Eric Graf, CEO of Flockgen, explains how mid-market businesses can trade relationships with one another to expand service offerings and lower customer acquisition. As sales reps, we need to make appointments and we need to make sales but often times, we don’t know how to find the best people. Typically, we develop a prospect list and a sales pitch and bring on a marketing team. It becomes the core business. Eric cites this as a common problem that negatively affects business with regard to customer acquisition. At Flockgen, clients are able to increase their bottom line because the cost of customer acquisition is spread among the partners. Expanding beyond the core Mid-market companies can expand the conversation with their customers beyond just the core aspects. When they do, they will realize that the prospect of monetizing exists in multiple areas which are often overlooked. At Flockgen, the cost of customer acquisition is spread across multiple services far beyond what mid-market companies might do in the core. As an example: There are already a number of partners with great businesses that sell telecom products. Some have had the same product for the past ten years, but their sales reps can’t talk to the customers beyond the core even if they wanted to. They don’t have anything else to present to those customers. [00:53] Flockgen offers an alternative solution. They can drive revenue with those relationships around completely different products and services. Ones that have nothing to do with telecom. They leverage those relationships to introduce new products and services in a way that doesn’t require a lot of cost because they already have hundreds of partners that offer many different things. [02:46] Such a partnership allows you to do more in one place instead of finding a partner with many companies on your own. By focusing on the ways mid-market companies work together to become stronger and build revenue, everybody wins. Creating a well-oiled referral process Referrals are a natural part of sales. They drive revenue and create business. Flockgen partners with people they know and trust. Using the telecom example again, suppose you have a salesperson selling phone systems all day long. As a partner with Flockgen, the salesperson could also talk with customers about sustainability, controlling costs, or operations. He has a credible way to have that conversation because Eric and his team have provided him with content and talking points. He doesn't have to be an expert in the field. Instead, he just has to be able to access the interest in the client. [04:16] The Flockgen Difference The Flockgen concept developed organically. Eric spent the last ten years working in the energy industry where he saw a lot of disruption. There were many new companies with new services and new products, and declining costs all around. Previously, Eric was in the telecom world, which he views as a more mature industry in terms of sales and marketing. Everyone knows each other and works with a collaborative spirit despite competition. Actual channels exist that allow people to team up and co-market. Eric hoped to build similar channels in the energy industry by borrowing the ideas that worked for telecom. Educating their partners is a key. How does referral marketing work? What are the pros and cons? [05:32] Rightsizing the program and menu for each of their individual partners is what sets Eric and his team apart. No two businesses are the same, even if they do the same thing. What works for one might not work for the other, or for their sales team. Matching capabilities Flockgen matches capabilities in an intelligent way with their partner sales team so that everyone feels comfortable and credible when having conversations. It allows them to drive relationships further. [06:31] Establishing bilateral relationships with their partners is crucial to the success of every party. Each can refer business to the other by promoting services up a