Startup Houston

I recently attended a seminar put on by the Greater Houston Partnership entitled “Bag the Elephant,” which also featured the author of the book, Steve Kaplan. The seminar focused on how smaller companies can successfully pursue larger companies (the elephants). I have attached my notes for those of you who are interested and included some highlights below:

• The number one marketing tool suggested by everyone is Networking (ie. attend as many events as possible)
• Big Companies want to work with smaller companies for the following reasons

  • Smaller business advantages
    • Lower overhead structure
    • More agile and flexible
    • Less expensive
    • Provide “Fresh air” and new approaches

• Key things to be aware of when dealing with big companies

  • Know Who does what
    • Who buys
    • Who influences
    • Who Kills* (one of the most important things to know)
  • The Supplier Procurement Program
  • How to talk the talk
    • Unique language
      • What terms do they use to reference different things
    • Create an Elephant to english dictionary
      • This is a list of terms that is unique to each company/prospect
    • Use terms Internally & With the customer
      • Using the customer’s terms in your daily conversations with internal staff get’s everyone on the same page

  • Leverage your knowledge

There is a lot more detail in my notes such as Top Secrets to Accelerating business growth, Cold Calling techniques, and more…