Partnering Techniques for the Entrepreneur the First Pitch

Recently, a small business owner in Nevada relayed a partnership problem common to small business owners; the first conversation started great but slid downhill for ‘no apparent reason.’ Armed with a few good questions and focusing the partnership in the areas most important to the Potential Partner Organization (PPO), the odds of an entrepreneur creating a partnership during the first phone call dramatically increases.

Thanks but no Thanks Let’s take a recent example. Joe, the owner of a painting company with two employees located in the northern California town of Quincy, desired to grow his revenues. He knew the largest paint supplier was the local Home Depot, two hours away. After listening to several of the BMG tapes on partner development, he created a value proposition (i.e. elevator pitch) and considered himself ready to make the case that his firm could be the partner to deliver painting seminars for a particular type of application found only in northern California. Armed with his confidence and resume, he cold-called into the manager.

Once he had the store manager on the phone, he asked to be placed on the local vendor list. This would allow Home Depot employees to refer local customers to him for specific projects and in turn, he could provide in-store seminars at the Home Depot. He was met with a negative response to both offers. Unlike other Home Depot stores, this location did not keep an ‘authorized’ or ‘certified’ vendor list. In other words, it had no formal mechanism to refer customers either by phone, in person or via email. Second, the manager told Ran that all seminars were conducted by in-house employees. Ran, feeling uncomfortable and not sure how far he should press the conversation, thanked the store manager for his time and ended the call.

This real life scenario is commonplace for millions of small business owners trying to establish a revenue-producing partnership. First comes the excitement of “getting the right person on the phone” said Susan Tranton, owner of a small clothing manufacturing shop, only to be followed by the “disappointment of hearing that it’s already being handled in house”.

What he could have done different?

Ask Ask Ask!

The first thing to do is ask questions. With each question, the door of opportunity has the ability to open. And when it does, you must find a way to wedge your foot into the room. For instance, when Ran was told Home Depot doesn’t not track vendors, he should have asked why. He might have uncovered the manager didn’t have the ability, the personnel or the understanding of value to create and maintain such a list. To this response, Ran could have suggested working with the store manager (or her personnel) to create such a list. The effort itself starting the foundation for a partnership with Ran’s company, who would then be in the position to create the selection, qualification and development of a vendor list.

It Doesn’t Always Pay to Think Big How many times a day are you told to think big and think out of the box? As the CEO of a small company, or a manager of a group that effectively runs as a small company, thinking big or out of the box is really translation for staying out of a rut. In other words, be creative instead of being a drone. Creativity yields fresh ideas, innovation, and market leadership.

Yet the very notion of thinking big works when creating an idea, but fails miserably when it comes to carrying the idea out. Employees of large organizations (say Home Dept) focus on getting the job done today; delivering results measured in sales, revenue and margins. Partnership opportunities fail when the big idea doesn’t translate for the working line manager who needs to figure out how an “opportunity” equates to revenue TODAY.

Lets go back again to Ran, where he was ‘thinking big’ by devising a partnership to both increase the traffic to his business while creating brand loyalty to Home Depot for local customers. When told his potential partner service was already managed internally, he might have asked questions about the training and how Home Depot measures success of in-house workshops. If measured in terms of attendees, he could then ask if the number of attendees meets expectations. If not, he’d suggest a partnership could increase the revenue of the store by providing outside expertise. In hindsight, trimming down his offering to one area might have made the difference in attaining a yes instead of a no.

Balance the Pitch and the Conversation The small business owner often delivers a one-sided pitch without stopping to confirm the level of interest, relevance or timeliness of the partner opportunity. Unwittingly, this portrays the CEO as a self-consumed, single-minded individual who is not considerate of the needs of the person or company on the other end of the phone.

This is easily avoided. A few simple questions peppered throughout the conversation will reduce or completely eliminate issues surrounding the intentions your call. It will also change a one-sided pitch into a two-way conversation; the very essence of a partnership.

6 Critical Questions to Ask During the Initial Partner Development Call 1. Is this a good time to talk about a potential partnership? (conveys respect for their time and attention)

2. Are you the right person to speak with regarding an opportunity of this nature? (conveys your seriousness to achieve results)

3. Does this opportunity address some/few/most of the existing needs of your company? (validates the issues within in the potential partner organization)

4. What are the most relevant components of the partnership to you at this present time? (validates the priorities of the potential partner)

5. How does this partnership opportunity fit with other existing partnerships or company initiatives? (This identifies if the partner has a successful partnership track record)

6. From your experience, what is the most reasonable way to begin the process? (conveys respect for their process if they have one, if not, allows you to create the path for progression)

For more information on partner development skills, visit www.bmginc.com or www.mybizhomepage.com



Partnering Techniques for the Entrepreneur the First Pitch - To learn more about this author, visit Sarah Gerdes's Website.

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