Hey, 👋 Scott from The Sales Mastermind here.

Today’s edition only takes 2 minutes.

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This is my last newsletter while on my HoneyMoon, so I thought I'd give my assistant a chance to write for you. The below is written by Alma. If you like it please tell me and you'll hear from her more often.

Enjoy!

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95% of the money comes from 8% of the market.

Your newsletter today is inspired by Chet Holmes’ book “The Ultimate Sales Machine.”

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Below, we’ll cover:

• Story Time
• Why Volume is BS
• Dream 100
• Action Plan

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Story Time

In 1985, Chet Holmes began working for billionaire Charlie Munger (Warren Buffett’s partner) at a small newspaper company.

Chet was hired to make cold calls and woo any of the 2,200 potential advertisers—a classic spray-and-pray approach.

After months of failure, Chet tracked the top performer and discovered she had outright ignored 95% of the prospect list.

Instead, she had identified the 167 companies (8% of the database) that were spending 95% of the total advertising budget in their market.

Elite sellers know the list wasn’t only the biggest or well-known companies. The list also included unexpected companies that consistently purchased advertising.

So Chet copied her approach, and for four months, he got absolutely nothing.

Then, in month five, Chet closed the biggest deal in the industry’s history - a 15-page full-colour spread from Xerox.

Xerox was just the beginning. In the following five months, the floodgates opened and 28 more prospects became customers.

Chet’s small magazine went from 19th in the industry to 1st overnight.

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Why Volume is BS

Inexperienced sellers (and sales managers) will often advise you to "increase activity” and reach out to more buyers.

But that is backwards.

The reality is that your best buyers are often the semi-obvious ones that everyone else is too intimidated to pursue properly.

Instead, build a list of your Dream 100.

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The Dream 100 Framework

Your Dream 100 are the approximately 100 buyers you want to win systematically. Ideally, aim higher than you think you can achieve and always be pursuing at least a couple on the list.

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Step 1: Define Your Ideal Buyer Profile.

Be specific:

• What’s their annual revenue?
• What industry challenges keep them up at night?
• Who’s the actual decision maker?
• Do they already spend money trying to solve this problem?

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Step 2: Research and Identify.

Find the 100 companies that match your profile perfectly. Use tools like:

• Industry reports and rankings
• LinkedIn Sales Navigator
• Trade association member lists
• Your existing customers

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Step 3: Prioritise Your List.

Rank them 1-100 based on:

• Revenue potential
• Strategic value (logo, referrals, case studies)
• Likelihood to buy

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Step 4: Multi-Channel Outreach and Persistence

Your Dream 100 isn’t about one email and done. Chet used direct mail every two weeks, along with phone follow-ups. And you saw he had no results for 4 months, sticking power matters for the Dream 100.

Modern version:

• LinkedIn connection requests
• Personalised emails
• Direct mail (still works)
• Social media engagement
• Phone calls

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Action Plan

Create the Dream 100 and start your targeted outreach. If 100 feels overwhelming, try 20.

Remember, you’re not trying to close them in the first touch. Start by simply getting on their radar.

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Quality beats quantity. Focus beats activity. Results beat busy work.

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Until next week,
Alma and Scott

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