Big Sales Equals Big Growth

By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

Years ago, when Tom Searcy looked at displays of Inuit whale hunters at a museum, a correlation formed in his mind between them and his experience as CEO of four multi-million dollar companies: the need to “get the big one,” whether it’s a sales contract or a whale. Now a nationally-sought speaker, his 2008 book (co-authored with Barbara Weaver Smith), Whale Hunting: How to Land Big Deals and Transform Your Company, encapsulates his philosophy.

Home Business® Magazine recently spoke with him on how the home business entrepreneur can use large contracts as a catalyst for growth.

Home Business® Magazine (HBM): How did your corporate background translate into starting a new business of helping other companies grow?

Tom Searcy (TS): I’ve learned a lot. Isolate a space for work; otherwise, life never separates. I found that I could be a lot more productive working at home than in a corporate environment, because I was in control of my time. When you work from home, as long as you shut down the phone and computer, etc., you can get blocks of uninterrupted work accomplished. I had to also learn to shut down. I put a sign on my desk for my benefit that reads, “Office hours 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday – Friday.”

HBM: How can home business entrepreneurs find the big contracts that can help them survive in today’s economy?

TS: Less than 5 percent of the opportunities in the marketplace are good for you. Look for just the right kind of deals — then spend time talking to those kinds of people. Networking opportunities like chambers of commerce are not where big contracts are found. Those are for small to mid-sized sales, but your big deals are typically found by contacting the most senior person in that company who does their buying.

HBM: What are the keys to landing the big contracts?

TS: Solve that buyer’s business problem: time, money or risk. If you make soap at home, a large retailer doesn’t have a lack of soap supplier problems. So what’s the problem? They don’t have enough eco-friendly soap? They don’t have a good enough package? They must have a business problem, not a supplier problem.
    When you’re going to go sell to that organization, their biggest concern isn’t typically the quality of your services or products. Sell to your buyer’s fears, like you’re too small. We advise companies to make a long list [of why] a big company would be afraid of doing business with you. Be able to answer all those fears.

HBM: In your program, you say that when talking with big companies it’s important to be specific. Why is this?

TS: To differentiate yourself. [Your buyer] should mentally raise his hand and say, “Oh, she’s talking about me!” when you make specific statements about time and improvement. It establishes you as an expert in that particular space which can allow you to charge more. I could tell people that I do sales training or coaching or consulting. Lots of people do that, but few people say “I focus on large account sales that are 10 to 20 percent larger than most sales and I’ll help you double the size of your company.” That’s what the power of specifics gives to you.

HBM: You say that the nice guy finishes first. How and why does that work?

TS: Do what your mamma taught you, like fulfill every commitment you make. The experience of working with you should be pleasant. If you give a sense of gratitude, that is a differentiating factor that puts you ahead of most in the marketplace. Doing all three makes you unlike anyone else.

HBM: Is it important to look like a big company to win large contracts?

TS: The issue is that you should seem to them as stable, successful, consistent, and safe. Your professionalism should be that of a big company. You should have professional processes and procedures as to how you handle things. Anything that should face the customer should be consistent and well done like the letterhead, proposals, invoices and web site. Just use the tools from QuickBooks or templates from Excel.

HBM: What aspects of a big company are best avoided by the home entrepreneur?

TS: You want to continue to show that personality of small business. One of the folks I know follows up every significant meeting or interaction with a handwritten note. It’s one of the ways the company says that they make clients feel like their most important customers. HBM

Deborah Jeanne Sergeant writes magazine articles, Web copy, and marketing materials from her home in Wolcott, N.Y. Visit her online at www.skilledquill.net

Previously published in the August 2010 issue of HOME BUSINESS® Magazine, an international publication for the growing and dynamic home-based market. Available on newsstands, in bookstores and chain stores, and via subscriptions ($19.00 for 1 year, six issues). Visit http://www.homebusinessmag.com

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