Magnus Marketing Blog

Where are all the entrepreneurs? Where o' where can they be? Overseas? What happened to all the small businesses? The unique technology firms, the innovative consulting companies, the guy with the great idea....these are the hallmarks of American capitalism...and I can't find them.

In this age of fast gratification, many people with the great idea or fledging business get snapped up by larger entities, some of whom are "babies" in their own right. Recently, I was approached by an independent consultant who had a nice idea and a decent market opportunity - after two weeks I got an email thanking me for my time and proposal - she sold out "to the man". Taking an opportunity that was too good to pass up - she took a job. Risk is not something a lot of people can deal with, I guess.

I try to find interesting companies to work with, not the run of the mill technology offshore staffing or consulting firms, but companies with something cool, unique and innovative. Not many around these parts.

My own doubt is increasing in the "sales intelligence" area - doesn't seem like those firms are doing well or even exist anymore. Guess the run to LinkedIN is true? My prospects are dwindling. Even my hours at my joyful, happy place, Kohl's are being cut. I see that starting a "business" is 10X worse and harder than working for a "real" company, but why commit to yet another boss who is married to his own ideas, a bully, has unrealistic demands, doesn't get it, and will fire me anyway? Geez, at least my client relationships have lasted longer than my jobs! But you know what? I will keep on. I think by now, most people would call the Korn Ferry recruiter and take the VP of Marketing job put forth.

Ah, I could always get a job and fold Magnus. At least I can say I did what I intended to do for years and stuck by my beliefs and integrity. Maybe some dumb luck will hit and I will find an angel or at least some cool clients. Or I could sell out and work with the big boys, like everyone else.

I have worked for many foreign technology and service firms who have come into the United States, land of opportunity, and started businesses. What follows are some observations and lessons I wish to impart from my experience working for these companies.

1. You are not in your country anymore. In order to do business with "blue chip" companies or SME's in the U.S., you need to do business like Americans do. Prior to doing business in any foreign country, Americans need to study the cultural norms and act accordingly - the same goes for businesses entering the U.S.. Learn and adapt to the business culture here before engaging with companies here. And, never refer to your company's home country as "the mother country".

2. Success doesn't always translate. In your home country, whether it is India, Norway, Russia, Philippenes, you may have outstanding brand equity which is likely due to the fact that you may be the first company, the largest, or the best at what you do. That is wonderful, but it will NOT necessarily carry over to the U.S.. Do not walk into this mature, competitive, and entrepreneurial environment assuming that U.S. firms will immediately buy things from you because you happen to be who you are. Unless you are offering services based in your home country or offering services to your own people, then that could be a different story.

3. Hire a "Local" to run your business. America is a diverse population with many people from different countries who have lived, worked, and experienced the culture here. It is almost ridiculous to think that you cannot have a Managing Director of U.S. Operations who has lived, worked, and developed relationships in the U.S.. There are so many people from Asia-Pacific, South America and Europe who are citizens who can represent a company and bridge the onsite-offshore gap. At the very least hire a COO or VP of Sales/Marketing who has U.S. experience. They will know how to effectively network and navigate the market for business opportunity. In the U.S., people of all backgrounds and ethnic origin have the opportunity to be CEO of any public, even private firm. Consider extending that opportunity to others for your business as well.

4. Study the market. Study and understand the market before entering it and have a good plan to build your business. I see so many Indian technology companies wanting to get direct clients who think they are the only ones who are doing what they do. There are many offshore technology providers and staffing firms, each professing the best or particular skills, education, and projects. They are so similiar it is boring. Not everyone can be WiPRO or Satyam, nor will you be. Try to find some differentiation!

5. Learn marketing and sales. Marketing and sales is a different animal in the U.S. and you really need to understand the culture and business norms to do it effectively. Do not walk into this country without living here for some time and say "I know marketing or I know sales" because to be blunt - you do not. I had a client who lived in the U.S. for 2 years say this to my face recently. Two years in the U.S. and he knew marketing - again, highly successful in India - not successful in the U.S. Learn marketing and sales or hire "locals" to help you - and listen to them. One thing that will never be offshored: sales and marketing (see the email example below).

6. It costs money. It costs money to run a business in the U.S., from salaries to marketing. It costs a lot of money to really establish a presence in the U.S., whether you buy market share or earn it. Paying someone $10/hr or having a marketing budget of less than a few million, won't get you far. Be prepared to spend real money to get business. Cheaping out will cause your business to fail.

7. Many countries lag behind the U.S. Some countries are many years behind the U.S., maybe you have done some super RFID projects in India - but that doesn't mean the receptivity will be the same in the U.S. I experienced this recently when a company had "this great product" - they had no clue about competitors and didn't realize that a major company developed a similiar solution - five years ago. Study the market and never assume.

8. Communication skills are critical. See this real email sent recently.

Hi, This is dumbguy from lookalikecompany having taken over the charge of Business Development. How you doing? Got a lot of people working for you but ----How about an idea of making you sit in comfort as you have done a lot of work already? Make it a habit of...sitting in comfort and making people in fact me work for you....Can I be your partner in serving all your requirements at lookalikecompany? FYI..we have over 100+ consultants on our W2 . And the hot list gets added up everyday and we are a team of about 15 people here as technical recruiters. Please let me introduce my Organization and our main areas of focus. Lookalike is a leading consulting and IT services company offering a wide range of experienced resources that enhance your esteemed organization’s performance and competitiveness. Please visit www.dontcare.com for more information.

Available resources:-

* Cognos Developers
* SAP
* Business Analysts
* Informatica Developers
* Programmers (Java/J2EE, .Net/C++)
* Quality Assurance and many others

Requesting your esteemed self to kindly give me an honor to associate with you and give you some placements. Please send XXX the current job openings if you have any, with job description / location / duration of the project, so that I can send my consultants to you. I would be very glad to address your need at the earliest possible. Assuring you of our best & prompt services at all time from all here at lookalike I remain. We look forward to providing our numerous services to your esteemed organization and it would be great pleasure sharing business with you; I would like continue the relation and looking forward to work with you.

Thanks,

Need I say anything more? To learn how to do business in the U.S. and avoid looking as ridiculous as the sender of that email - contact me.

I am not sure how to exactly illustrate this problem, but it is one that appears over and over again. That is patterns of management or behavior that manifest and are destructive to organizations.

I mention this because a friend and I were discussing a situation that occurred with a manager we both had worked for. I had told her about his commentary and actions regarding my status with the company. She just listened and nodded her head saying that that manager was so predictable it wasn't funny. The same thing had been done to her...she asked for more money and was immediately slammed with irrelevant things that were not brought up earlier and questions about her performance, same kind of words and actions expressed to me.

I thought of another person who is the ultimate drama queen. Everything that happens is a major event, everyone who works with him is incompetent, he will complain that he wants lots of business, but if you bring a large opportunity - he will freak out and try to stop it. He will love you in the beginning, be your best friend, but suddenly when he decides you aren't producing or doing enough will turn on you - rather viciously.

I thought about my former boss, all style no substance. They continue to hire big names, talk a big game, and show nothing for it. This one too would love you and be your best friend, until someone with more clout came along and "better ideas" for him to claim credit for, then you would fall by the wayside - a used resource unworthy of a minute of the "business leaders" time.

I have patterns also. I demand a lot from people and don't recognize that my perception of "quality" is everyone's perception and tend to overdo things. I worry a lot over things that don't require a second thought. I initially do not trust people, until they prove themselves, then I trust them too much.

We all have patterns. Recognizing and managing them is the key to self improvement. None of those abovementioned people should be in management positions or running companies, but yet they do. The difference between a leader and one who is not, is self awareness. In reverse interviewing, candidates need to ask the right questions to identify patterns and make sure the company and boss is one working for, lest you too end up "used and thrown away".

I met with a prospective new client the other day who was in need of an inside salesperson. They wanted to build an inside sales team and process. After speaking with them, they were rather interested in the very focused manner in which I do lead generation. They were seeking an alternative because the telemarketing vendor they used only gave them appointments, not information.

This prompts me again to discuss how and when to use telemarketers, prospecting agents, or inside sales and what is needed to make the effort successful.

Definitions:
1. Telemarketer. A person who is armed with a list, script, database mechanism who rotely goes down the list reciting a canned script with directives to ask "qualifying" questions and determine whether a person is a buyer or not.

2. Prospecting Agent/Lead Manager. A person who is able to nuture inquiries, intelligently determine appropriate qualifying criteria through strategic fit, and is capable of building and maintaining a relationship.

3. Inside Sales. Should be like a Prospecting Agent, except is able to actually provide a quote and close a sale. Inside sales is only good for low value items in highly transactional environments.

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The Three Levels of B2B Outbound:

1. Telemarketing. Telemarketing is good for when you have a strong brand equity, multichannels of marketing, a highly transactional product/service, a strong value proposition, and good delivery. The higher the brand equity and/or stronger the value proposition, the greater the acceptance of the telemarketing call and higher the "Yes" or "No" acceptance of the pitch. The goal of telemarketing is VOLUME. Telemarketing is great to find low-hanging fruit. Remember though, if someone is easily won over on the phone by you, they can be won over later by someone else. In other words, there is low loyalty generated.

2. Prospecting Agent/Lead Manager. This is a more evolved and intelligent person who also is the relationship builder. This is a good way to go if you have little to no brand equity, a more complex to complex product/service, longer sales cycles, have higher value deals. This person can be used if you have higher brand equity, but want to be more selective in what business you target. If more work is needed upfront to really get the right accounts, use this method. This type of prospecting is for higher value, more strategic sales and allows for more selectiveness in choosing whom will be serviced or sold.

3. Inside Sales. A telemarketer can do inside sales if the value is very low and the desire for volume is high. A prospecting agent should be used if the product/service is more complex and a relationship is desired. Inside sales should only be used for lower value services or products.

It is important also to find the right person for the job. Telemarketing requires little critical thinking and is very rote and repetitive, the job requires little decision making and is simply mechanical information acquisition. The pay rate is very low. A prospecting agent requires more education, capability to discern important facts from others, decide whether someone is qualified from a conversation. The pay rate is much higher (and worth it).

Take time to consider exactly what type of business you want to bring in and who is the right person. A mismatch can literally be fatal, putting a telemarketer in where a company has no brand equity will yield very low results. Conversely, putting a prospecting agent in a telemarketing job, will yield a bored and unmotivated agent who will lose interest and, ergo, sales.

And remember, there is no magic bullet - no person will walk into your company or environment and heroically generate enough business to propel you to major revenue. If they were that good - they would be in business for themselves.