Hi All, Just thought i'd share the notes from a ecademy meeting in oxford on attracting larger companies. Small Business Pros & Cons Pros: 1) We can give personal service 2) We are agile and flexible 3) There is (generally) no queue for our services, so we can start work immediately. 4) We can bring our experience from our previous client (eg B&Q) to the new client (eg Boots) 5) They are high up our value chain, so they get all our attention. 6) If it’s a case of culture change, they may want an outside force – someone who will ask the unaskable, and whom they can blame. Cons: 1) We cannot offer the same stability that a large company can. 2) There is a single point of failure (ie ourselves) 3) We need to be looking for the next business while working on this project. Suggestions 1) We need to look more professional, as large companies are far more image conscious than smaller ones. 2) Be a specialist in your field and understand their problems. 3) Go in on the back of a bigger company (perhaps be the one who brings them in). 4) Although some corporations seem to prefer working with large companies, you may find that branches of these same corporations like to work with individuals. 8) Find their problem – what’s in the news this month? 9) Need to get to know the right people – those who will be making the decisions about your services. 10) Attend conferences, speak at conferences, chair sessions at conferences. Find a way to direct the questions in your favour (plant someone in the audience!) 11) Write articles for trade journals and include your picture. Be sure to ask the journal how they would like you to write it (style, length, audience etc), to increase your chances of it being accepted. 12) Check out “Your Marketing Sucks” book. 13) Understand your channels to market. 14) Put case studies on your website. 15) Check out this [URL=http://www.coldcalling.com]cold calling[/URL] website Payment advice 1) Call the accounts departments to find out their payments routine and try to mesh with it. 2) Be sure to get a purchase order number, as this means that money has been put aside for your work and you’re part of their payment routine 3) Take note of their attitude to VAT payment – some companies will not take a non-VAT-registered company seriously; and others dislike VAT-registered companies (i.e. the extra 17.5%) because there are so may things they can’t claim back VAT on. Our top choices from the discussion 1) Be documentarily professional 2) Talk to good marketers 3) Know your strengths within your niche 4) Know who you should be talking to within the organisation 5) Think of all the channels that you might use to get to that person 6) Create relationships 7) Be the right person at the right time 8) Create the revolution 9) Be evidence-based 10) Become an expert – as speaker or writer 11) Find out what the customer sees as value and stress that. (notes taken by penelope else) www.Inspireduk.net
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