Situation: A company has grown successfully designing and producing products for larger companies. In the process they have enhanced their own reputation in the industry. The CEO wants to boost growth by designing and marketing their own products. This will require the development of new marketing channels. How do you foster channel development?
Advice from the CEOs:
- What are the initial steps?
- Hire a commissioned salesperson with deep experience and contacts in in the company’s industry. This individual’s objective will be to seek new business opportunities.
- Have top management, including the CEO, take a sales course – for example Dale Carnegie Sales Training.
- What are the company’s objectives as it seeks to grow?
- To feed the company’s ability to develop, produce, and sell their own proprietary products.
- To create the capacity for the company to grow without relying on the efforts and success of current customers.
- To develop pride in building a solid and lasting company that makes important contributions to technology.
- To increase profitability and company value to benefit owners and shareholders.
- What can be done right now, as the early steps are put into place?
- Find ways to include pictures of company’s products in all company collateral – whether the company’s own or products developed and produced for others.
- This may mean creating a small variation to an easily recognized existing product – without the customer’s logo – so that it becomes clear that the company is the source of these ideas and products without voiding existing agreements with key customers.
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