|
Filed under: Tip of the Day
Mark Ziskind, COO of Caliendo Savio Enterprises (asi/155807), says distributors need to ask themselves the following questions before they perform an analysis of their local market:
- What industries play to your strengths? “Understand who you are, what your strengths are, and then chase the clients that would be the most productive for you as a client,” Ziskind says. “I think the tough thing about this industry is that everybody calls on everybody, regardless of how effectively they can service them, and I think that’s not good for the industry.”
- In what industries are you underdeveloped? Ziskind says a review of industry standards can help distributors to determine the local industries that they should pursue. “If you’re underdeveloped in health care, maybe go and pursue them because you’re missing some clients there,” he says.
- Are there non-compete clauses with clients? “We have some clients that, due to the sensitive nature of their business in terms of the speed that they introduce technology, don’t allow you to work with competitors,” he says. “Don’t have your sales team call your competitors’ clients if you can’t do it.”
- Where is your sweet spot, and who is more prone to need those services? “Really, what is your true core competency, and what do you do best?” he says. “If it’s creativity, find out which clients are really clamoring for that. I think for new distributors, their sweet spot is relationships, personalized services, and the ability to service the smaller accounts until they develop an identity in the marketplace and get some more infrastructure.”
- What is the target size of the optimal new client? “Every company probably has a different threshold,” Ziskind says. “Obviously, the optimal client is going to vary based on what your ability to serve is and what your line of credit is from the bank. A two-person operation might have a different definition of an optimal client than we might.”
- What characteristics of a client make them more (or less) profitable? “Obviously, what you want to do is chase the most profitable clients that fit your business model,” he says. “Internet utilization is huge for us, but it might not be as big for someone who just got into the marketplace. So, we might find someone that utilizes that technology.” – Shane Dale
From Counselor’s June 2010 issue.
|
