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Big Business Buy Out

It is human nature to pick the easiest path in life. Big business works very much the same way, which is not surprising as it is essentially made up of people. When buying out smaller companies, these bigger businesses choose the ones which will be easiest to assimilate into their group. People are like most rivers, always picking the easiest route to get somewhere. People in big companies (Elephants) who buy small company products ? they`re like that. And such people are chiefly concerned with quality, practicality and timeliness.

To tie in to those values, there are three principles a small company can follow. The first one is to anticipate. When Steve Kaplan?s small company was courting Procter & Gamble, he heard what an important role their Public Affairs Department played in making buying decisions. So Steve made himself and his company`s plans known and amenable to the wants and values of that department ? and it paid off. Next off is to speak the language. Every corporation has its own unique language. Learn it. Adopt and use their terminology and phraseology like a second language. Without going over the top, a small company that lets the big client know that it speaks their language ? sooner or later it will be accepted as one of them, all else equal.

Finally, hit`em during the buying Season. All big companies have a buying cycle and a budget season to match that. When a small company finds these out, it should then time its pitch of products and services just prior to budget decisions. Often, opening doors and finding opportunity happens much more easily for a small company when it is timed to the buying season of big clients.