprise Contracts
Enterprise clients care less about size than you think. They prioritise:
Expertise — Do you understand their industry and challenges?
Reliability — Can you deliver consistently at scale?
Compliance — Do you meet ESG, health & safety, and regulatory standards?
Value — Can you solve problems, not provide a commodity service?
Do the research, you prove all four. Skip it, you’re just another price-driven bid.
Real numbers: Landing 1-2 enterprise accounts transforms your business overnight.
A £500k operator landing a £200k+ contract doubles revenue. A £1m business landing a £500k contract changes trajectory.
Stop chasing low-value local contracts. Start targeting Tier 1 systematically.
The best-prepared provider wins, not the biggest.
A 1-page summary + the Tier 1 Account Mapping Template I use are included in Growth Lab Pro → Upgrade here.
The Daily 30-Minute Tier 1 Prospecting Block
Don’t have 3 hours to research every account? Start with 30 minutes a day.
I tried blocking for 2 hours at first. That was unsustainable. Then I tested 30 minutes daily for a month. That stuck.
Here’s the system:
Block 30 minutes every morning. I use 8:30-9:00am, before the day kicks in, and I start putting out fires. Recurring calendar block. Non-negotiable.
Pick one Tier 1 account from your Dream 100.
Pick one KDM at that account.
Set a 10-minute timer. Find as many triggers as possible: LinkedIn activity, company news, recent projects, job postings.
Draft one personalised email using those triggers. Send it.
Set a follow-up reminder (call in 3 days, LinkedIn message in 5 days).
Repeat tomorrow.
That’s it. 30 minutes. One account. One email. Daily.
Consistency beats intensity.
I used this exact system for Allsop.
Day 1: 30 minutes researching their institutional clients (Barings, Goldman Sachs, Mitsubishi) and ESG focus.
Day 2: 20 minutes drafting a personalised email tying their clients’ waste reduction mandates to our service.
Day 3: Sent. 15 minutes later, reply. Three emails after that, call booked.
Result? A pilot at one of their 250+ unit schemes, opening the door to all 5000 units.
Total active time: 90 minutes spread across 3 days.
Do this daily for a month: reach 20+ Tier 1 KDMs—a quarter: 60+. The compounding is real.
Enterprise accounts aren’t built on volume. They’re built on precision.
Try this for 7 days:
Block 30 minutes daily
One account, one email
Track your reply rate
Some days you’ll find gold in 5 minutes. On other days, you’ll use the full 30. That’s the game.
But after 7 days, you’ll have 7 personalised emails sent to 7 Tier 1 KDMs.
That’s more enterprise outreach than most operators do in a quarter.
Growth Partner Insight
The £100 Lesson in Client Retention
A well-established competitor spilt paint on a client’s carpet during a collection. Cost to fix: £100. The competitor’s response: “It’s your fault for having paint in the rubbish.”
Result? The client walked, not because of the £100, but because of how it was handled.
This client was spending thousands monthly. A simple “We’ll take care of it” would have kept the relationship intact.
Situations like this are not uncommon. Even the most well-run businesses lose valuable clients over minor incidents. Not because the incident happened, but because of how they responded.
I’ve tracked this pattern across 40+ operators: The ones who deflect lose clients. The ones who own it keep them.
The math is brutal: Refusing to own a £100 mistake cost this competitor a £75,000+ annual client.
The takeaway: When things go wrong (and they will), your response determines whether you keep or lose clients.
Three rules:
Own it immediately. Don’t deflect.
Fix it fast. Don’t negotiate.
Follow up after. Make sure it’s resolved.
Enterprise clients expect problems. They don’t expect excuses.
Operators who build £1m+ businesses understand this: A £100 goodwill gesture protects a £100,000 contract.
Take responsibility first. Ask questions later.
That’s it for today. Hope you can put this straight to work.
— Matt
PS. Three ways to take the next step:
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