Selling to SMEs and Startups

Arrogance is a flaw, and for a marketer or salesperson, this assumes greater significance. Unfortunately, marketers tend to fall prey to the glamour of signing on a big name client, while giving the cold shoulder to a category that shows, in my opinion, greater promise of developing a long-term relationship. Yes, SMEs and start-ups might not have the budget or the inclination to provide you with that juicy deal that’ll set you up for a bonus come end of the year, but handled carefully, can provide great benefits in the long run.

Let’s look at a few of the reasons why SMEs and start-ups deserve the same attention you’d give to a big corporation:

– Your product/service might be just one of the many used by a big corporation. At the same time, an SME or startup might build a large section of their business around your product – giving you a much higher sales potential in the long run. And if the start-up flourishes, you win – big time.

– Bigger businesses, with their deeper wallets, tend to squeeze out every last bit they can while agreeing to a deal. Sure, they might give you the lock-in to a long-term or high-value deal, but it’s not likely to be on your terms. On the other hand, dealing with a startup puts you in the driver’s seat.

– Customer feedback is a vital part of success and with smaller organizations, you get to closely develop your product – in partnership – as the market evolves. A big business, however, can be like a 500-lb gorilla – you do as asked.

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About the author

Ambarish Gupta
  • rama

    Great article. I personally believe that SMEs in India need technical advantage over their competitors. But “glamour companies” become their alternative when choosing for a solution. Our job is hard to convince them but is not impossible to change the mindset if right products are targetted.

  • Very true and quite well put. Usually startups have been more ‘attracted’ to building products/services focused towards large companies while the SMBs get a cold shoulder. Luckily, the trend is changing fast, and entrepreneurs are realizing the vast opportunities lying in the SMB pool.
    Take for instance HR software, the industry we’re focused in, most of our competition is worried about the big fish, but we are determined to focus all our energies @sumhr towards the SMB market. Ticket size may be small, but volumes can be higher and adoption faster.

  • Nikhil

    What i see missing is that SMEs can actually be your channel of sales thru word of mouth. With real good product & support, you will see the concept “word of mouth” come alive.