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Your dream sale probably involves a Fortune 500 company and millions of dollars. The problem with sales is that it is very difficult to sell to a Fortune 500 company due to their corporate structure and if you happen to seal the deal, don’t expect to make much money at first.
Although these companies have large budgets, they usually won’t spend much of it with you the first time around. If you want to get around this, you have two options:
- Get to know someone high up in the company that had a lot of pull.
- Have a product or service that can either save a company money or make them more money.
If you can’t get around that, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go after the sale. Actually you should do whatever you can to close the deal, even if this means you are going to make no money on the deal or potentially lose money. The main reason you want big named clients is so that you can showcase them to other potential clients. This will help build the credibility of your company and help you make larger sales. Plus what you’ll sooner or later notice is that the majority of your big sales are from companies that most people have never heard of.
Any tips on getting to know people high up in Fortune 500 companies? Networking will get you a long ways, but a lot of us smaller business owners don’t have the networking circles to reach a top tier executive at these large companies.
Thanks,
Matt
Search online for bloggers in decent positions who work at Fortune 500 companies and talk shit to them (in a nice way). One way to do this is write a blog post on everything they are doing wrong and how they can improve.
I agree w/ Neil. You could even start a blog and follow the specific companies you are wanting to reach.
Here is just 1 idea: Start a blog about how Google changed their iGoogle to be just like the 2 2nd tier search engine’s homepages. I went to Googles message boards last night once it changed and found there were over 60 messages all saying “change it back”. Those messages were all within the first 30 min of the change. I haven’t looked back at the board today, but I am sure there are a ton more messages.
Large companies make mistakes all the time (Exxon, Coke, Google, etc.) Promote your blog and post comments on theirs and that could certainly lead to some contact. Of course this is going to a little while to reach the company, but the executives aren’t exactly giving out their home phone number so it is just as good an idea as any. Plus the cost is only time.
And if they happen to have a blog, also comment on it. If you comment, they will be more likely visit your blog and see your blog post about them.
Exactly.
(In my mind what I was thinking of when I wrote “post comments on theirs” was “theirs” meant everyone who discusses that topic/company including the company’s official blog, but the fingers didn’t type it that way
)
FYI I did check back on the Google discussion boards, and 99% of the total posts since the change are feedback about the changes and 99.99% are negative.
The only problem with that is if too many people are bashing them your blog post won’t be as effective. You want to pick targets that most people aren’t going after.
Excellent point. 1 poster in 500, vs 1 poster in 10.
Readers simply wouldn’t review all 500, but they could review less than 20 or so relatively quickly. Too many like minded posts, and you become a number.
When I used to do this, I used to go after bloggers with connections. For example you could build relationships with Venture Capital bloggers because many of them have invested in companies that went public.
Another good way to get the attention of large organizations as possible acquirers is to create relationships with the mid-level PM’s and others. Doing so will create advocates for you within that organization and the more individuals you have that know you and are comfortable with you, the easier it is to get a deal done.
I like the concept. It is like you are creating internal evangelists.
I actually run a digital media and public relations company that monitors what is being said on the internet for many clients and even do contract work through another company that handles Fortune 500 companies and even whole countries. So yes if you post information on your blog or even on a message board you can guarantee someone from the company or a rep of the company will check it out.
Thanks for sharing some insight from a PR standpoint. If large companies are paying people like you, it shows that they are listening.
Awesome article Neil. I find that in our business, the effects of working with some high profile clients, is not directly felt until months later. However, it can pay off in even greater ways than just other sales. Building relationships is a very powerful thing.
Things take a while to kick in. In many cases you will not see an ROI until a year.
I reckon you don’t always have to find someone high up with a lot of pull, you just need to find the right person in the right department.
I know a guy who co-owns a e-marketing business who took a short contracting job at a huge multinational and whilst there buddied up with some of the marketing people. He got them to agree to let his e-marketing company do some smallish work for them and he then added the multinational’s name to his client and showcase list.
The sale was small but the benefits were huge.
They don’t have to be high up in the company, but just within a specific department. In some cases if you find the right person, that works too, but not always.
Simple and straight to the point advice Neil. And Josh makes a good point as well, often the effects of making a big sale aren’t felt for a while… but when they hit, they hit hard.
In sales, this is what we call a sales cycle.
I love when I read stuff on your blog and see similarities to sales in other industries. When I first started out in practice I wanted to work for the studios (and have celebrity clients). I didn’t know anyone, so I showed up at movie sets with a table, and volunteered to take care of everyone. Eventually that paid off and I had a boatload of celebrities to take care of (which ironically became a pain in the ass). But I still get referrals to this day, thanks to the selling I did over 10 years ago.
Thanks Michael… and I always enjoy your comments.
Your strategy must have worked really well because you have clients like VIVID Entertainment. Let me know if you need any FREE help when you adjust those celebs.
in a way, it’s a form of advertising…closing a deal even with a loss when selling to a big company, because you are right neil, you want to be able to promote that you are selling to a well known company.
Yep, it helps bring credibility.
This is great advice. Step one is to get to know people who work for these companies. My immediate advice was to find out which employees are bloggers, and network with them. I noticed you suggested the same thing in your comments. What is your experience with this? I can imagine that having a Fortune 500 company in your portfolio looks great to potential clients.
I personally haven’t attached the Fortune 500 through the blogosphere because I already have a good amount of large companies in my portfolio. But these days it should be easier because there are so many more large companies blogging such as JetBlue and Dell.
Hey Neil, I couldn’t agree with you more. It used to piss me off when we signed huge clients and gave them small campaigns or campaigns with a very small margin. But I have learned that the longer that you can build and foster the relationship the better. You will not make money at first, you start to make money with large firms and brands months and months later. And once large companies or brands are comfortable with you they will stay with you forever!
Yea, they usually don’t like changing companies if they are happy with you. They mainly drop the ball when their budgets get cut.
Have had to deal with Fortune 500 companies in my other business and they are usually a pain to deal with. Some are good and some are pretty bad with communication. They are always the hardest to sell services to unless you do know someone higher up. I actually got a fortune 500 client from some SEO work in which they searched the term and found my business.
Nice! The good part about them finding you is that they are now interested in you. When you do your pitch, you won’t have to convince them about your company’s qualifications.
The sales cycle with fortune 500 companies is longer and less profitable upfront, although just having the ability to put their logo on your website as your client, that will increase your reputation and sales.
In my sales pipeline, my foundation is smaller base hit sales that have short sales cycles to keep my cash flow chugging along, although having fortune 500 in the pipeline gives you an advantage to be associated with that big firm, when that long sales cycle comes to an end.
Small Business is the backbone of America, there are a lot of companies we never heard of out there, its such a big market!
Most people under estimate the small business market, but there is a lot of money in it. As Deep mentioned Fortune 500 clients can take a very long time to lock in. Because of this you should also target smaller companies while you are going after the big fish.
Neil,
Since there are thousands of people involved in the fortune 500 many times you could be pitching your offering to the wrong person. How do you identify that key individual that who is the decision maker of the product / service you are offering?
Based on the title of the person, you can usually figure out if it is the right person. The best way to find the right person, is to go through gate keepers (assistants in large companies). They should be able to help you get to the right person.
Thanks for the advice. I agree 100% with what your saying, to have a Fortune 500 company as one of your clients will get a lot of people to “trust” you more because another company has taken the leap of faith. With that said, it is really hard, I’ve done it but it was only through personal contacts that got me through the door. But now i know a lot better and how to interact with the bigwigs.
After you get your first client, don’t stop. Once you get a Fortune 500 client, you should go after a Fortune 100 client and then a Fortune 10 client.
The companies which are listed in Fortune500 are mostly run by Groups.
What do you mean? One person doesn’t run a Fortune 500 company, but each company is its own entity (not owned by another).
I think, Chetan might be pointing at Board of Directors (He called its Group).
Ah, that makes sense. Yes, the board of directors do influence a company, but they don’t run the day to day operations.
Yeah the success behind of any company its not only their MD’s but the highly qualified, experienced and hardworking employees.
It is everyone. Without a good team a sales person can’t sell anything.
All you really need to do to is follow the executive with a high powered telephoto lens for a few days, then you are just a simple manila folder away from the biggest account of your life and, if you’re lucky, you can sell the rights to your story for a Fox series pilot
LOL! You may go to jail or get sued for that one.
The key there is having a backend sale. And Losing money is ok if you have another product that they’ll need or the product has continuity.
Understanding the lifetime value of your customer is really important.
The lifetime value of a customer is an important factor. This is the reason web hosting companies are able to offer such low rates.
What we sell is a bit more individualistic, investment, but also falls under vanity in a way. We had a client recently though on the board of directors of a Fortune 100 company. Since obtaining that client we have had 3 referrals just through him. Go for those big wigs! If you are in the right niche, getting that one will pay off!
The small ones can also pay off… and in many cases the small companies will send more referrals than larger ones.
Another avenue in are diversity programs that the Fortune 500 tout. Not limited to just color of skin minorities, but they also extend to women, veterans, and gays. Within the corporations these groups often have formalized organizations, and they extend into many departments and managerial levels. Find them and make friends, they will help you in the inside. Plus, the diversity programs have streamlined processes for minority businesses to do business with them. Again you may not get rich with these programs, but they do allow you to have the Fortune 500 as clients.
Good point. This could make it easier to close a deal with a Fortune 500.
I proud of Neil Patel
Thanks! I’m glad to have the support of another Indian.
Thanks Neil, Building creditability is always a fun task when no one knows you. It seems i have spent the last couple of years building BIG sites, so that i have a references.
References work really well in sales. You would be surprised to find out how many sales people don’t have good references.
Looks like it just comes down to who you know really.
That is definitely part of the equation, but who you know will only get you so far. You still need to be a good sales person at the end of the day.
Awesome article Neil. I find that in our business, the effects of working with some high profile clients, is not directly felt until months later. However, it can pay off in even greater ways than just other sales. Building relationships is a very powerful thing.
Yea, it can even lead to things like buyouts. Building relationships with high powered companies is always a good thing.
Hey Neil, how do you get to know someone high up in the company when they hang out in places that you really can’t get into, or they don’t give you the time of day.