One of the goals for many companies that want to grow is to get into the big, conglomerate companies, like P&G, Bloomingdales, etc. That is, essentially, who this book is for.
But there is a caveat to that.
While reading this book, it came across to me as more of a demotivator than a motivator. It really seemed that as a self-employed team of 1, the work required to get the “elephants”, or big companies, what an insane obstacle to climb. If you’ve got a team behind you, then it seems much more manageable and I would imagine that this is a worthwhile resource for those. It won’t hold your hand on how to do it, but there are some valuable ideas and examples of how to position yourself as a worth vendor.
If you’re on your own, well….you’re pretty much on your own in terms of landing the big account. That’s not to say that it couldn’t happen, but I think that this book demonstrates that even with a team behind you, bagging the elephant will not come easily, and if it’s just you running the company, you’ve got other things to worry about that are just as important as landing the “big one.”
Bottom line:
Time to read: 2-3 subway rides
Would I recommend? If you’ve got the ability to delegate serious research time and a strong sales team: yes. If it’s just you running the show: not yet.
