Sales & Marketing Insights

1. Sales & Marketing Insights Midwest Entrepreneur's Forum Debra Kurtz President Kurtz Consulting Inc MEF- October 10, 2005

2. About Kurtz Consulting • We provide Sales & Marketing Solutions • Strategic Planning & New Business Development • New Product Development/Portfolio Management • Marketing Plans and Marketing Communications • Marketing Research, Segmentation & Data Mining • Sales Force Optimization • Customer Relationship Management • Industries and Markets: • Medical Products • Consumer Products MEF- October 10, 2005

3. Top Line Recommendations Sales & Marketing Insights • Know Your Customer • Business Advisory Board • Networking for the Entrepreneur Agenda MEF- October 10, 2005

4. Knowing Your Customer Benefits Repeat business/ referrals from the customer Find more customers Develop more products/ services to sell MEF- October 10, 2005

5. Getting to Know Your Customer • How do they use your product – ask the question and observe for yourself • What industry are they in – learn about it • What is their business model/How do they compete/What’s their competitive advantage • Ask what you could do to strategically help them • Attend their trade shows, read their trade journals, talk to their sales people MEF- October 10, 2005

6. Segmenting Your Customers • When you have multiple customers, learn what makes them different • Segment your customer base using key differentiators • Some Possible differentiators • The Customer’s industry or market • The Sales channel • Size (or potential size) of the customer • Segmentation allows sales & marketing staff to create customer intimacy with efficiency MEF- October 10, 2005

7. Sample Segmentation Industry Type Industry A Industry B Industry C Large $ Large A Large B Large C Med A Med B Med C Account Size Small A Small B Small C Small $ MEF- October 10, 2005

8. Case Study: X-Ray Manufacturer • 3 markets: Veterinarians, Chiropractors, and Medical • Deep knowledge on Vets and Chiropractors, and had dominant market share in these niches. • Little knowledge on Medical segment Three Market Types Area of study Two account types: national accounts and independent accounts Vets Nat’l Chiros Nat’l No Nat’l Medical Indepen- dent Vets Indepen- dent Chiros Indepen- dent Medical MEF- October 10, 2005

9. Case Study: X-Ray Manufacturer • Findings: • Orthopedists were identified as the most attractive niche within the medical segment. • The orthopedist market is growing 10%+/year. • The company’s products were well-received by orthopedists. • An orthopedic distributor group was identified to handle sales of the company’s product. • Results: Company sales increased 20% in one year MEF- October 10, 2005

10. Role of a Business Advisory Board The Advisory Board is a well-rounded team, chosen by you, to help coach and guide you in growing your business Surrounds the entrepreneur with seasoned talent from outside the organization Facilitates in setting goals and helps the entrepreneur stay on track • Entrepreneurs can become isolated, so external viewpoints can be important • Small organizations often can’t afford to hire business advisors • Once you set goals with your Advisory Board, you feel compelled to make progress because you don’t want to let your Board down MEF- October 10, 2005

11. Sources of Advisory Board Members • Friends and Family – usually work for free • Board Members from outside your industry can offer fresh viewpoints • Retirees can provide rich and tireless contribution • Don’t choose clones of yourself • Business Colleagues and Industry Contacts – probably expect some remuneration • Contacts from networking groups like MEF • Banker, Accountant, Financial Planner • Professional Sources – definitely expect remuneration • Action International • TEC (The Executive Committee) MEF- October 10, 2005

12. Networking for the Entrepreneur Benefits of Networking Aim for activity in 3 types of Networking Organizations Increase Sales, Get Leads For the business Continuing Education, Staying Current Giving Back to Others 3 types of Networking • Industry Events • Business Networking • International (BNI – • BniChicagoland.com) • Business Marketing • Associations • (bmachicago.org) • MEF • MIT Enterprise Forum • (mitefchicago.org) • Univ Chicago Grad • School of Business • (http://www.chicagogsb.edu/alumni/roundtable/entrepreneurial) • Charitable and NPO • organizations • Rotary & Kiwanis • Religious organizations • Community groups, • chambers of • commerce Examples MEF- October 10, 2005

13. Small talk – find common ground Focus on helping the other person first Get contact talking – listen for problems, needs, issues Use effective probes How are you doing? How is your business? How has the economy affected you? Offer ideas/suggestions or ways you might help Ask “What can I do to be helpful to YOU?” Then focus on your needs Provide a brief overview of your situation including areas of pursuit Ask for advice, information, ideas, or contacts Summarize discussion/next steps Thank you – follow-up note/email. Keep/maintain database of information/referrals Networking Tips MEF- October 10, 2005

14. Next Steps Debra Kurtz Kurtz Consulting Inc www.debrakurtz.com 224/715.1538 MEF- October 10, 2005