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Posted by "Farnorth" on the Realrates.com BBS
Re: Fine, but how do you do that? Response (long)
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I'm not a marketing genius. Could someone elaborate on what all is involved in the above and how to do it?
Here's how I did it. I was the director of marketing at the time and part of my job each year was preparing for the yearly marketing meeting, doing the research. I realize that most of us don't have a full-time marketing/sales person, but if you're serious about selling yourself (or ever want bank financing) you at least need a business plan. Part of your business plan should be your marketing plan and competitive analysis. So, I'll tell you how I did it and you can downsize some of this work and do it with one or two people.
Your Introduction:
Who are you? What do you do well? What do you want to do? Most importantly, what services can you provide that someone else might want to buy? Why would they want to buy it from you?
- You should know this. But brainstorm a little. Talk with friends. Figure out how to say it in a paragraph. Write it down. Have someone read it for you and help you rewrite it. You've got an introduction to your business plan.
Now summarize it in one sentence. You've got an introduction for a cold-call.
Marketing and competitive research:
Research is an ongoing thing.
- I tended to read and rip -- industry rags, professional journals, professional journals from other professions. In other words, you might read periodicals from the IT industry, but also your target clients' industries (manufacturing, engineering, utilities, aerospace, whatever). Also read periodicals from associated industries, and disciplines that might help you perfect new skills like marketing, or managing professional services, or sales. I kept a large reading drawer with a big misc. file and a lot of topic files where all the ripped out articles went.
- I belonged to and was active in several professional groups, both for engineers and for people who marketed professional services. Warning: this is a long-term effort and won't pay off for at least six months. When I say active, I mean don't just go to the meetings, volunteer to help. For one group I worked as the newsletter editor -- it was great reason to call our competition and prospective customers!
- I listened to gossip. Yup, gossip is great research. I don't mean malicious gossip, but they kind of stuff on who is doing what project for whom. This is where you find out what everybody thinks of your competition. The best place for gossip is during the drinks hour before the monthly meeting at most professional groups.
- I hit the library. The librarian can point you to lists of the area's largest employers, corporate research, etc. You can probably do all this on the web, but still librarians are great resources for business research and may be able to give you some ideas you've never considered.
- I read the local business journals. They are a GREAT source of information. Most post weekly/monthly lists of the largest businesses in different industries. These lists are a gold mine of information! They can give you ideas of industries you might be able to work for and companies who need your help. They also usually give some kind of contact information.
- I did informational interviews. Just like when you're looking for a new FTE job, starting a new business is a great time to call up companies you'd like to work for and ask for informational interviews. You don't have to get to the IT director -- meet a programmer for drinks after work, talk to someone in another department. Tell them you're considering starting a new business and would really appreciate an hour of their time and their advice. Although you should never ask for work during this meeting, you can briefly lay out the kind of business you're trying to start. This is a great opportunity to find out who is already working for that company (your competition), and what they think of them. Use this info to help set yourself apart from the competition.
I recently did this when the company I was working for was thinking of diving into the ISP business and the boss wanted me to run it. I talked to someone who was currently the head network guy at another ISP, someone who had recently left an ISP. I found out what the problems were in running an ISP, rumors about who else was thinking of going into the business, who the different companies used for contracting, who was thinking of leaving, what our potential competitor's weaknesses and strengths were, etc. Just from a couple of hours over drinks.
- I talked to our clients: call it a marketing survey. I asked if we were doing a good job for them. Were we responsive? Were we easy to work with? If not, what was the problem and how would they suggest we fix it? How did we compare with other companies they worked with? How did we compare price-wise? How did we compare based on the quality of our work? Even if we were doing a good job for them, I asked what we could do better.
If you don't have clients yet, you might talk to other IT people you worked with in the past. If you have a good relationship, you might even talk to your boss or a manager in a department for whom you provide support. Ask some hard questions and assure the other person you won't get angry. Ask what they think your strengths are and don't be surprised when their perceptions are different than yours. Are you a people person? Can you be depended on? Are your technical skills up to spec? Do you deal with all the minutia of documentation and customer support that a client would expect? Hypothetically, would they hire you as a contractor? What could you improve so that they would hire you? Then take their advice seriously.
- Network, network, network. I can't emphasize it enough. I'm in awe of my husband. He does this better than anyone I know. It's why he's a great salesman. It's also one of the big reasons why his 5-year-old IT firm is highly successful.
Your marketing plan
Take the information you've got and write it down.
- 5 industries you'd like to work in
- 10 companies in each industry who might hire you
- Who your competitors are (both big shops and other independents)
- What their strengths and weaknesses are
- Your strengths and weaknesses
- Why a client should hire you instead of them
- Who you're going to target
- How are you going to keep the clients you've already got (Current clients are gold. They only require 20% of the marketing effort of new clients, but they usually provide 80% of your income. Don't loose them. But don't stop doing the 80% marketing effort to get new clients either.)
Write a plan for how you're going to market, break it down into workable chunks and add dates.
Example:
- Get business cards - this week
- Write a basic marketing handout/brochure - this week
- Develop a contacts database - in two weeks
- Develop a web site - next month
- Develop a Powerpoint presentation - in two months
Daily:
- Make 5 cold-calls a day (take Friday off)
- Call 5 people I already know and ask for them for contacts
- Maintain contacts database
- Read the daily bid and legal ads
Weekly:
- Read the business journal
- Set up one informational meeting
- Read 3 professional/industry journals
- 1 hour on-line business research
- Find 5 more companies to cold-call
- Get my name on one contracting/purchasing list (private or public sector)
- Evaluate if I met goals this week and how I'll improve next week
Monthly:
- Attend 2 professional or networking events
- Volunteer for at least 2 hours work
Quarterly:
- Update business/marketing plan
Yearly:
- Attend 2 local industry conferences
- Attend 1 national industry conference/seminar
Remember to include other people (friends and family). Marketing works best in a group. Other people can help you smooth out your presentation, proofread and improve your plan, help you brainstorm, give you feedback and criticism.
Other ways to find potential clients - other things I did:
- Read the bids section of the newspaper (or legal journal for the city/state/industry you are interested in doing business with) on a daily basis. Doing it daily is important. Jobs are often only advertised once. Cities and counties are great places to get short-term work for small businesses. To start with, you might only get a one-month contract to do a lowly Access database, but you've got experience for your resume and a foot in the door.
- Find out if your city/county/state has programs for small businesses. Many politican entities that want to encourage the development of small businesses will have certification programs. They can offer training, mentoring, set-asides for small businesses, and opportunities to sub-contract with larger companies for major projects. I know that most state Departments of Transportation offer small business programs. I'm sure other departments and agencies do as well.
- Get your company on the bid list of every political entity in your area. Often it is as easy as calling the contracting department and finding out what form you need to fill out, or submitting a statement of interest.
- Talk to the contracting or purchasing department at large companies you want to work with. Find out what their rules are for hiring IT contractors. If they have an approved list of vendors, ask for the list and ask how you can get on the list. If you can't be an approved vendor, at least you know whom to contact to sub-contract. They may also give you the name of the IT person responsible for making contracting decisions.
- Offer to speak or teach your specialty. A one-hour presentation to a local professional group or at a local technical conference on data warehousing or COM objects not only allows others to understand the concept a little more thoroughly, it also allows you to become an expert on the subject in their minds. When someone needs a new data warehouse or web site, they'll think of you.
Most importantly of all, go the the Small Business Administration. They have all this information for you and a whole lot more. They can point you toward incubators, mentors, financing, training, networking opportunities. They can help you get certified as a disadvantaged or minority small business (often just the fact that you're new to business is enough to get you into the disadvantaged category). They can help you write a business plan.
Hope this helps. If not, there are several great books on the subject. Search for titles that include marketing professional or consulting services.
Contributed by Farnorth
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