Today’s guest post comes from Raylie Dunkel, a Whale Hunters Certified Partner who does business in the New York City metropolitan area.
New York City: The Big Apple filled with big buildings, big businesses and big egos! The line “If you can make it here you can make it anywhere” is a mantra.
So many people, so many competitors and a hectic pace of doing business can be daunting for anyone who is working in New York and its surrounding metropolitan area. From the outside it is a scary place, certainly no place that a small company can survive. Looking at the landscape an outsider would think that all those big buildings house BIG businesses. While NY is the capital of many enormous companies it is also home to a plethora of small ones. The secret is that most of the skyscrapers house small businesses in a seemingly unending variety of sectors: arts, fashion, finance, real estate, architecture, food, etc.
If NY bravado does one thing it is to keep people from thinking small. Everyone has to be prepared to be on a razor sharp competitive edge all the time. Being on a competitive edge means:
• Be prepared to prove yourself
• Be prepared to show your best effort
• Be prepared to deliver on what you promise
These companies are engaged in having their voice heard in a very noisy environment. However the good news is that the dramatic and crowded marketplace sharpens the senses and skills of everyone working here, especially anyone in sales. “NY Attitude” is a label with many negative connotations but worn as a badge of honor by New Yorkers. For every negative there are many positives. It is worth the effort to figure out what lessons can be learned.
Lesson One: The first thing learned in The Whale Hunters’ play book is to understand your “ocean”, meaning your marketplace: Know your competitors and where your company is in relation to them. Know your strengths and fix your weaknesses.
Lesson Two: Be prepared to articulate your company’s capacity by showing process and procedure, case study, problem solving ability and ease of building a relationship with clients. What does your web site look like, your promotional materials, your “insider” reports, your office?
Lesson Three: Understand the buyer’s table (the negotiation process): who should be there from both your team and the clients. Know what needs to be discovered and disclosed in the negotiation to position your company to win the contract.
Lesson Four: Make sure all processes the client interfaces with are as transparent and sharp as they can be to keep the business process moving to a smooth delivery of product or service.
Lesson Five: Acknowledge your clients contribution to the well being of your own company. Give credit and acknowledgement where it is due to your own staff as well as the client’s where it facilitated the successful completion of a contract.
So how can you be successful in the Big Apple? The same way you can in any other market:
• Know who you are
• Know your capacity and limitations
• Know how to communicate with your employees and clients
• Know how to give back to your employees, clients and community.
The only way not to look small is to BE BIG. Follow these lessons and you will be better, sharper and more competitive. Be big and you can make it anywhere, even in the Big Apple.
