08/06/02 

Everywhere, people are bemoaning the crisis. Business is down.
It's down in services. It's down in technology. It's down in finance. It's down in retail.

The stock markets reflect it. Take one look at the charts.
Unemployment is everywhere. It's not just for dot-coms anymore.

Like those miners in Pennsylvania, it's as if the whole country is trapped in flooding darkness, with nowhere to go!

Will the rescue come in time? Can you even hear the "rescue drill" turning?

I talk to lots of leaders in the course of our business. With lots of gloom on their minds, they're all working hard at internal solutions to get more business. Not one is telling us about "Teaming." 

So what is Teaming? What does it mean?
Teaming is external collaboration and the combining of resources. It gathers the strengths of many and applies them to individual progress.

When those nine miners in the blackness found themselves at death's door, they summoned this concept. It's worked to save mankind since we first walked our planet. Those coal-blackened men knew that unless they worked as a team to help themselves ... immediately ... no rescue could save them in time. 

When cold gripped one, the others huddled for warmth. When a man's spirit waned, others cheered him on. When things looked their worst, the team roped itself together, physically and in spirit. They overcame all odds, and climbed out alive and remarkably well.

Now business needs this concept, too. 
In marketing, this spells e-f-f-i-c-i-e-n-c-y! Let me give you an example:

I just got off the phone with a person in retailing. His company sells beds! Business is down. We talked about foot-traffic to the bed store, and he told me last Sunday - during a five-hour period - only two prospects came in. I could hardly believe it. Two!

Now this store is in a retail shopping center, on a well-traveled road - not in a "backwater." The bed store heavily advertises on the radio, has lots of signage - but little foot traffic. 

Right next door, he told me, is a Chinese restaurant, with lots of diners (although "lots" is never enough). In fact, one of those two lonely prospects last Sunday seemed to be of Chinese descent! Now there's a clue.

People eat Chinese food more frequently than they buy beds! Some people who eat Chinese food may be thinking about buying a bed. These two obvious facts make for an excellent teaming opportunity ... and it's a path to two-way benefits. But how?

How could these two side-by-side retailers work together for their mutual benefit?
It seems they have nothing in common, other than location. This is not so. Having a great deal in common, they both sell to people - one more frequently than the other.

Teaming! Here's an example.

First ... The bed store ties the restaurant into its radio ads ...

"We're right next door to the Golden Dragon restaurant - famous for Mandarin delights. Dine there, and dinner's on us ... when you cash in your 10% discount on the bed of your dreams!

Then ... on each table in the restaurant - a small "tent" card.

How's this for a great desert?
Stop by Bed of Your Dreams store after dinner - bring this coupon - and enjoy a 10% discount on the bed you've dreamed about. We're right next door!

Plus ... Offer the restaurant owner a $25 bounty on each coupon resulting in a sale. If the restaurant achieves a 20% net profit, this bounty equates to $125.00 in food and beverage sales. A great reward - and ample incentive for keeping your tent cards on each table.

Results: The bed store gets traffic, the restaurant gets advertising and income they hadn't thought of (the bounty on sales) and the teaming is complete. Neither company has spent one additional dime! (except for printing the tent cards).

Many of us are thinking so hard about how to get business, we miss the teaming opportunities at our doorstep. Now, look around you. Who do you work near, or with? Think first how you can build business for them, and next how they can return the favor.

If those Pennsylvania coal miners - each one a hero - could pull off a miracle by embracing teaming ... you can, too! If you need a little help in envisioning teaming, get in touch with us. In about an hour by phone, we can help you out of the hole.  

That's it for this segment. We hope these thoughts have been useful, and we welcome your comments. If you've used teaming and want to share your idea, this is the place. To give us your input ... just click here.



William H. Thompson
Principal

PS - Visit the Thompson Group web site. Click here!

PPS - We have used fictitious company names, but the circumstances are real. This does not imply the entities named are any less adept at practicing business than any other firm.