Hi!  I'm host of the blog at Smith Weaver Smith Inc.  I help people do big deals in business, education, and community.  Deals work the same whether they are to make a sale, secure an investor, create a strategic alliance, raise funds for a nonprofit, build a new program or building. My interests merge in "the art of the "big deal" and I have special passion for small business and women in business.  Hope to hear from you!

A colleague recently pointed out to me the importance of the Whale Hunters concept that we call "launch the boat." That's the critical management decision to go or not go in pursuit of a particular whale or whale deal.  In The Whale Hunters Process three key components--Scout, Hunt, Harvest--launching comes between Scout and Hunt.  It's not a phase of its own--rather it's a key turning point.

Launching the Boat means that you are prepared to commit significant resources to landing this whale.  Your scout's initial research and the haarpooner's initial contact allow you to have confidence in a number of key attributes of this deal:

• the whale meets your target filter criteria
• "whale signs" indicate that the whale is prepared to purchase products and services that you provide
• you have met with a key member of the Buyers' Table who will introduce you to other buyers
• you believe that you can win this business
• this is business that you want
• this is business that you can deliver if you get it

It is expensive to launch a boat.  You can't go after every deal--only those select few for which you have a high probability of winning.

The discipline to make a deliberate, thoughtful decision about launching is the mark of a company that is in control of its resources, is confident about its pipeline, and is becoming successful in a high proportion of its hunts.

We had a great whale hunting session in Scottsdale last week working with the Asia/Pacific sales team of an international company. In the course of the workshop, they reached a very interesting and unexpected insight about their most promising business deals, which was this:

We are not closing the proposals that demonstrate the very best ROI for our prospects. In fact, on our very best proposals, where we believe we can have the biggest positive impact for our customers, we are only closing 20%.  

How would we explain that apparent anomaly? Something's going on that they don't understand. From a logical standpoint, the solution they offer in these best-of--class cases is a slam-dunk no brainer for the client. Yet after they present these proposals, the whales stall, ask for more time to consider, postpone their decision--back off from the whole deal.  In whale hunting terms, the whale is afraid of something.

If you're making great cost-savings proposals that your prospects are not buying, here are some underlying reasons that you might consider:

• Your proposal sounds "too good to be true." The whale is afraid you cannot or will not make good on your promise.
• The whale does not fully understand how you will go about achieving this benefit and is afraid that your solution may cause unforeseen problems with their employees or vendors.
• The whale is afraid of making a mistake, leaving it with an untried system or process or solution or product which might produce a short-term gain but will soon become obsolete and dysfunctional.
• The whale is afraid that your solution is better suited for a different kind of enterprise than the whale's.
• The whale does not need "the best" solution and the potential disruption that its implementation might cause--it only needs a "good enough" solution.
• The whale has other pains, problems, and opportunities that are more urgent or more important than the issue you propose to solve.

If you ever experience this kind resistance in your sales process, work with your team to brainstorm all of the possible explanations for the whale's resistance. Even better, talk to the whales that have resisted your proposal and find out why.  You may be amazed at the reasons you did not anticipate.

I'm conducting a Whale Hunters workshop Winning Whales with an RFP on Tuesday, November 18, 2008 at The Strategy Studio at Keystone Crossing in Indianapolis, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

If you design, write, or otherwise help to prepare responses to corporate Requests for Proposals (RFP), Requests for Quotations or Qualifications (RFQ), technology development proposals such as Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants, or other bids, contract proposals, or grant proposals, this one-day workshop is for you.  It's intended for a team of two or more from the same organization.

Click here for details, register online at Acteva, or call Kaydi at 317-815-1170 for more information.

Blog readers get a $100 discount by entering  promo code X8NJSZ online or by phone.

The Wall Street waters are frigid and the skies are grey.  Yet Warren Buffett said last week that it's time to buy U. S. equities.  He repeated his simple rule: "Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful." 

Buffet's advice isn't only good for investing; it's good for scouting.

 In The Whale Hunting Process™ we advise company leaders to build a whale chart--that is, a list of specific companies that you want to hunt.  After thoroughly researching those companies, your scouts watch them, tracking specific signs of readiness to buy.   [See Chapter 4, Whale Hunting]

It's time to revisit and revise your whale chart.  Just as investors are looking for deals--the opportunity to buy a good stock at a bargain price--you should be looking for whales that will emerge from a down market as big winners.  They are investing in products and services; they are expanding their market position; they are acquiring other companies, opening new markets, and in general capitalizing on others' misfortune.  These are the whales that you want to be hunting.

How should you approach the whale chart revision?

• Revisit your target filter.  Are all of your categories still relevant?  Do you need to add one or more new categories about how the whales behave in a diving market?
• Run your target filter through your market or markets again.  If you locate new or different companies, have the scout create new dossiers on these companies.
• Brainstorm with your team the kinds of companies that are likely to do well in a tough economy.  Debt counselors, career counselors, bankruptcy attorneys, and third-party debt collectors, for example.  Colleges, universities, and trade schools catering to the working adult.  Companies that sell efficiencies-cooperative buying, spend management, systems outsourcing.  Companies that sell essential commodities.  Companies that manage prisons, transport prisoners, or provide security.   Do you have products and services for companies like these?  If not, what are the companies in your verticals that you think will best take advantage of the market downturn?
• Determine the whale signs you will watch for.  These may include analysts' ratings, guru recommendations (such as what Warren Buffet is buying), published stories, press releases, and company-sponsored investor teleconferences or webinars.
• Arm your scout with one or two investor newsletters--especially letters specific to your industry verticals.  See what whales the investment advisors are recommending. Watch for signs of their growth-related activity

I like Cabot Wealth Advisory as a free daily newsletter.  Check out their blog at The Iconoclast Investor.  The company also offers ten paid-subscription investment newsletters.

Watching stock prices plummet and listening to scare-tactic talk show hosts will not tell you a thing.  Actively searching your waters for those companies who are quietly getting stronger as others weaken will be good investment of a scout's time.

As Buffett also says, "If you wait for the robins, spring will be over."  Likewise, if you wait to see the whales breaching, they will be north of you.

At a Whale Hunters seminar in Phoenix, Laura Galante of Sitewire Interactive Marketing spoke as a representative of "the whale." Based upon her experience as a marketing director/buyer of marketing services, she confirmed the whale hunting premise of the buyers' table--that team of people who influence buying decisions in a very large company.

We talk about the "polar bear"--the economic buyer, who has the power to say "yes" to a sale.  But Laura added the concept of the "hibernating polar bear"--one who is not going to make the "yes" decision initially but can ultimately say "no."

One hibernating polar bear is the C-level person to whom the key buyer reports.  Not interested in any of the details, that person simply wants to ratify any decision to spend money, even money that is budgeted.  Another hibernating polar bear is a legal department that refuses to authorize the project after funding has been committed.  Any example is a legal department that would not allow a corporate blogging project under any circumstances.  One more hibernating polar bear is a CFO who slashes the budget or redirects funding.

As a whale hunter, you may never meet these bears in hibernation.  Occasionally one will pop into your big presentation, but that is iffy.  What can you do?

According to Laura in her "whale" role, your best bet is to make it very easy for your key buyer to defend and sell the project "up."  This means one paragraph, chart, slide, or page of data/info that summarizes the ROI (return on investment).

Today bloggers around the world are writing about poverty. We are glad to be part of this global awareness initiative.

I am thinking about how the topics of this blog--business development, women entrepreneurs, small business growth, and big deals--relate to the poverty topic.

And I think the biggest story is the growth of entrepreneurship around the developing world, made possible by micro-lending and/or deliberate philanthropy, to equip people to start and grow a new business.  These people are often women who build a business using a modest capital investment, some good advice, and their innovation and determination to succeed.  From cell phones to raising crops to animal husbandry to arts and crafts, women are starting new business around the world to lift their families out of poverty.

The term "social entrepreneur" refers to a successful business person applying business growth principles to social purpose. If you want to learn more about social entrepreneurship, here are some good resources and fantastic examples:

Skoll Foundation
PBS:  The New Heroes
Change.org
Social Edge

If you want to take your business savvy and use it to alleviate poverty in your own community or anyplace in the world, think about social entrepreneurship!

• History.  If you've had a history of growth fueled by bigger deals with bigger customers, put it on display for the whale.  Explain how you have handled this wonderful problem before.
• Testimonial.  Put the whale in touch with one or two other big clients, the ones who were your previous biggest ones.  Ask them to talk about how smoothly you handled the ramp up and understood their needs.
• Process.  Provide excessive detail and timelines about how things will work, who will do what, when it can be expected to happen, what controls you have in place, how you will handle unforeseen problems.  Illustrate the kind of project management tools, tracking systems, and assessment mechanisms that the whale company would expect and find familiar.
• Boat.  The Whale Hunters refer to "launching your boat" as the analogy to team-based selling to whales.  Be creative about who's on your boat when you meet with the buyers' table-perhaps your banker, your HR director and/or staffing company, logistics support, help desk, training and support staff. Be sure you coach them to present as a seamless team dedicated to serving this whale.

Fear trumps advantage.  Allay the whale's fears about being too big for you, and you will have smooth sailing to demonstrate the benefits of how you plan to serve your biggest customer.

In Chapter Ten of Whale Hunting, we talk about the traits of a fast-growth culture.  A culture of abundance, not scarcity, comes first.  But it's hard lately to keep your head in that abundant world when everything around you screams "scarcity" and loss. 

So I have a little Whale Hunters advice to offer to your village during these trying days:

• a culture of abundance is more about perception than about cash.   Can you help your team to believe that they will have the resources they need when they need them?  Involve your team in making sure that resources are available.  Maybe these are nontraditional resources like flexible time schedules, student interns, or early vacations.
• a culture of abundance is about cooperation, not competition.  Many whales have ordered spending cuts by so much percent, or imposed a hiring freeze, or restricted travel.  These across-the-board measures anger the best people, who know that spending, hiring, and travel decisions should be business case decisions, not blanket mandates.  Whales don't have the time or capacity to make nuanced decisions about spending, but you do.
• a culture of abundance is inside your own head, too.  Fear mongers have the stage right now--fear plays well and always draws an audience.  But you have abundant assets and resources--your personal creativity and innovation, your priceless relationships, your energy and commitment to your business or cause, your community standing. 

Don't let yourself be alone.  Surround yourself and your team with an abundance of ideas, collaboration, allies, and planning opportunities.

Oh how we love to tout our services!  Typically as we plan to introduce ourselves to a whale we are focused on us--our mission, our products and services, our value proposition.   But of course the prospects hear that every day from lots of channels and broadcasters.

What if we are all about discovery?  Asking the whale about their business development issues, their needs, their aspirations?  I guarantee if they do all the talking they will believe that you completely understand them!  And I don't mean just asking about their pain--I mean asking about their vision and their uncertainty about how to attain it.

Just think about what your market approach would look like if on the first visit you simply asked great questions and attended to the answers. What if you position as a thought leader conducting a knowledge-based interview of your prospect's big ideas, those ideas that they are uncomfortable taking forward for fear of rejection
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It's easy to talk about strategies or tactics to put the customer first.  But often we are more attuned to the message WE have to convey

For some great examples about tailoring your approach to your client's profiles, check out futurenow.com. 

We would love to highlight your approaches to the initial conversation--do you have great discovery tactics to share?
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Last week I presented a whale hunting orientation seminar at Arizona State's Sky Song  Innovation Center in Scottsdale.  It had an interesting twist--the first presenter was my client Margie Traylor of Sitewire, who talked about her company's growth as a result of whale hunting.  Then after my presentation, we heard from one of the whales that Sitewire landed.  Greg Chapman, now of SkyMall, was the head of Sears' catalog division when he hired Sitewire Interactive Marketing, a small company, to help him achieve his vision of a totally new approach to online sales and marketing for Sears.  So from the whale's perspective, Greg talked about why he chose Sitewire and gave advice to other small businesses who want to work with whales.  Some points he made:

I spent the week in Phoenix where I met two extraordinary whale hunters! 

Margie Traylor is the CEO of Sitewire, an interactive ad agency that attracts new customers for its clients through online marketing strategies.  Sitewire hosted the seminar at which I introduced whale hunting concepts and practices to other fast-growth companies in Phoenix.

Elaine Ralls, CEO of AIR Marketing, gave us a tour of her facilities, including the Whale Hunting Room--complete with role assignments, target filter, whale chart, and details of hunts in progress!

Both of these women business leaders read Whale Hunting: How to Land Big Sales and Transform Your Company, [click in the sidebar to order] the book that I co-authored, purchased copies for their team, and set about to implement the process.  They are having extraordinary success and they are generous in talking about whale hunting being the driver of this phase of their success.

I think it's so cool that people have read the book and moved ahead to adopt the whale hunting process.  If you're someone who's doing that, would you let me know?

Seems it's not possible today to be a blogger, or a woman, or a man, anyone with a point of view about anything, to avoid an opinion about Gov. Sarah Palin's selection as the Republican VP candidate.

I don't have a political opinion to share at this moment.  I don't remember any VP candidates in my lifetime who have inspired my choice for president, and her selection is indeed historic but not unlike many other less-than-perfect candidates.  If they were perfect, they'd have the #1 spot on the ticket--right?  Yeah, right.

But this week's events do have significant implications for women, both as keynote speakers and as business owners and business professionals.  Here are the lessons I've gleaned.

Lesson #1--if you are a women seeking to land a big deal, it will be reported first and foremost about your being a woman, not the nature of your deal.  The bigger your deal and the more it involves business and politics (rather than, say, education and nonprofit agencies) the more significant your being female will be perceived, usually in a negative light.

Lesson #2--whatever choices you have made about marriage, family, career, leisure activities--people who don't even know you will be polarized about your choices.  You might as well choose what works for you and your immediate family and friends because you can't please a fickle public or press.

Lesson #3--No matter what proud title you have earned--Governor, for instance, or Mayor, or Dr. -- you will be referred to as Mrs. so-and-so, in fact whether you are married or not.  I am dumbstruck by the references to "Mrs. Palin" as if she were not one of only 50 governors of states of the U.S.  Last I checked, being Gov. of Alaska was more than a ceremonial role.

Lesson #4--saddest of all.  Some of your most severe critics will be other women.  Especially if you are not a card-carrying member of an organized feminist movement.  Can't we learn to support one another's rights to compete even if we don't agree on the agenda?

Lesson #5--when you are a keynote speaker, don't risk being funny, or confident, or assertive, or any other qualities that people associate with business and political leadership especially male leadership.

I don't know yet whether Governor Sarah Palin is an inspired choice for VP or a cynical last-ditch effort.  But clearly she is a "real person" who exhibits all of the contradictory qualities and choices that a modern American woman faces.  American business women need to give her a little room to breathe and insist that she be judged on her merits--no matter how our opinions divide on the "merit test."

I wrote a newsletter today about a feature of the RFP (Request for Proposals) process:  it's on the topic of the Open Meeting.  I won't repeat it here--you can check it out online if it's a keen topic for you.

Do you have sometimes have to sell by submitting an RFP?  And if so, do you have a corporate RFP strategy?

Sometimes we think because the RFP is a written document that the ordinary sales rules don't apply.  Chase them all--see what happens--low risk, low reward.

However, responding to an RFP is a high risk, low reward strategy unless you can establish with certainty that you have a better-than-even probability of winning.  The hidden costs of an RFP response are considerable--staff time, research, even copies and overnight shipping fees--yikes!  These add up. Not to mention the opportunity cost--what if you had deployed your team in a different direction?

WBE and MBE companies almost always bid for government work through RFPs.  That's why it's important to create a powerful RFP process at the core of your business development plan.  Consider RFP training, invest in a system of business proposal writing, engage a grant writer or fundraising consultant for your next big thing.

Second is the worst place to finish in this game.  Why?  You paid the most to lose.

I hosted an event for friends and colleagues to attend an Indiana Fever WNBA game a couple of days ago.  It was Olympics Night, and Fever Olympians Tamika Catchings (winner of Gold medal for US) and Tully Bevilaqua (winner of Silver medal for Australia) were recognized as well as playing the regular season game against Connecticut.

A local sportscaster opined that the Fever undermined their business growth by allowing key players to go to Beijing, play fiercely on behalf of the USA, and return home tired.  (First night on the home court, they lost their game).

I can see the point.  But is there a bigger point?  The American women's basketball team is defining dominance on the international stage.  Australia's team improves continually in the drive to defeat us.  The women who represent us in this sport and many others are breaking barriers that require no subsidies, no legal intervention, no special cases, no special pleading.  They take their place on the world's athletic stage and bring home medals.

For women in business, I think the lessons are clear.  Train for dominance.  Excel in competition.  Delight your clientele.

And by the way, would the lessons be any different for men?

Last week I went to Mickey's Camp with about 140 women.  I am a proud alum--my name badge sported a number "2" certifying that I was attending my second of two annual events.  Here's my camp picture from last year!

Mickey's Camp is sort of like a bucket list for grownups.  We have world-class instructors for a bunch of activities ranging from--well, ranging from jewelry making and decorative painting to rifle shooting, tower climbing, and self defense.  I shudder to report that this year's highlight was pole dancing.  [I abstained]  So you may wonder what this has to do with sales or business development?

A little history.  Mickey Maurer [prominent Indianapolis business leader] has been hosting Mickey's Camp (for men) for eight years.  And a lot of women leaders have leaned on him to open it to women because it's not just fun it's also networking etc. etc.  Eventually Mickey capitulated and--great decision--opened a comparable camp for women.  I mean I for one do NOT anticipate a camp in which some of my 20+ cabin mates, sharing 2 showers and 2 toilets, are men.  Not to mention how many fuses they will blow with their electric shavers.

No, it doesn't have to be co-ed.  Mickey's Camp is a great illustration of business growth strategies that are simply the outcomes of building new relationships.  It's exactly what business women have claimed for many years--being with "business people" in informal settings does in fact grow business!  Here's how:

Information.  Even around a campfire, you learn a lot about who does what and what's going on.  It's a barometer of upcoming opportunities.

Recognition.  I did not personally interact with all 140 women.  But we all have the list of names, and whenever we encounter one another in the future, we will recognize one another "by face" to match with a name.

Permission.  By virtue of the shared experience, we grant one another the right to add us to email blast lists for keeping in touch.

Pulse.  What are business women thinking?  What are they doing?  What's on our minds and in our hearts?  Camp conversations reveal core issues.

Friendship. I made a few new friends at camp--women who will become important in my life and I in theirs.  Relaxed time and exposure to new people in a stimulating environment is a recipe for some people to connect with others at a truly sigificant level.

So that's how I spent my summer vacation. What kind of "time out" experiences have also been helpful to your business growth?

I posted a new podcast today about finding "ambergris" -- that priceless, elusive substance inside a whale that equates to new, better, and more rewarding business with an existing key account.

Business growth multiplies when you mine current customers for new opportunities while also developing new sales to new customers.

Here's how to start:  bring together all of your key people who interact with this whale--those who sell, those who deliver, those who service.  Systematically discover your shared knowledge about the customer.

I call it Seeing Through the FOG--fact, opinion, gossip--to learn what knowledge you share.  It's a humbling yet powerful experience to discover how much you know together that you don't share in any formal setting.

If you are a small to midsize company doing business with a whals, chances are good the whale has you positioned in a small niche--and it's hard to break out of that llittle room.  How good is your team at growing your business with current accounts?  Would love to hear a case!

Another question that people ask me--"I am a very small business.  I don't have a big staff to assign as members of the boat.  How can I hunt whales without a boat?"

The answer is--you shouldn't.  Business growth by doing bigger deals with bigger customers is a team strategy, so maybe you are just not ready.  But many entrepreneurs start their business by leaving a whale company and providing their service back into that company as an independent contractor--so if your first client is a whale, you need a team to serve that whale, and you can probably serve another one.

Who might be on your boat?

I get this question a lot:  "What do you do if you land a whale and they treat you badly--like implementing a 90 - 120 days payment cycle?"

Many small business owners have had this experience with a whale or two in their history--a much bigger than usual account with a much bigger customer.  It's especially true for women owned businesses that go after government contracts or work as subcontractors to the prime. 

Some whales are killer whales--so called because they will kill even their own kind.  They know they are whales and behave like bullies.  They know that even though you have a contract, you can't realistically afford to enforce it.  Landing a killer whale can literally kill a small company.

What can you do?  Best strategy--learn what you need to know up front.

• Look for signs of a killer whale long before you ink a contract.  How do they treat you through the buying process?  Are they open and above-board?  Do you feel like a valued associate?  Will they answer questions directly and explicitly?  If you are uncomfortable before you sign, bet your life it can only get worse
• What are the terms of the contract?  Is it all designed to protect them or is it a mutually beneficial agreement?
• Do you like these people?  Has your CEO met with the CFO to discuss invoicing requirements and accounts receivable?  Have they agreed to your standard terms for billable expenses, down payments, etc.?
• Have you asked all of your questions?  If the contract is strict on your delivery yet vague on the terms of payment, are they willing to negotiate?
• Can you structure your deal in stages such that you can cancel if during the first stage you are unsatisfied with how they do business?

Check out Being Played by a Whale for more info.

Did you ever land a killer whale?  Would love to hear about it.