Big deal!

Home Office Computing, Feb, 1998 by Barry J. Farber

When your company was brand-new and you were hungry for clients, just about any job that came along, no matter how small, was reason for celebration. Like many other entrepreneurs, you were probably satisfied with your 90:10 ratio--90 percent consumer business, 10 percent corporate. * But that was then. Now that you're more established and looking for ways to break out of your revenue holding pattern, you've got to reverse that ratio and go after bigger prey: large corporate accounts. * Trouble is, it's not easy to muscle into the majors. The competition is fierce, your presentation has to zing, and your path may be fraught with people who know how to say no. And when you finally do get to yes, you can't just switch over to autopilot: These guys expect to be cared for, catered to, and coddled. * Hey! No one said it would be easy. But there are strategies you can use to increase your chances of landing--and keeping--those lucrative corporate accounts.

In Your Head Many businesses start their growth pattern almost by accident. Word of mouth takes them along at a steady pace, or they fill a small niche that keeps them afloat. But there usually comes a time when these sources begin to dry up or level off, and you must begin to search out larger, more qualified accounts. Instead of letting your business inch along in a haphazard manner, you need to keep your eye on the big picture.

Before you make a sales call, visualize whom you're going after, what you want to say, how you'll make your presentation, and which questions you I re going to ask to learn about the client's goals and challenges.

Washington, D.C.-based Rich Malzone, regional director and franchisee of Val-Pak, a cooperative direct-mail company, says he goes through four steps before lie makes a sales call. "First, I know the questions I'm going to ask," he says. "Then I visualize how I'm going to position my company and what we do. Next, I visualize what their ad is going to look like, since it's advertising that I sell. And finally, I visualize a long-term relationship--what I think things will be like in two or three years."

If your picture of the company and your objectives are vivid enough, Malzone says, you'll be well-prepared for many of the obstacles that could otherwise thwart your progress. One of them is axiomatic: Large accounts are used to dealing with large vendors and may expect slick presentations with interactive video and color slide shows. The good news is that today's computer technology has leveled the playing field. Many of the big guns use off-the-shelf software such as Microsoft PowerPoint to create presentations on notebooks that plug right into an LCD panel projection system. If you don't have all the skills yourself, hire a consultant to help you come up with a show-stopper. And remember: What matters is that your presentation must convince your prospects that you have the resources to meet their needs.

On the Wall Now it's time to lay out your goals. Break them down into small, tangible steps. One approach is to set up your office as a war room. Like the generals who use maps and models to study battle terrain, you can do the same by surrounding yourself with visual reminders of the goals you're pursuing and the steps you need to take to achieve these goals.

Buy a giant chalkboard or whiteboard to hang on your wall. Although there are several good programs for setting goals, including Team Manager 97 (Microsoft, www.microsoft.com. Win 95; $469), there's nothing like having your agenda posted right in front of you, spelled out in big letters, every day. List the five accounts you most want to break into. Then make a list of all the steps you must take to achieve that goal; this will serve as a constant reminder of the things you must accomplish daily.

You can also use a bulletin board posted with index cards detailing all your accounts, prospective and current. Label the first column 30 Percent. Here, position contact cards for people to whom you I've made cold calls or been referred. These are unqualified prospects.

The next column is labeled 70 Percent, These are qualified contacts, people to whom you were referred by other satisfied customers or who called to inquire about your services. The third column is for people you've sent proposals to, and the remaining columns take you through the specific tasks you need to complete a sale. Of course, your board should be designed to reflect your own sales process.

Through the Door Big businesses have many people knocking on their doors. If you want to get in, you must be persistent. Try asking an executive of a large corporation, "Why did you let that sales rep in when you turned away so many others?" The answer is likely to be, "Because she kept calling me with useful information. She was always there with ideas about business or about my personal interests. Finally, she ended up calling on the day I needed something."

Do things a little differently. Get up an hour earlier. Work an hour later, so that you're calling at 6 or 7 p.m., when many top executives are still in their offices but their assistants are no longer there to screen calls. Have the courage to keep calling and leave messages when you can't get through.