How To Win More Business From Corporate Customers

Published Date: 09/10/2007

How To Win More Business From Corporate Customers By Reducing Their Risk….…

Picture the scene. You’re a franchise owner. You’re pitching for a sizeable piece of business from a large company. If you get this business, it will be a significant coup. Not only will it help with your sales and profitability but it will also be something of a personal triumph for you. You’ll feel more confident. It will be proof that you can deliver as a business owner.

There is only one problem. You’ve been asked to pitch with a number of other competitors for this business. If you were the only one, it would be much simpler, but you aren’t. You’re competing with who knows how many other competitors. So, how should you respond? How can you stand out from the crowd?

The first thing to do is put yourself in the shoes of your corporate buyer. It doesn’t matter whether your decision maker is working in purchasing, sales, operations, finance or any other department. However senior your buyer, whatever their position within their company, they are facing the same challenge.

They want, not only a supplier that can fulfil their needs. More importantly, they want a supplier that does not expose them to a position of risk. While price, quality and capability is important to your buyer, there is something more that transcends all. It is the risk factor facing your buyer. The risk of making the wrong decision and suffering the consequences.

Your decision maker is not just buying for themselves, they are buying for their company. For the hundreds, if not thousands, of employees who will be using your product or service. Your buyers integrity, judgment and decision making are at risk. If they make a wrong decision, they risk being ridiculed. They risk being passed over for promotion, they may even risk losing their job and their livelihood.

The responsibility can weigh heavily on your buyers shoulders. You can now appreciate there is a lot more at stake for your buyer than simply making a purchasing decision. In such circumstances you can excuse your buyer if they decided to dispense with any risk and stay with what they currently have.

So, now that you know how important a decision this is for your buyer. Your job is clear, lessen your buyer’s risk. How effective you are at accomplishing this will ultimately determine how successful you are. Ignore this factor at your peril.

Forget about being the archetypal sales person, gift of the gab, incessant talk, flash jewellery and car, etc. Being a good communicator is what counts. You need to communicate that you are not a risk and it must be done in a subtle way. The buyer must learn and experience it themselves.

Communication involves the art of listening and understanding, as well as talking. During meetings, you should be listening more than you talk. While you’re at meetings, take notes. Don’t be afraid to clarify any points you don’t understand. It demonstrates you are actively listening. You are also engaging with your buyer who may be feeling hesitant, vulnerable, and wary of pushy sales people.

By probing further into the issues, you’re likely to uncover other points not privy to your competitors. It’s a fine line between success and failure in competitive bid situations. Think of it as an Olympic 100 metre final, when split seconds separate the winners and losers.

Everything you do, everything you communicate must be to mitigate the risk. Your buyer wants to feel confident with their decision. For this to happen, they must view you as trustworthy, reliable and credible.

Pay close attention to detail. With your every communiqué, you cannot afford to look sloppy or amateurish. Presentation is everything. I’m sure you’ve heard it said before, but you only get one chance to make a first impression. Don’t waste it.

If you turn up late for a meeting, wear scruffy cloths, make an inappropriate comment, make sweeping statements in a proposal that you cannot prove, submit a proposal containing errors, then your buyers trust and confidence in you is going to plummet. Selecting you as a supplier is going to be too much of a risk. And remember, your buyer does not want to be exposed to risk.

Consider some of these examples I’ve experienced. I’m regularly involved with purchasing people in the travel industry. They are buying travel services costing millions of pounds. Mitigating risk most certainly features heavily in their thinking.

During a recent tender exercise for an account worth several million pounds, I remember one supplier sending a single, sales person to a pre bid meeting. There were five people sitting around the table on the buyer side. Three senior managers, one Director, and myself.

By coming by himself, he’d inadvertently conveyed the message that this account was not important. Many of his competitors did bring along their senior Managers and in so doing, conveyed respect and reassurance to the managers present.

Never underestimate the importance of any meeting. Find out who will be present at the meeting and make sure you are accompanied by equal numbers of senior personnel to match the buyer.

In a franchise environment you may think you have insufficient senior management to attend a meeting. Think again. The whole idea of a franchise is that you can call on other resources. There is nothing stopping you collaborating on projects with other franchise owners and bringing your combined expertise together.

On another occasion, I was reviewing tender documents from various suppliers in response to specific questions. The winning bid impressed me for a number of reasons.

First, there were no errors in the document. Unbelievably, some of the bidders had submitted documents littered with errors. One supplier even submitted their response referring to the prospect by the wrong name. Clearly, the name of a previous prospect.

Whoever writes your bid, make sure it is proof read by someone other than the writer. When the writer has spent so long thinking, preparing and writing, they can often become word blind. They cannot see errors.

Choice of language was also a key attribute of the winning supplier. While their competitors were using phrases that seemed hesitant and unsure. By contrast, the winning supplier used phrases like “you will receive”, “we will provide you”.

The writing style stood out. They used short, punchy sentences, conveyed in an assured, authoritative and confident manner without being arrogant. It certainly gave the impression they could be trusted and relied upon.

Another feature of their submission was the use of case studies. There is an art to writing compelling case studies. Your case study should be divided into three parts. It should start with the problem or issue your customer was facing. The more you write about this, the more you convey your knowledge, understanding and credibility in dealing with the problem or issue.

Next, outline briefly what you did. This needs to be succinct; too many case studies spend too much time on the process. It is not that important. Unless you’re planning to become a plumber, you’re not that interested in what type of spanner your plumber is using. You’re more interested in the results and benefits you’re getting.

The same is true for your case study. Make it relevant to your customer’s needs, particularly if you are using it to answer a specific question.

By giving a case study, you’re giving an example of your work. It’s demonstrating knowledge and experience. You are not a novice. You are tried and tested. The more case studies you give, the more compelling your proposition. Subconsciously, you are lowering the risk for your buyer.

In a franchise situation you should have access to a number of case studies. Even if you are new to your business, there are likely to be other, more mature franchise owners, who can help you.

Support your case study with a named customer testimonial and you enhance your credentials. The more you lessen the risk for your buyer, the more attractive your proposition. You will lead your buyer down a path of natural selection. Selecting you as their preferred supplier.

You’ll have greater success when you follow these proven steps. Remember that exposure to risk is a significant challenge facing your buyer. Understand your buyers feelings, take steps to reduce their risk, and you’ll enjoy more success at winning corporate business.

Need Help?

If you've been unsuccessful at winning bids, feel challnged at knowing where to start and would like some coaching and training to help you get better results, contact Russell Hart for a FREE, 40 minute consultation.

You can contact Russell Hart on 01258-489112 or email rh@russellhart.net.

The Author

Russell Hart is an experienced Business Mentor who runs the Academy of Small Business Owners, helping small business owners to make a success of their business.

Drawing on considerable business experience and knowledge of the small business market, the Academy's aim is to help small business owners build sustainable and profitable businesses, faster and more efficiently.

Academy chairman, Russell Hart worked for the travel division of McDonnell Douglas, the aircraft manufacturer. Then after going through a management buy-out, as the Sales Director he helped grow the new company from a turnover of £9M to over £26M in just 6 years. Selling his shares in 1999, he set up his own consulting company working with major public and private sector organisations including the Department of Health, The Office for Government Commerce (OGC buying Solutions), Bristow Helicopters, the Commonwealth Secretariat and Balfour Beatty.

He particularly enjoys working with fledgling small business owners who are passionate about starting and growing their business. He helps them reduce the risk of business ownership by improving their business skills, gaining customers and increasing profit. In his "spare time" Russell is Senior Vice President of Public Relations for the Bournemouth branch of Toastmasters International.

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