Whittaker Associates: Giving Information Meaning">Whittaker

By Todd Smithee

The rain maker is a mythical being (usually associated with the legal profession) who excels at generating new business. Several years ago an attorney introduced me to a new term ” the “rain broker.” The rain broker is a person who, due to his or her unique position in life, is able to connect you with many individuals with whom you could do business. Relationships with these individuals are critical to growing your business. Leads are great, but introductions to qualified prospects are golden. If you want to grow your business, you need to do all you can to identify and nurture relationships with rain brokers. There are several key steps to keep in mind when developing these relationships.

• Identify Industries with Overlapping Customers ” A prerequisite for rain brokers is their exposure to people who could become your clients. You can begin identifying these individuals by looking for companies that market non-competing products to prospects you want to reach. These people will be in a position to refer you to people who could become your clients.

• Search for Ways to Help Your Rain Broker ” Referral fees are nice, but rarely incentive enough to get you an introduction. Look for ways to help your rain brokers improve their core business. This approach has proven to be extremely successful for Conrin. Conrin’s first major marketing campaign targeted advertising agencies. Conrin did not intend to make these agencies major customers, but groomed them to become rain brokers. Ad agencies were targeted because they generate client leads that do not receive sales follow-up. Essentially, Conrin could provide proof (via its closed-loop qualification process) that sales reps for their ad clients weren’t following up on the promising leads the agencies had generated. This provided protection for the agency against claims of campaigns with poor ROI. The relationships this campaign built, on top of the business it generated, prompted a flood of business early in Conrin’s history.

• Say Thank You ” Always thank your rain broker. If you have a revenue-sharing agreement, cut a check immediately. If you do not, don’t be cheap. Take a moment and think, “would I have paid a couple of hundred dollars for that lead?” Of course you would have! Open your wallet and send your rain broker a nice gift.

Relationship selling is always easier than a cold call. By taking the time to develop a large group of rain brokers, you can be sure to have a steady stream of highly qualified leads, regardless of what people say about the economy.

Conrin, Inc.
www.conrin.com
Ph: 616-897-4325

By Todd Smithee

Without a doubt, the economy is not booming these days.  Every day brings news of another government bailout plan designed to prop up another failing industry.  Record numbers of layoffs provide feature stories on news websites and cable news channels.  All of this doom and gloom can lead one to believe that cutting all costs to the bone—and this includes marketing expenditures–is key to weathering the storm.  But paring down your marketing agenda is not necessarily the way to go.

Sure, you will want to consider cuts in production when inventory is high.  But you should also take advantage of this opportunity to gain market share from your competitors.  First, focus on delivering excellent service to your existing customer base.  The last thing you need is to lose existing clients at any time, but especially during a time of economic distress.  Actively search out ways to help your clients protect their customer bases and increase their sales.  There is no better way to get on a client’s good side than to help them survive the downturn.

Once you’ve done that, maintain your marketing and sales activities.  The time to expand market share is now, while your competitors are cutting marketing and sales activities to the bare minimum.  This may not pay off immediately, but it positions you for expansion when the economy turns around.    A Pennsylvania State University Smeal College of Business newsletter, which refers to a newly relevant 2005 Smeal and University of Texas article in the International Journal for Research in Marketing, compares the best businesses to the best-trained athletes: “’athletes often choose times of stress to mount attacks: strong runners and bicycle racers may increase their pace on hills or under other challenging conditions’ to beat out weaker opponents during the most difficult leg of their race.”

So take a chance.  Be smart and measure your ROI on your marketing investments.  But don’t simply close up shop and wait for the storm to pass.  Your staff will appreciate your “take charge” attitude and you will position yourself well for the recovery, or possibly, for the present.

PSU Article http://www.smeal.psu.edu/news/latest-news/feb08/mktgrcsn.html

By Todd Smithee

As a refugee of three tech start-up companies, I had the “opportunity” to learn about running a company where expenses exceeded revenues.  Several of these previous employers went bankrupt or had their assets sold for much less than the original investment.  In all three cases we spent millions of dollars to hire quality people, develop great products and services, and create an all-encompassing killer marketing plan.  All of the millions in investment went for naught.  We eventually had to cut jobs and costs to stay afloat.  No matter what we did we had to face the fact that our sales plan did not reach expectations.  While the lessons were learned were in a growing economy, the practical applications remain valid.  You can extend the misery by cutting costs, but to survive long-term, you need to have a successful sales plan.

While these concepts are simple in nature, execution and management over an extended period of time can be difficult.  The following checklist will give you a place to start:

• Expectations of Sales Personnel – This sounds simple enough, right?  It would be wise to confirm this with your staff.  I have frequently found that a major disconnect exists between sales teams and management with regards to expectations.  Be sure that everyone understands what is expected of them and hold them accountable.

• Driving New Business – Most sales people absolutely hate prospecting.  The grind and rejection of prospecting definitely is not on the top of anyone’s list of enjoyable things.  That said, prospecting for new clients is critical in a slow economy.  Take the time to work with your sales team to identify specific companies to target for the upcoming year.  Provide clear guidance on expectations and follow up with your team monthly to ensure activity levels are appropriate.

• Use the Internet – search engine optimization and paid Internet advertising is a very cost-effective way to immediately generate sales leads.  What’s more, you can target specific geographic areas that match up with your business strategy.  You will want to be sure to consider potential customers in other parts of the country even if you do not currently have a sales representative in those areas.  Some regions of the US are still doing quite well economically.  You can identify prospects in those regions via the Internet and make your presentation from your home office using a web-conferencing tool.

• Look for “Rain Brokers” – An attorney once told me that while a rain maker is great, it is better to have rain brokers.  These are people who have significant contact with those prospects to whom you want to sell.  Look for ways your rain brokers can solve their problems by referring you to their customers and contacts.  These solutions can be as simple as providing information to their customers as a service to helping them solve a specific issue.

These steps will help you generate additional business with limited additional investment.  They will not work, however, unless you regularly measure their effectiveness.  Things that get measured tend to happen.  Things that do not get measured are almost always forgotten.