Is It Common Sense or Am I An Idiot?!!
(especially in this economy)
Intriguing title don't you think? I'm guessing a lot of you think I'm an idiot already, even before you read this..oh well. I really want to talk about two things here... first, membership in organizations and second, referring business to others rather than trying to do it all yourself.
Most of you may know of my personal involvement with ISES Los Angeles. I joined back in 1998 and became a member of the board in 2001. In 2006 I became president and served for two years. David Merrill, owner of AOO Events and also a past president of ISES LA, was the one who convinced me to become president... I will be forever grateful to him for that. It has helped me immensely on both a personal and professional level. It took a long time for this investment of time and money to pay off, but it has in a very big way.
I'm telling you this because many companies cut back on their involvement and support of organizations like ISES and MPI during economic slowdowns. That's totally understandable, but think about it for a second... isn't this the time to be getting out there and getting MORE involved in these organizations? Of course you have to analyze expenditures and results, but results aren't always immediate. What value can be placed on you and your company being seen as even more legitimate, on people in the industry becoming more familiar and comfortable with you? You don't necessarily know it's happening but it is and IT TAKES TIME! Again, I've been involved with ISES and MPI for over 10 years now. I cannot tell you it's meant specifically "X" dollars over the years but I can give you a couple very concrete examples.
The first is a story I've told before and rather than telling it again here, we have provided a link to our July 2007 Newsletter ...please read this when you have a minute... this business was acquired specifically because of my involvement in ISES LA and it was a very high profile piece of business.
Now, here is a more recent example: I received a phone call the other day from a potential client for a 2-day job this summer. Apparently they had been calling around for help and had called a company called Team Play Events in Agoura Hills. Team Play has been a member and supporter of ISES for some time and it is through ISES that we met and developed a relationship. Anyway, Team Play referred them to us and now we are providing the games for the event. The dollars involved overall are significant...our part is somewhat lower but still significant, especially in this economy! Now, could Team Play have tried to handle it all themselves and hire us as a vendor...yes, but they decided the client would be better served by having them deal with us directly. That says a lot about Team Play Events and I thank them and give them credit here for their referral.
The client called me and wanted, in addition to games, catering, chair/table rentals, power generation, etc. Could we have subbed out everything and gotten more money ourselves?...of course we could of but it would not be serving the client's objective and budget by doing this. So, we made the calls, and then turned over those aspects of the event to companies who could better handle it for our client to deal with directly and saving them money. Did we sacrifice some income?...yes, but so what? It was the right thing to do and the client is extremely happy and grateful. This brings me to the second point...
Rather than trying to do everything yourself and seemingly make a few extra bucks, concentrate on what you do well and refer out the other stuff. I'm not patting myself on the back, I'm just making a point. I spent a lot of time with this client and hooked her up with a caterer, a rental company, an equipment company, etc. Could I have included this in our contract and charged her more?...of course I could but I didn't. She was on a budget and I worked with her to save her money. Will that mean business to Party Pals in the future?...I don't know but I'm willing to bet it will.
My mom always told me What Goes Around Comes Around. That always ticked me off when I was a kid... I thought it was stupid. As I've gotten older, I've realized how smart my mom was and it is true, what goes around does come around both good and bad. It may seem I've gone out on a tangent... I haven't. AM I AN IDIOT FOR GIVING THIS BUSNESS AWAY?...some of you may think so... I think it's good business. Sometimes you need to give things away to get something back. Don't do it for that reason, do it because it's the right thing to do for your client. Help your clients and potential clients even if you aren't getting a dime for it. Believe me, it will COME AROUND in the long run.
Take care.
Jeff and the team at Party Pals |
