I remember years ago when I first got certified as a minority and woman owned business enterprise (MWBE), I was so excited; I literally thought the sky was the limit. I remember downloading various lists of buyers and sending out several mailings announcing my certification and providing an overview of my company. It was not until years later that I realized that over ninety percent of the people I was targeting would never buy from me. I put forth a tremendous marketing effort that included expensive and flashy marketing materials, event sponsorships, and networking that resulted in less than impressive sales. In fact, at some point the process became downright frustrating forcing me to reevaluate my program and look for the hidden lessons.
One of the most valuable lessons I learned over several decades of marketing to government buyers and corporations was the importance of targeting my efforts to match them with my firm’s capacity. For example, after marketing to everyone on the corporate supplier diversity list, I realized that many of the corporations I was targeting had preference to do business with national and regional firms. At the time, my company was local, so I was literally wasting my time going after these companies. With hindsight it was like trying to go to college from kindergarten. I can laugh about this now, but it was truly a painful, frustrating and time consuming process at the time.
In order to grow your business with government and corporate clients, it’s important to clearly understand your capacity and target your effort towards those agencies where you will have the greatest chance of winning. I recommend targeting five agencies at a time and doing the necessary research to determine who they are buying from, how they are buying and what are their preferences when seeking new vendors. Trust me, although this sounds like a lot of work, it will save you hours of wasted time in the long run.
