Know-How Exchange : Strategy

Randall,

This sounds like a neat product/service. I think I might find "distribution partners" -- perhaps banks that serve the same business market. Provide a reasonable incentive for bankers to recommend the program and set up an appointment to present the program to the decision-makers. It shouldn't take much, because bankers don't have much to say to their clients anyway, and they are supposed to have face-time with clients whenever possible.

First National Bank in Dallas used to be a client, and they were always looking for a way to offer added services/products to their commercial customers. (Alas, First in Dallas is no longer around ... though not for that reason!)

I also suspect that a face-to-face meeting would be best for this kind of service, with all the factoids you've presented, a few testimonials, and a simple demo of how easy the system is to use, how rapidly learning takes place, etc. And a very professional leave-behind brochure that assures the target audience that the company is "for real," has it's Is dotted and Ts crossed, and is prepared to invest in the great idea.

Hope this helps some. I'll keep thinking on it and let you know if I come up with anything else.

I love projects like this, where the product is truly novel and results can be clearly demonstrated. (I have one like that now, and it's a real kick.)

I agree with Billc24 - get some case studies done. Basically, in your post, you have repeated that there is a proven ROI - but I read this and am skeptical. Case studies or other methods which can back up your statement would go a long way toward relieving my skepticism.

Normally I would tell someone to focus on the monetary returns. But in this case, you may want to remind the companies of the pain they feel in people not being efficient due to monetary problems. You may want to repeat this a few times, and maybe talk about the symptoms a manager would see if someone was having this trouble. The hope ifs that you would make a connection with a company - that they would see these symptoms in one or more of their current employees (so they know they are feeling the pain).

You segment your market by geography (Texas) and employee count (50+). Would it also be good to segment by type of employees? Would this be the type of thing that lower paid employees (blue collar and service workers) would more likely benefit from than professionals?

Randall,

a lot of great advice has already been offered but having spent a few years providing funding to those who have higher debt ratios I believe your biggest challenge is going to be in getting participation. Very few people will go public in their testimony about their own debt problems. So how do you generate a spirit of voluntary co-operation...

USE REFERRALS...WITH REWARDS.
We found the reason why we got a great deal of clients was because we used a referral program and by adding a rewards system of some type you help urge the client in the direction of recognizing what's in it for them.

GOING PUBLIC ABOUT THEIR OWN DEBT...IS TOUGH BUT...
Naturally people who have a debt problem and they recieve a positive resolution tend to be estatic about sharing that solution with others. But often times they share outside of circles with in their own immediate social circles because of the shame and stigma that being in debt carries with it so...

YOU MUST FIND A WAY TO MOTIVATE THEM TO TALK...
and one way to do that is to offer them more of what the immediate solution brought them which is financial freedom. Offer them financial rewards to inspire them to talk. Touch their WIIFM button What's In It For Me. When they can see what is in it for them they will be a little bolder to talk.

USE CUSTOMER PASSION EVANGELISM & EVANGELIZE ONE PERSON AT A TIME>>>
Get your participants who are now also WINNERS of the program to assist you in the process of enlisting others in the next level of Customer Passion Evangelism and the skys the limit. Is there anything else that I can do for you Randall? Seriously I'd love to help.

Your Servant, Deremiah, *CPE (Customer Passion Evangelist)
or Capturing Peoples Emotions.

Hi Randall-

Here's a couple of ideas:
1. Target a handful of companies and find out when they have their 401K advisor coming in to make presentations. I know ours comes a couple times a year. Present them with the concept of using this service to free up debt, so that they can invest in the 401k/retirement future. Tying this into retirement might be an interesting angle.

2. AMEX features companies in their billing statements that offer products/services. This might be an interesting place to try to interest execs that use a company AMEX card.

3. Get the company some press! Right a press release on the stats that you quoted here. If you write this in an article format, I have to believe the local Texas papers would be willing to pick it up. It's an interesting topic and that might even start a grass roots movement of people asking their employers to look into it. You could even hit the business journals, i.e. Wall Street Journal, to see if they will pick up the article.

4. Think broader! Use that same press release and hit the CEO type pubs, Forbes, CEO, Business Week, etc. Someone should bite on this!

5. I'm not sure if this will hit the size companies you are looking for, but what about hitting Chamber of Commerce meetings? The local one here has two "Leads an Needs" meetings a month that facilitate networking in the business community. One company usually sponsors the meeting and gets a 10 minute infomercial at the beginning of the meeting. That could be a great local place to hit some decision makers.

Hope this helps.

Jeff

hi Randall

great advice from all the experts. your way out, i believe, lies in the disadvantages and stigma associated with debt.

you have mentioned that employee productivity goes up as their debt gets reduced thru using this training program. even if someone doesnt have debt, the training will increase his net cash inflow. Again you have mentioned most of employees would not like company poking nose into their finances.

so, IMHO, why dont you reposition the entire Training Program. Position this as n Employee Financial and Motivational Training Program in which employers will witness increased productivity rather than a training program to reduce debt (touchy issue for employees) and increase productivity.

the new positioning will make the employees think that the company is concerned about their wellbeing, an empolyye-oriented company wehre employees wellbeing comes first, while your current positioning is more of a productivity-oriented company where company performance comes first.

based on this new positioning (basically this positioning is directed towards the employees mostly but also to the employers) you will prepare the following

1. prepare a sales brochure in which you mention the figures of increasing productivity by 20% and ROI of 300% and

2. like others have mentioned prepare a short case studies of testimonials include in that sale brochure.

3. like you have mentioned that Educating the Employers is the disadvantage, educate them as a program designed to improve employee motivation by improving thier finances which will in turn benefit the employer in terms of productivity.

4. when you are making a sales call/pitch, take the person you are dealing with (the HR Head or Head of Finance) as the example. ask him/her to tell you the financial cash in and out flow of him, ask him if he has any debt or not (expect he will not divulge correct info) and show him the calculation of his improvement due to this program and show him the bigger picture of how the program also improves the cmpany Productivity as a whole. in the end show him how the Bottom Line is improved as suggested by Conrad.

5. since you will not be concentrating on Debt in communication rather "improving finances/cash flow" to employees, in that case, once you get one company as a client, you can arrange Seminars in which, participants will bring all the financial information and calculator like u mentioned, and you will show them the Improvement Potential. you can invite all employees to bring their spouse.

6. during this seminar you also highlight your website as well a Hotline number in which anyone can discreetly and confidentially get more help to have their problem solved. this will motivate the employees to talk as suggested by Deremiah and they are not going public with their debt information.

7. your website will remain, and you will also maintain the current practice of annonyous client enrollment.

8. you will publish articles on this issue on your clients behalf in relatd trade magazines, as well as other well reputed magazines as suggested by others.

9. Like Zahid mentioned, Blogs and your website can also be a good source of teaching both employers and employees regarding this issue.

while doing all this, you use all the marketing related information that you have mentioned. use all the great marketing, communicating advice provided by the experts.

but IMHO, the key is repositioning. make it a program that ensures the employers can improve Productivity and Bottom Line without poking nose in employees life and embarassing them.

hope this helps. do let us know what you think.

good luck and cheers!!

There's another angle, Randall. Governments around the world are concerned about national savings programs because of the "greying" of the population. Soon more will be in retirement than in work... The consequence of NOT building wealth for the future is dramatic.

So... If employees start to realise this later rather than sooner, who will they put the bite onto, to help get them up the wealth ladder - their EMPLOYERS!

By helping employees build wealth and control their debt, employers will not only be increasing their business productivity for the reasons you outlined above, but they may also be heading off potential future large wage claims at the pass.

In effect, they are getting more bang for their wage buck.

Hope this helps.