Know-How Exchange : Strategy

fakeplasticco,

hope you're having a great day! As Randall states there seem to be a lot of approaches you can take on this question.

DEVELOP RELATIONSHIPS AND THE OPPORTUNITES FOR PARTNERSHIPS WILL COME...
Developing partnerships with any organization, company or individual takes time. This all begins with the fundamental steps of relationship building. One way you could open up a greater stream of opportunity is to join the Chamber in your area. That way you can at least know that other individuals within this nucleus are like you...people who are interested in working together, networking together and partnering to expand opportunities. Ask for information about the media companies within the Chamber and go out to introduce yourself to those companies.

ASK THESE QUESTIONS FIRST...
Ask yourself the question what companies within this group would be interested in what I would like to propose? In other words what companies would be in the market for the solutions my idea can bring them?

Also ask do I really understand the benefits my concepts contribute to others? If you really do understand the benefits then you should began to immediately see the specific customers in the business communities where you are currently located.


CHOOSE YOUR PARTNERS WISELY...
Next you need to focus yourself by asking the much deeper questions. What media company would have a serious interest in my concept? Do I know who the media companies are that may be interested? Or am I going to have to do more research on media companies?

Seriously a good business plan and marketing plan should flush out what direction you need to move in now. When we're not sure who we should contact that means we need to examine our strategies closer and think about who our customer is. Every product/service should be so well honed that we see the customer type emerge right out of the product or service development. Some of the advantages you have listed should make it very easy to approach almost anyone. So I think narrowing down the specific advantages to the end user would be helpful to you and those you are communicating with about doing business with you. Is there anything else I can do for you?

Your Servant, Deremiah, *CPE (Customer Passion Evangelist)

THERE ARE NO REAL PROBLEMS...ONLY A FAILURE TO BE CREATIVE...

The who to contact within the company can also be approached from many levels. There are many philosphies about who you should reach out to first. In other words there are many ways to do this...to achieve the same end result.

CURRENT RELATIONSHIPS...
Some of this will be determined by the current relationships you have. Some of this will be determined by the current relationships your friends, relatives or other business associates have. So what do you have and who do you know?

WHO TO REACH OUT TO FIRST...
In my worldview I was trained to contact the CEO or President. In my experience that's always worked for me BUT something else might work for you or others. You might want to read the book "Selling to Vito". It is helpful in how to reach the very important top officer in each company. Remember you really don't have a problem that is not easy to solve. What you need to do more of is think creatively. Leverage the knowledge and relationships you currently have and engage others to participate in your dream. Since this is your dream are you having fun yet?

Your Servant, Deremiah, *CPE (Customer Passion Evangelist)

I’ve only been a member of this forum for a year or so and there appear to be a stream of “Good Ideas” which appear to go nowhere. Well, I never see anything about them when I monitor my media links or search for some follow up.

The main reasons appear to be a lack of a deliverable idea (Or a rubbish concept), an inability to formulate a business case (A 20 column spreadsheet with a couple of explanatory paragraphs beats 20 explanatory paragraphs and a couple of columns of figures) and an inability to reach the right people to put your case to.

Randall has an understanding of the so-called “Hard Keys” – mainly the things you won’t want to even start to think about at this stage. I’d listen to him very carefully. Deremiah has an uncanny ability to hit the emotional nails on the head. His ideas might be hard to put down into an actionable list, but they are very worthy of deep study.

I can offer only one word of caution. There is a feeling in media land that there are no new ideas under the sun, just re-workings of old ones. If your concept is attractive and you deliver a workable but untested business case, there is the possibility that it will be rejected as “Not made here” or “Done before” regardless of the truth of the case. Then a year later, you will find your idea in one form or another being deployed to their advantage, leaving you and your family lawyer to argue against a media giant’s law firm with 200 partners.

Follow the advice to develop your contacts and take the advice from our members experienced in these matters, but for heavens sake, protect your intellectual property. One of the best ways to do this on a low budget it to trial the idea; proof of purpose through a prototype is, I believe, worth about 300 pages of pre-contractual legal papers.

Good luck

Steve Alker
Unimax Solutions