Major Leagues
Assess Yourself
Part of that hard work involves planning. Walk into a large
corporation with big promises--but little preparation--and
you'll quickly be shown the door. Here are some basic
guidelines to help determine whether you are ready to sell to the
big guys.
- Look at your track record. It should be at least
five years long because it's tough for a start-up to walk in
the door of a Fortune 100 company and sell them something. Your
experience should also show a gradual scaling up of the companies
you sell to.
Gary Engebretson, president of the Contract Services Association
of America, which represents government service contractors, says
credentials--a background or track record in the industry--are
critical. It's also important that you really are capable of
fulfilling the bigger firm's needs at the volume required. If
you mess up once, you won't get a second chance--and you could
ruin your reputation. Content Continues Below
- Establish a sound financial background. A weak
financial structure diminishes your ability to get business as a
new supplier, says Blue.
- Determine what product or service you will
provide. Many small companies falter by finding out what
big companies need and then trying to fit their abilities to those
needs. A better approach, Blue says, is to figure out where you
excel and then find a company that needs what you are best at. Once
you sell them what you're good at, they may consider buying
your other products or services.
- Gather references. "Do you have clients who
will vouch for you?" asks Blue. "The more similar they
are to the big company you're approaching, the better." An
ideal reference would be a subsidiary of the target corporation, a
customer of a subsidiary, or even a business that networks with the
purchasing department in your target corporation.
- Be professional. Don't expect to go into a
meeting, pass out your brochures, then wait for questions. Be ready
to control the presentation and answer all the questions before
they are even asked. Concisely tell the prospect about your areas
of expertise.
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