Speaking this afternoon at at The Kelsey Group’s Drilling Down on Local conference in Seattle, Kurt Weinsheimer, GM for Local Marketing Services at Spot Runner, offered a simple set of rules for effectively selling to small businesses. 

• Target the right customers. 

• Keep it simple. Get the sales message through quickly and clearly. 

• Manage expectations. “You have got to tell them what to expect. If you do not manage expectations, they will set them for you. And I guarantee you won’t like what they expect.” 

• Do as you say, and say what you did. “If you say you will hit results, you better do it. Otherwise they will be gone. If you don’t let them know you did it, it didn’t happen.” 

Weinsheimer was speaking on the panel “The Local Resellers: Taking on Goliath.” His company helps small businesses create and distribute affordable television advertising. 

The panel explored how media resellers interact with small businesses and channel partners. Much of the discussion centered on how to effectively manage relationships with partners, including how to effectively manage customer expectations without direct control of the sales force. 

Carey Ransom, VP of business development at WebVisible, acknowledged this challenge. 

“Yes it is impossible. We do spend a lot of time working with our partners to make sure they understand. We talk about how to compensate salespeople so they care, that it is not about selling it and walking away.” 

WebVisible works with a wide range of channel partners, including newspapers and Yellow Pages publishers.