Working with corporate Goliaths doesn’t faze Raoul Shah - he has worked
profitably with large multinationals since 1993. Being dwarfed by his
customers, which include Sony, Coca-Cola, Umbro and Microsoft, does not mean
being at their beck and call or being bullied into working for low profit
margins, however.
Being the smaller firm does not even mean having to be the junior party.
Shah’s £20m marketing and communications business, Exposure, has just formed a
joint venture, called SBX Communications, with Sony BMG to exploit the
talent at the music group to create advertising and branding campaigns.
Exposure is just one company demonstrating that it is possible for small firms
to thrive by working with large companies without overreaching themselves or
being browbeaten into cutting prices.
The right strategies and the right attitude are essential, though. Any firm
that works with large customers must be confident in the product or service
it is offering, said Shah.
“It’s important to establish a sense of your own value,” he said. “Have
conviction and confidence in the assets you are bringing to the table and
what you are risking.”
Developing a healthy relationship with a large new client also means being
prepared to be tough when you are courting them, said Kate Ancketill,
managing director of the research company GDR Creative Intelligence.
“Some potential clients try to take freebies, so we limit the presentations we
do to two and then charge them speaker fees after that.”
Getting to know her big clients, such as British Airways, Intercontinental
Hotels and Nike, as deeply as possible helps her colleagues to navigate
through complex corporate structures. Forming wide relationships without
alienating the decision makers you already deal with can be a delicate
process, she said. “We try not to go above the head of the initial contact
in a company, but it can be frustrating when a lower-level person blocks you
from making progress further up the organisation, keeping us as a
lower-level supplier.
“You have to get to know as many people as possible to protect your
relationship with a company. After all, people tend not to stick around for
long and when an individual hoards information and jealously guards his
contact with you, it can be disastrous.”
Thinking about the individuals within the business, working to make them look
good and offering them excellent service are ways to strengthen ties with a
large client, said Ancketill.
“We try to remember that people in big companies have a lot to do and are
stressed. We try to make our presentations so compelling that they are a
highlight of their day rather than just another boring chore they have to
do. It’s important to be chipper, upbeat and entertaining. It helps if you
can make them laugh.”
Kenard Engineering cuts the risks of working with big clients by spreading its
activities across several related sectors, including oil and gas,
aero-space, defence and telecommunications. Its clients include Rolls-Royce,
General Electric and Northrop.
Keeping an eye on the trends that shape its customers’ businesses is
important, too, said managing director Keith Ellis.
“Understanding what drives your clients is an obvious point, but it is
critical to us. Anticipating what your clients need can give you some power
over pricing. Face-to-face time with as many people inside the business and
as many senior people as possible is another good way to insure yourself
against key contacts leaving the organisation.” Ellis has also learnt to
take the pricing bluster of multinationals with a pinch of salt. “At every
supplier conference I go to they always talk about pricing, the need to
reduce their supplier base and the competition from the Far East. I could
write the script for them these days, but if you are a good supplier the
chances are that they will need you. They may be cost-conscious but they
also require punctual delivery and quality of service.
Not biting off more than you can chew is another way to avoid being
overreliant on any one customer and reducing the risk of large deals
swamping the business, said Shah.
“Be sure that your business can support the cash flow of the deal. Big
customers can exert huge pressure on your business over the short term, so
you need to put very good account-management structures in place if you do
take them on.”
Choosing the right clients can be as important as not taking on huge
contracts, said Debra Charles, director of Novacroft, which manages
large-scale smart-card projects with clients that include Transport for
London.
“If we feel that a project can’t be delivered properly and we are risking our
reputation, we walk away. Sensible business controls, along with risk
management and project-management tools can also help you decide if a
contract is outside your core areas of skill and competence.”
Working successfully with big players also means being prepared to turn down
work that doesn’t meet the plans and aspirations of your own business, said
Shah.
“You should be brave enough to walk away from a deal at the last minute,
however hard you have worked to win it.
“Don’t take on big clients for the sake of it. Having a big contract can
create a depressing working environment - even if you can handle it.
“There’s a competitive advantage in creating a positive working environment,
so make sure you don’t throw it away by taking on work that you should never
have touched in the first place.”
