BUSINESS MONITOR
businesses could comfortably handle. Do that for a few years and youʼll be a big business yourselves.
That thinking simplifies the targeting process enormously. If you only want one such client, you will probably have a mental list of prospects. Pick the one you fancy and go for them, big time. Even if you fail to get through the door, you will have learned something. But the fact that you are focusing so tightly will improve your chances of success – donʼt be scared to tell them so. Who can resist ʻyouʼre the one that I wantʼ. Letʼs consider some practical issues.
You will be selling to business people in a professional environment. Brilliant as you might be, you will not get results in jeans and T shirt. As a principle, go to that meeting suited and booted – itʼs what theyʼll expect.
Showman
Thereʼs a good option: go in business printwear. The shirt, tie and fleece jacket, printed with their logo would leave a lasting impression. Youʼd need to be a bit of a showman to carry it off, but the impact would be excellent. That matters, because this will normally be a competitive pitch, usually to a number of people, each of them with a somewhat different agenda. The salesman whom everybody remembers is at the front of the queue.
How are you going to do your presentation? Indeed, do you have a structured presentation? Again, those corporate buyers will be expecting it. Itʼs a racing bet that they are used to using Powerpoint. If you donʼt have a Powerpoint presentation, Iʼd recommend you create one. If you donʼt have the programme on your computer or the skills in-house, get them. But donʼt just depend on Powerpoint. Itʼs used to death in business these days and as a consequence used badly. ʻLet me run through our Powerpoint presentationʼ could result in glazed eyes.
Aim, instead, to use it in short bursts as a support tool to what you are saying and showing. Lots of you, plenty of your product and a decent slug of Powerpoint is the right cocktail. Which brings us to ʻyour productʼ. If you turn up to see a prospective major customer without having researched their needs, downloaded their logo and applied it to some samples, how serious are you? I have said here before that turning the boardroom table into a rummage sale is the wrong way to go. I repeat that. Nonetheless, the product will be a key factor in selling your overall service. Be proud of your products! More important, when selling to big businesses, the 30-45 minutes of time you spend with them will probably be the most interesting
“You need to be totally honest with yourself and recognise that, while one new, big client could boost the business enormously, recruiting two at the same time could be damaging, impossible to handle and a financial nightmare. One new, big client a year is probably the most that many smaller businesses could comfortably handle. Do that for a few years and you’ll be a big business yourselves...”
of their day. Yours is the human product in the marketing mix, considerably more engaging than a couple of hours spent analysing research data or creating a sales forecast spreadsheet. Invest some time in coming up with ideas. Just offering to put their logo and slogan on a polo shirt is not going to do it. Be aware of the complete sales process.
The brand manager needs to sell his/her ideas to the sales force, who are selling to major retail outlets and distributors with the latter selling to smaller retailers. Finally, product X reaches the consumer. Each of those steps is a sales opportunity. Anyone who has already tried to break into the larger corporate client may have found it deeply frustrating. Itʼs a slow process and lots of people give up too soon. One marketing manager told me in a presentation: ʻCongratulations, not many people make it this far because I never see a new supplier within three months of an initial contact and usually sixʼ. While I thought that rather dogmatic, I took the point of wanting to see commitment up front. In effect with big clients it takes a lot longer to get to ʻnoʼ, never mind ʻyesʼ. The reason is simple: a big ship takes longer to turn.
Can you short-circuit this process? In fact there are a few ways. If you want to work with a company that owns a large number of brands, donʼt target the manager of the biggest, most high profile of them.
Go instead for a small brand. First, the competition will be far less; second, that small brand probably doesnʼt attract much in the way of fresh ideas; third, itʼs quite possible that the brand manager will be the same person who manages the super brand you really want. Establish a good reputation in the marketing department that way and other opportunities will open up. In a similar way, not all marketing spend is controlled at head office. A new branch of a restaurant chain or car dealership might well be buying printwear for the launch locally or regionally.
Being local becomes a distinct benefit. If over time you become printwear provider to Toyota in the north west, thatʼs a valuable client. Moreover, when presenting to another big organisation, the work you do for Toyota tells them you are used to playing with the big boys and, unless they ask, you donʼt have to tell them itʼs a regional client.
Can you get into that big organisation through the back door? Such organisations usually have a sports and social club, which most probably buys printwear.
Some of these clubs are very well funded. In the process of selling to them, you become a supplier to Megacorp and could well have contact with someone in the marketing department. As a minimum, the door would have swung open rather than slamming shut.
■ From previous page.
| 24 | February 2013
www.printwearandpromotion.co.uk
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