Tech Valley Global Business Network Panelists, including Martin Gordinier, Gurley Precision Instruments, and Rob Wagner, US Paper Counters.

Notes from Tech Valley Global Business Network Event
April 19, 2012

Panelists:
Martin Gordinier, COO, Gurley Precision Instruments
Diane Boice Yorck, Director of International Sales, American Bio Medica Corporation
Scott Hannay, International Account Manager, Hannay Reels
Keving Vining, President, Vine Street Marketing
Rob Wagner, Sales Manager, US Paper Counters

Sponsor: Whiteman, Osterman & Hanna

Tech Valley Global Business Network Panelists, including Rob Wagner, US Paper Counters, Diane Boice Yorck, American Bio Medica, Kevin Vining, Vine Street Marketing, and Scott Hannay, Hanny Reels

• The biggest difference between doing business in the US and abroad is the importance of relationships and a personal touch. Before you can really start doing business, you have to first sell yourself, then sell your company. Most business is done over dinner and drinks. If you are warmly welcomed the next morning, you know you have done well.
• You need support for your management; selling abroad takes time.
• Everyone had great things to say about the Export NY training program, and about Gerald Shaye at Empire State Development. Both have made a big difference making participants successful.
• Vet potential partners very carefully. Learn everything you can about them. They should have a web site, be willing to tell you about existing customers and sales, and be forthright, not cagey. Qualify them by asking about related products, experience, distribution channels, markets, sales team.
• Every country is unique, and you should honor that. They have different regulations, packaging specifications, patents, language and buying patterns.
• For each country you need a sales and marketing strategic plan for advertising and for understanding and working with the regulatory environment. You want to understand what you are getting into. How and where do people buy? What is the cost to enter the market? What is your capacity to service the growth this will bring? What are the costs to deal with growth?
• A strong partner will help you navigate the regulatory hurdles.
• Hire people with a second language so customers will have someone to talk to in their language.
• Study geography; on the phone, Google Maps is your friend. Scott Hannay gave an example of a call from a town in the middle of the Gobi desert.
• Learn logistics, and take charge of logistics, don’t leave them to the customer. If something goes wrong, it is always your responsibility to fix it.
• Students should intern with an international company.
  (I interned with British Steel after my junior year in college; it was a enlightening experience seeing how different a British office works after working two semesters at IBM.)
• Be able to make small talk in several languages, and be fluent in one (other than English).
• Always play it straight.
• The panelists have close to no bad debt from international sales. With the long sales cycle, once a sale is made, people are serious.
• You want a partner in any country where you are doing business.
• If your distributor does country-specific marketing material for you, make sure you proof it. Examples were given of misrepresentation and wrong figures.
• Use pictures and numbers in marketing material; they translate fairly universally.
• It is important to have a web site with material by country with that country’s distributor contact information, and in that country’s language.
• Look for partners who see potential for your product.
• Go to trade shows; they are a good place to find dealers; they will flock to your booth.
• International sales have saved at least two of the panelists’ companies from having to lay off people in the recent economic downturn.
• Margins are lower overseas because your costs are higher. You may be able to make this up on volume, like American Bio Medica.

This hit home for me last week. I got a call from someone who asked to speak to the owner. He was selling ads in a guide to a local golf course that will be given to all golfers this summer. Their pro is writing a piece on how to play each hole, and there will be an ad below that. The demographics are compelling; middle and upper income people, many of whom own their own business. A good market for web sites and video.

The guy was a terrific salesman; he asked if he could call me back in two days, and asked who else will be involved in the decision, and said that they were very pleased with the response, and that there may not be a marketing slot open in a week.

But as a reflected on it, I realized that you don’t go to a golf guide when you are looking for marketing expertise. An ad there might increase brand awareness for Mogul Marketing, but it won’t get us leads.

We are better off being visible on LinkedIn and in the Business Review. Trusted places for business people.

Where do people turn when they want your product and service? A trade show, a directory, their friends on Facebook, Google? That is where you want to be. And if you want to talk about how you can look better, shoot me an email, and let’s have coffee.

Thanks,

Cindy

• Strongest currencies and economies: Australia, Norway and Canada
• Weakest: Europe
• People are rotating out of the USD. The dollar is depreciating vs. emerging market currencies.
• Volatility is much greater in Latin America, so if you do business there, it is more important to have a hedging program.
• Doing business in local currency (rather than the dollar) puts you at a competitive advantage
• Latin America has little exposure to European debt, so they are in a good position to weather a European down turn.

If you would like assistance exploring opportunities abroad, please give Cindy Herrmann a call at 518-794-7483.

Your clients are a reflection of you. You want clients who do high quality work with integrity. That are nice, good people.

This makes for healthy, long term, mutually beneficial relationships. Good business.

Alice Pfeiffer, Director of Administration, Barrett Associates

I was reminded of this as I recently spoke with Alice Pfeiffer, as she is getting ready to launch Barrett Associates’ new web site, barrettassoc.com/. Through the whole process of designing their site, taking portraits and pictures of New York State government buildings, Alice and the team at Barrett Associates have been absolutely professional and incredibly nice. They have made it easy to do good work for them.

Barrett Associates provides legislative consulting, regulatory affairs, and government relations, serving as an advocate for their clients with the New York State Legislature, state agencies and the executive branch.

This is just the kind of firm we want as clients.

Cindy Herrmann, Mogul Marketing, talking about the value of business stories. Photo by Patrick Honda, PC Promotional Printing

People – and businesses – like to imitate people – and businesses – that they trust and admire. 


Think about who are your best clients, the ones you would like more like. They may be your most profitable, your most satisfying, most influential, whatever. This is a good candidate for a case study.


A Story

Carolyn Reznick, Chapaqua Public Library photograph by Ray Herrmann, Mogul Marketing

Jim Quinn & Associates wanted to take their business selling library furniture to another level. We had assumed that for a new library, the architect and interior designers would make most of the furniture decisions. 


We did market research calling Quinn’s clients and prospects to learn how purchasing decisions were made. We were surprised to find that librarians make most of the decisions. Architects and designers defer to them because they know the library’s customers best. Probing further we found that librarians are intellectual snobs, and only really trust advice from other librarians.


In the last twelve years we’ve written and photographed countless case studies for Quinn where we interview librarians, and talk about what it is like working with Jim Quinn & Associates. He emails them, mails them, uses them in trade shows, and has them on his web site. Jim Quinn notes, “Librarians love them. They see people like themselves buying our furniture and feel comfortable doing the same. They are fantastic for our business.”

Alan Stern, Stage Right! Organizational Development photograph by Ray Herrmann, Mogul Marketing

Another Story
Alan Stern had been an organizational development consultant and trainer for many years. He had a web site that he had developed himself. He came to us to redesign his site to look more professional. We spoke about case studies. Alan liked the idea, especially about doing them on clients he wanted more like.


We chose two. Saint Peter’s Hospital – because he wanted to do more training in health care, and New York State Audit, because they are extremely creative and open.

Shortly after they were completed, Alan found himself on a plane next to the head of a Wisconsin hospital. Alan happened to have a copy of the Saint Peter’s case study with him and by the end of the trip he had an appointment scheduled in Wisconsin.




I would be glad to talk to you about your business and about stories over a cup of coffee. 
– Cindy

Patrick Honda, P & C Promotional Printing, showing BNI Bucks.

BNI (Business Networking International) has been very good for our business, and it may be good for yours too. Results don’t happen over night; it takes time to build credibility, usually around a year, and then the leads start.

I am a member of the Crossroads Connections chapter of BNI. We meet weekly on Wednesdays from 7:30-9:00am at The Terrace at Beverwyck in Slingerlands (about 5 minutes from Albany). We currently have 21 talented members who I happily refer to anyone needing their services. What I really like is they are not only professionals I respect, they are very nice people.

Our chapter is focused on doing more business and we are actively looking for quality, growth-oriented businesspeople in the Capital Region to join our group. BNI is not for everyone, but those who embrace the process and the early mornings find every meeting a rewarding and educational experience.

Peter McKee, Keller Williams Commercial Real Estate, explaining development issues.

If you are interested in coming to visit one of our meetings please Contact Me Here and I’ll be more than happy to answer any of your questions.

BNI
BNI is a business networking group based on education, communication, camaraderie and referrals.   When you participate in BNI, you are building a team of supportive business partners who act as advisors, mentors, and salespeople dedicated to spreading your business message throughout the community.

The list of categories below is just a sample of the industry professionals we are looking for.  Everyone is welcome and we are happy to have you visit! Visiting is a great way to check out the group and the process.

Richard Schafer, Ship Copy and More, showing off member baby pictures from his new color copier.

• Bookkeeping
• Architect
• Art Gallery
• Banquet Meeting Facilities
• Beauty Salon/Barber Shop
• Career Counseling
• Caterer
• Chiropractic
• Builders
• Dentist
• Electrical Contractor
• Employment Agencies/Executive Search
• Entertainment Consultants/Producers
• Event Planning
• Florists
• Garden Center
• Health & Wellness Programs
• Heating/Cooling Contractor
• Jewelers
• Landscape Architects
• Moving/Self-storage services
• Optical
• Payroll Services
• Pension Services
• Plumbing Contractor
• Property Management
• Public Relations
• Restaurants
• Sales Training
• Security Systems
• Wireless Communications

Schuyler Hatt, Hatt’s Specialty Cleaning,  explaining how to keep your home clean and safe.

Come Visit Us and Experience Great Business Networking
I don’t go to business events just to get out of the office; I want to grow our business and grow as a professional… After a little over a year as a member,  I can honestly say that I look forward to our BNI meetings every single week.  We laugh, we exchange ideas, we pass referrals… It really is amazing the business you can do when you trust and respect the people you meet with.  Joining BNI has been one of my best decisions.

• They start with officers’ reports – how much business has been generated so far this year, number of referrals, new member applications and so on.
• Then there is an educational segment, usually something learned from a business related book, or from BNI corporate.
• Going around the room, everyone has a minute to talk about their business and to ask for referrals.
• Next two members give more in-depth eight minute talks about their businesses. This is where you learn about other businesses in more depth, and get to know other members better so you’re more comfortable referring business to them.

Schuyler Hatt, president, closing the meeting of the Crossroad Connections in Delmar, NY.

• Finally we go around the room another time, and referrals are announced, on one on one meetings and  money earned through referrals from BNI members are reported.

I had heard about BNI for years and was pretty skeptical. I was afraid that people would be too pushy, that I would have trouble delivering leads and would be shamed, or it would be a bunch of dull people who just talked over coffee and didn’t get much business done. I had also heard from people I trust that it had not worked well for them.

So I had ignored BNI for years.

Then I met the president of the Pittsfield, MA BNI at another networking event. She is a graphic designer, a business closely related to our web development and marketing business. She said BNI had been great for her, and she would like to partner with us on projects, and perhaps form a “power team”. She was nice, professional, and not pushy at all.  I went to their visitor’s day, and was very impressed. I liked them talking a lot about “Givers Gain” rather than everyone focusing on how you have to help them. Nice spin.

It turned out that there was another member who felt our businesses over lapped, so I reached out to local BNI managers to see if there was another chapter nearby that did not have a web developer.

At the end of the meeting, names are drawn from the referral slips, and each eight minute speaker gives a present. Here Erik Lehtinen is posing with his new mirror from Patrick Honda, P&C Promotional Printing.

I went to a meeting of the Crossroads Connection in Delmar, NY and was again impressed by the amount of business being passed around. They were having a cocktail party mixer with another chapter later that week and they invited me so I could get a broader sense of what goes on at BNI. This was terrific because I was able to talk to people in the other chapter about how their web development member has done. I was told he has received hundreds of thousands of dollars in referrals. Well, that did it.

Not only were people nice, professional and low key, they were learning from each other and making money. How very nice.

So, I joined the Delmar chapter two months ago. I’ve given referrals and people have taken excellent care of my clients and friends. When you see each other every week, there is strong incentive to treat referrals well.

So far I have received two referrals, one for writing and one for a new web site — both for other members. I’m told that it takes time to get referrals. People have to get to know you and trust you.

Our chapter has a powerful group centered around real estate: a lawyer, a realtor, a loan broker, a contractor, a home inspector, a specialty cleaner (“moldman”) and a roofer — all are able to give each other a substantial number of referrals. We are working on bringing in more members who’s businesses sell to other businesses (B2B).

If you would like to try out a meeting, please come to the Normanside Country Club at the end of Salisbury Road in Delmar, NY any Wednesday morning at 7:30 am. Please feel free to ask questions here or shoot me an email. To learn more, go to the Northeast NY BNI web site, or look at our chapter’s list of members and professions.

SmAlbany has been blessed with a gorgeous day. Go hear one of the presentations.

Animations can be used on your web site, mailed on a CD or DVD, and linked to in an email, tweet, Facebook page or on LinkedIn. So you can use them in many different ways to get more mileage out of your investment.

Interactive ads also tell a story and are more engaging and memorable than static or print ads.

Why bother?

When you tell people about what you do, they tend to zone out, eyes glazing over. It is just too abstract! But then when you start telling them a story about how you helped someone and made a big difference, they lean forward, listen carefully and become engaged. The magic of story!

A Story

Barbara Bird and Brad Morrison use simulation to make ambulatory healthcare facilities more efficient. Kind of makes your brain hurt just reading it. But their work saves these facilities lots of money. They wanted to be able to go to trade shows and showcase the story of what they had done for the Northern Adirondack Planned Parenthood. They were so proud of their work, they wanted to submit it in national competitions, and send CDs about it to prospects.

They told us their story and gave us one picture of the group that worked on the project. From that we developed an animation that works on a CD, on the web, at trade shows, and whether they are there or not. They have shown it hundreds times with great results.

An Ad Story

Berkshire Products has advertised in print publications read by wood workers for some time. They were offered a low cost trial of an online ad, and it has made a huge difference. They get far more click throughs to their web site than they get from print ads, and people “get” what they do better because the ad has a number of images that clearly show what differentiates this lumber yard.

The other night I went to a recital by RPI students and faculty at EMPAC, RPI’s Experimental Performing Arts Center, and was amazed that there was hardly anyone in the audience. The people in the Rensselaer Contemporary Music Ensemble were very good, and playing work that you don’t get an opportunity to hear a lot, including Alabama Song by Kurt Weil (beautifully sung by Lauren Lomanto), an incredible piece by Frederic Rzewski’s Les Moutons de Panurge reminiscent of Terry Riley’s In C, and the premier of a piece by a talented grad student, Anna Lindemann’s Where do you come from little seedling?

When I go to similar concerts at Bard and Williams, the auditorium is always at least 3/4s full… so you can’t argue that there isn’t a local audience for new music. I think that the other colleges have worked harder at a community partnership and simply market better. They also have arguably been at it longer. People in the region don’t think of RPI when they think of music. At the same time, the emails I receive from RPI are in plain text and don’t excite me like the pretty ones I get from Bard. And the print material left around when I go to non-RPI events at EMPAC just gloss over upcoming events. There isn’t enough detail to get me salivating like the more lengthy pieces from Williams and Bard.

The program for the evening was also light on back story. When you’re building an audience, and people aren’t familiar with works, you need to build context around things that they may know, or build a story. The story of the collaboration between the graduate composer, Anna Lindemann, and the faculty cellist, David Gibson, would have been great to read about before coming. The marketing of the event, logically enough, focused on the most well-known piece by Weil… but more story would certainly have brought a bigger audience.

Some recommendations:

• Story is needed to build empathy and to give context to the unfamiliar.
• Stronger graphic marketing material is needed to compel people to go out and experience new things.
• Create a Contemporary Music group on LinkedIn to build audience.
• Give more background on what’s happening at EMPAC on the Facebook Fan page. Talk about what’s happening with artist residencies and what’s happening in rehearsals.
• Make it easier for emails to go viral with a Send to a Friend box on the iEAR emails.  (It is great that there is a Twitter follow button and an email signup on EMPAC’s home page, and Twitter posts are good!).
• Hold more non-RPI events at EMPAC so more people are aware of what’s going on, and have more comprehensive marketing material available.
• Explore more cross marketing with other regional music schools, and performing arts groups.