When I started my sales career at IBM I was given territory that was the dregs of the dregs. Over the previous three years, the territory hadnāt generated more than $300K. In the beginning, my average sale was $15K ā on a quota of $1 million. My boss told me that if I didnāt make quota in the first year I would be out of a job. To make matters worse, I knew that I couldnāt return to the corporate accounting position Iād held previously. It was sink or swim time.
In my situation, I succeeded by partnering with everyone who sold software, services or supplemental hardware in my territory. Thatās what Vendor Market Development Funds (MDF) are all about.
In the high tech computer and telecommunications industry where small companies frequently resell larger companiesā products and services, there is an opportunity to leverage these market development funds. These funds are provided by the manufacturer to help their alliance partners promote the manufacturerās products.
Whether youāre involved in the high tech computer and telecommunications industry or not, you may have access to similar funds from your alliance partners ā and it makes good business sense to leverage them to their fullest to grow your company. And if you are in the IT or telecommunications industry, you donāt want to leave the opportunity for free money sitting on the table.
Itās not just getting money to fund your lead generation campaigns, although thatās a great place to start. Itās about partnering with your vendors to grow your business. Needless to say, it was successful for me, and can be for your company, too.
Here are three situations when you should look for vendor funding:
- You donāt have enough leads. This is a common situation. You need leads to grow your business, but other than referrals, you canāt seem to get enough on your own. Maybe your sales reps arenāt skilled at hunting. They can close, but new business development is a challenge. You turn to your vendors for leads, but they never seem to send enough. Using MDF funds will help finance lead generation activities that fill your pipeline.
- Youāre in a sales slump. Savvy use of MDF funds can propel you ahead of your competitors. Leveraging MDF youāre able to do more marketing, nurturing and lead generation activities. You may choose to execute an email campaign, run a series of events, or invest in Google AdWords to drive new leads. You might even have enough funds to secure a new email list, outsourced calling, or marketing automation software.
- You need expertise. Building thought leadership isnāt easy. In fact, the art of successfully implementing outbound marketing is challenging. Letās say you need to improve your SEO ranking, but you donāt have the internal resources or skills to do it. Or, you want to put a custom lead generation strategy in place but arenāt sure where to begin. MDF funds could potentially help you engage thought leaders to assist you in taking your new business development to the next level.
Itās not unfathomable to think you can get vendor funds to support your marketing activities ā no matter what size your business. Your vendors want you to succeed because theyāll succeed. Theyāll be far more likely to help you when you approach them in the right way.
Want to know how to do that? Tune in next week. This is part 1 of a 3-part series on how to secure MDF funding. Next week Iāll share what qualifies for MDF funds and the key ingredients that need to be in your proposals to secure those funds.
If you want to take advantage of vendor MDF and move the needle on your sales and lead generation, we will help you get started with your strategy and proposal. To determine your best MDF approach, give us a call at 303-741-6636 or email us at info@www.klagroup.com.
Read More Related Articles
