Big Deal! Now What?
Congratulations, you've scored a huge client. Now the real work can begin.
Ever since you hung your shingle, you've dreamed of landing
that big client. Coca-Cola, Target, Wal-Mart and others beckon you
to the promised land of clout and financial security. If only you
could land that big fish-you'd be a real business, right?
But what would it be like to service a big account? Rolando
Cohen and Stephen Holt of Yak Pak, a fashion bag manufacturer in New York City,
secured licensing agreements with the Williamson-Dickie
Manufacturing Co. (maker of Dickies) and Levi Strauss & Co.
"A small company shouldn't be intimidated to go into an
agreement with a larger company if the small company has a unique
service," says Holt, 35.
One challenge, however, is the increased red tape. "As a
small company, you're used to making decisions and running with
them," says Cohen, whose company had sales of roughly $20
million in 2002. "You're not used to having someone else
sign off on [them]." It's also true when working with
others' brands: "If they dislike what you're doing,
you have to alter your approach."
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FedChex, a
check recovery firm in Irvine, California, took on more work as
well. "There is more integration, rollout and
preparation," says co-founder and CEO Ty Bishop, 36. He and
co-founder and president Michael Murphy count pizza giant
Domino's among their accounts. They prepared to serve such a
large account by peddling their service with individual franchisees
first to learn what was involved. Says Murphy, 38, "The
biggest [change was] we had to put more managers on certain
accounts and bring in extra customer service."
Personal touches and attention to detail is essential to having
strong relationships with big clients. "[Dickies] liked the
heart and soul we put into the products we developed," says
Holt.
But the big client is worth the extra work. If prospects see you
can serve a well-known company, they'll have confidence in you.
Says Murphy, "[Potential customers] spend less time in the
'Can we trust you?' phase, and we get to finalization
quicker."