After emitting a fatalistic laugh, those who've been stuck in this quagmire provided both general and specific advice. "Our sales reps are taught not to find just the end users--in this case, the parking guys--but the councillors or commissioners you can lobby on behalf of your product," says Dave McNeff, vice-president of sales for Printrak International Inc., which sells automated fingerprint- ID systems. "He must sell up and down the ladder."
Don't be victimized by the formal governmental bidding process; use it to your benefit by helping a city draft its request for proposal, suggests small-business expert Scott A. Clark. Offer suggestions to help ensure that the published specifications include your key proprietary features. If possible, suggests Ray Burnett, a board member of the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing, try to turn one sale into several by encouraging municipal "piggybacking." Burnett, the former purchasing manager for Dayton and now the contract administrator for the city's convention center, explains that in Ohio a properly worded RFP can bring other interested cities under the legal umbrella of a single city's published bid.
With limited resources, how can Intelligent Devices better transform successful tests into sales?
As Tip O'Neill, the late Speaker of the House, used to say, "All politics are local." "Each town," points out Leonard Bier, legal counsel for the New Jersey Association of Parking Authorities, "has its own dynamic. You can have the best product in the world, but if the town politics are such that the board never agrees, bypass that town." Bier stresses that Yost must carefully qualify his leads to avoid "tire kickers." How? By asking the executive parking director what projects the town or city has done lately. Has it built any parking garages, bought any property? If the director says no, move on. "He's not trying to waste your time, but he is, and he will," warns Bier.
Former city purchasing agent Burnett suggests "getting another foot in the door" by making advocates of some high-profile parking consultants--who can, in effect, become auxiliary salespeople who will recommend Intelligent Devices' meters as part of their action plans.
So, does Yost have other options?
Yes, says Inc. columnist Norm Brodsky, several of whose entrepreneurial efforts have involved doing business with government buyers. Indeed, Yost "should have looked at his options more carefully right from the start. His cardinal error was that he didn't know enough about his market. A million people who sell to cities could have told him how long it takes; he shouldn't have been surprised." And it's not just bureaucratic wheel-spinning that makes Yost's product a lengthy sell; it's the amount of buyer education it requires. "Yost needed a lot more capital--to carry the business over the sales period--than he started with.
"Instead of trying to sell the meter to the end buyer himself, Yost should consider selling it to a company already selling to municipalities." (See "Is This a Company?" above.) "He'd end up getting more money, and he'd save himself a lot of time."
Yost has led the horse to water. How can he make it drink?
Try psychology. Clarence Kemper, vice-president of sales and marketing for Amano Cincinnati Inc., a manufacturer of parking-revenue-control equipment, suggests Yost restructure the terms of his on-street trials. Currently, not only does the city get to try the meters free, but it also gets to keep the increased revenues generated. Kemper thinks Yost might contractually claim the revenues generated by the trial meters so cities would act more quickly in buying them. "If you were that municipality and you were giving away that revenue every week, wouldn't you want to secure that advantage for yourself?"
"He needs to get somebody to take a risk, even if it means taking a loss to get the ball rolling," advises Frank Del Monaco, director of training and career development for the International Parking Institute. "The first question from politicians is always, Where else is this being done?" In other words, to make sales, he's got to make sales. Yost is facing a classic catch-22.
Resources: The best way to learn more about selling to the government, say insiders, is to go to the source: talk directly to the purchasers in the municipal agency you're trying to win over. What are their procedures? What must they see before considering a purchase? What politics are involved?
The second-best way to learn more is to talk with other people selling to your intended buyer, asking the same questions.
For general information, try the International City/County Management Association (777 N. Capitol St. NE, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20002-4201; 202-289-4262).
AMANO CINCINNATI, Clarence Kemper, 140 Harrison Ave., Roseland, NJ 07068; 201-403-1900; ckemper@amano.com
FRANCES BURKE, Suffolk University, Sawyer School of Management, 8 Ashburton Pl., Boston, MA 02108; 617-573-8315
RAY BURNETT, Dayton Convention Center, 22 E. Fifth St., Dayton, OH 45402; 937-443-4700
INTERNATIONAL PARKING INSTITUTE, Frank Del Monaco, 701 Kenmore Ave., Suite 200, Fredericksburg, VA 22408; delmonico@parking.org
INTELLIGENT DEVICES, Vincent Yost, 170 White Pine Way, Harleysville, PA 19438; 610-584-8830; fax, 610-584-8832
PRINTRAK INTERNATIONAL, David McNeff, 1250 N. Tustin Ave., Anaheim, CA 92807; 714-666-2700
