How to catch a big fish
Tips for startup entrepreneurs trying to land that elusive first enterprise customer, courtesy of Bahman Koohestani, a CTO at Thomson Reuters
You’ve built it. But if you want them to come, you’re going to have to reel them in.
For B2B startups, landing that first big customer can feel like trying to swim upstream … uphill … against a raging current. The stakes are high — making that first big sale can put your startup on the map and help you close future deals. But figuring out how to get your foot in the door at a major company can be difficult, even enigmatic. And once you do get that coveted meeting, how can you make sure your ready to impress?
To better understand the process of how little companies land big companies as customers, the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center sat down with Bahman Koohestani, the CTO of the Intellectual Property & Science division of Thomson Reuters, who’s served as an executive and product lead at a host of major enterprises. Here, he outlines how startups can ensure they’re creating products big companies actually need:
What questions should entrepreneurs ask themselves before they approach a single enterprise?
They should ask two important questions:
1. What is the value of your offering to each one of those businesses? You need to be able to clearly articulate your value to these B2B customers.
2. How long will it take for the average potential B2B customer to integrate your product into their existing systems?
What’s the biggest mistake entrepreneurs make when trying to land an enterprise client?
In my experience, when most startups approach a large company, they try to sell what they have instead of what the potential customer needs. What a big company doesn’t need is the risk of distracting their organization with integrations or beta programs to help a startup get off the ground. Startups approaching a big company must show extreme value and easy integration. The more nonintrusive you are, the more chances you have of getting someone’s attention.
How can a startup entrepreneur get their foot in the door to land that first meeting?
To get your foot in the door, find the most painful issue a company is trying to address — the most needed solution. Then speak the company’s language. How you communicate your solution or product to the enterprise is important. Most startups approach big companies as if they’re startups too, but they’re not. They have a host of different challenges and pain points to address.
Another point I’d like to share is, if you identify a need within a large company and you believe your solutions are effective, chances are you’ll hear ‘no’ a lot more than you hear ‘yes.’ The trick is to figure out why you’re hearing the “no”s. It might not be about the merit of your product or the features you’re missing. There are a lot of activities within the big company that drive decisions — your point of contact might be too busy, there might be conversations around mergers or acquisitions, they might not be confident in your ability to deliver because of your spokesperson. Follow up and be persistent.
Who from the startup should attend that meeting and what do they need to do once they’re there?
Take the most senior person at the startup and the most knowledgeable; don’t overwhelm the company with too many people. When you’re there, show your commitment. Big companies, especially the sponsor of the decision, will want to know that the startup will move heaven and earth to make the company successful.
In terms of planning for success, what does a startup need to have in place to ensure they can keep such a big client happy?
Account management is the most important aspect in making sure you’re engaged with an enterprise. You have to be responsive enough to provide constant updates on how the integration is progressing.
Any other words of wisdom or caution for startups trying to catch that big fish?
If you’re going to take a B2B approach, you have to be savvy in corporate cultures so that you don’t inadvertently get caught up in internal politics. This will help you identify real opportunities from fake ones.
Finally, don’t give up. Refine. Learn. It’s a big market with lots of potential.
Interested in learning more about landing that first enterprise customer? Join Galvanize and the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center for a Q&A and lunch event with leaders and representatives from major national enterprises, including Cisco, Ford, and AutoDesk:
How to Catch a Big Fish: Selling to Enterprise
Wednesday, March 9th from 9:00am — 1:30pm
Learn More/Register
Tickets for this event are $21.49. Entrepreneurs are invited to apply for a select number of free tickets.
In his role as Chief Technology Officer, Bahman Koohestani leads all aspects of technology, operations and product delivery, and architecture and scalability, striving to apply technology as a key strategic and competitive differentiator at Thomson Reuters. Koohestani is a Silicon Valley technology luminary who joined Thomson Reuters from Wize Commerce (aka NexTag), where he was Executive Vice President of Product and Technology Development. Prior to NexTag, he was the global VP of Product Development at PayPal, a role that encompassed all PayPal merchant and consumer product development. He was also Chief Technology Officer at social network Cyworld, where he was instrumental in shaping their global strategy to connect and attract a social community of over 40 million members worldwide. Koohestani has also served as the CIO/CTO of Orbitz Worldwide, and he co-founded and took public Delano Technology, a leader in CRM platform and applications. He was also Vice President of Messaging Technology at Netscape, where he was instrumental in leading the messaging product vision and scaling the organization. Koohestani graduated from York University with a B.S. in Computer Science.
The Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center is a San Francisco-based non-profit that educates, innovates, and connects current and aspiring entrepreneurs. We provide access to quality resources, including mentors, training, and networking.
