I was asked to speak at a meeting this morning at McCormick Spice Company’s headquarters in Sparks, MD about how to leverage your supplier diversity certification, specifically for women business owners through WBENC. Thanks for Sheila Dews-Johnson and all the folks at McCormick for hosting us (and providing GOODY BAGS!).

Following are the 7 tips I shared with the group for really making the most out of your certification:

1. Understand and respect relationships. You need to know what the Supplier Diversity folks do (provide introductions) and what they don’t do (sell your products or guarantee work). They are not the end-user, they are the door opener.

For WBENC-certified companies, don’t overlook your fellow WBE’s, either, as potential clients and/or partners. There are fruitful relationships there just waiting to happen, and when a small business joins forces with another, capabilities and capacities increase which are both key buying points for a large corporation. At the end of the day, they need to feel confident that you can deliver at the level they expect from all their suppliers. No special favors, here.

2. Know your true value from the clients’ perspective. Too many small business owners focus on what they sell, rather than what the customer buys. Talk to an IT buyer and tell him or her you’re just an IT consultant and you’re not likely to get anywhere. Why would they need or want your services? What benefits can you provide them? How are you different – what’s unique about what you provide? If you can’t answer those questions from the buyers’ perspective, you’ll likely get a polite but firm no thank you.

3. Know the customers’ buying process and who you need to talk to. Supplier Diversity Directors like Sheila at McCormick know a lot about what’s going on in their company, but they don’t know everything. They can tell you about their buying process, but you need to know enough about your business to tell the rep who you would like to speak with at their company. What departments have you worked with in the past? What titles of folks do you normally interact with?

4. Do your homework. Sheila shared a story about the man who walked up to their booth at the WBENC annual conference one year and, amidst sample of spice bottles, asked her what McCormick did. Not a good first impression. Before you approach any company, especially through Supplier Diversity channels, know who you’re talking to and why they could use your services. Many will tell you, too, the types of services they generally source to your size businesses and may be able to refer you to second tier (sub-contract) opportunities if size is an issue. Similarly, know what’s going on in their world. Google them and look at their latest annual report. The more you know, the better you’ll do. Don’t go pitching training services to a company who just announced they are eliminating their training budget (not a good example, but you get the idea).

5. Reach out. Once you’ve filled out your online profile for a particular company (which most will have you do), don’t wait by the phone. WBENC certification comes with access to an online database of their more than 250 corporate partners, complete with e-mail and phone numbers of various supplier diversity folks in that company. You can use that list to reach out, but by all means DON’T add them to your e-mail lists or send out blanket e-mails. That’s a quick way to get the door shut in your face before it’s even open.

6. Get involved. Just like anything else, you get out of a group what you put into it. It is about building relationships, and that doesn’t happen overnight. Go to local events, volunteer on different committees. Relationships built through other venues lead to a much easier sales calls when the time is right.

7. Over deliver and then ask for a referral. Like with any client, you still have to deliver the goods. A happy customer is your best salesperson. Don’t wait for them to offer to make a connection for you, ask for it (but don’t demand it). Take advantage of the WPEO newsletter reach by reporting your Done Deals to them. When people begin seeing your business’ name and who you’re doing business with, they’ll begin to know your company as one that delivers and remember you on their next similar procurement.

Certification in general and spefically WBENC certification is a great tool. But as Liz Cullen, Executive Director of the WPEO said in the opening of our meeting, it’s like joining a gym. Once you’re in, the work finally begins. The results are up to you!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 25th, 2009 at 4:38 pm and is filed under Business Growth, Entrepreneurship, business success secrets. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.