Channel Executive
“For small businesses selling to large retailers, it is not a sales game; it is a relationship game.”
– BRUCE HICKS President, Retail Technologies Corporation
Hicks says, “Rather than buying that expensive car or moving up to that next neighborhood, you should par- lay that money into building assets that are most desir- able to your client base.” For RTC, that means diversify- ing with new homegrown software products, investing in employee retention, and continuing to grow its data center. “As soon as you start spending money to look the part of success, you’ve lost. Most personal assets are de- preciable and do not last that long, just like the money you used to buy them. One of the key success factors for entrepreneurs is to stay frugal and stay hungry.”
SELLING ON RELATIONSHIPS, NOT REPS
Hicks doesn’t rely on a hungry sales team to move RTC forward. He doesn’t believe entrepreneurial business needs sales reps per se. Instead, marketing provides leads and sales opportunities, and the executive team at RTC handles sales. “For small businesses selling to large retailers, it is not a sales game; it is a relationship game,” he says. “When we finally get a chance to present our solutions to a qualified client, it is critical that our ‘sales team’ can have any conversation about our competitive advantages and just exactly how we believe we can fix the retailer’s business. The result is most entrepreneurial IT businesses never get invited to the dance, never mind actually dancing on the dance floor.”
Early on in his career, Hicks learned how to build relationships with large retailers. In the early 1990s, a large retail client he was prospecting sent a team to RTC’s headquarters to meet with Hicks. About a year after RTC had won the contract, the client admitted to Hicks that the trip was more than a sales meeting – they were sent to size him up and get to know his personal lifestyle. The client wanted to know the kind of person they were going to work with, not just about RTC’s technology capabilities. They wanted to see if Hicks was in- vesting his money in flashy cars or reinvesting it in his business and employees.
This is why Hicks says, “We do not go on sales calls. We go on interviews.” And during these interviews, Hicks knows what his potential client expects of him. He was born and raised outside of Boston before his family was abruptly transferred to the Atlanta area, so
he knows how to adjust to culture. Hicks can hunt and fish with a Southern drawl, but he “can talk as fast as anybody in New York City.” He takes a simple, straight- forward approach with RTC’s Canadian clients, just like he would with Midwesterners. He’s comfortable
with cowboy boots and jeans in Nashville, and a suit and tie in New York City. This doesn’t mean Hicks is lacking in authenticity. “I take pride in my lifelong cultural diversity, and I have learned how to leverage all those lifetime experiences by better understanding each and every client no matter their geography or culture. Any entrepreneur who can do that can fit in and do business anywhere.”
Channelexecutivemag.com
SEPTEMBER 2017
TIER ONE TAKES PATIENCE
Relationship building is one part of RTC’s strategy to win tier-one business. The key to landing large clients is to be patient, one small project at a time. Even if a retailer’s IT infrastructure is completely broken, solutions providers have to earn trust gradually. “It takes a long time,” says Hicks. “There is no sales cycle with building relationships. It’s painful; but frankly, it’s the only way you get to dance with the prom queen.” To help get its foot in the door and pave the way to a bigger conversation at the executive level, RTC takes on small projects to prove value. The goal is to be a total solutions provider, but that might start with just store polling software or small engagement consulting services.
Hicks cites multiple examples of a retailer losing a key employee on its IT or operations team and turning to RTC to fill in the gaps instead of replacing the position. When that happens, RTC is positioned to enhance the existing relationship and already knows the road map to present to the client. “In a bigger account, you have to earn each and every single engagement, which often- times is no more than filling a hole in their IT operation. If I get an opportunity to manage some small piece of business, we go in and we try to make a difference and provide measurable ROI.”
When Hicks put his first business plan on paper in 1989, the focus was on making a difference through customer satisfaction. Since then, some of his customers have sold or closed their doors, and he’s moved on to the next opportunity. Customers’ technology needs have changed drastically, and RTC has grown and diversified because of it – they aren’t just pushing bar code scanners and POS terminals anymore. Hicks is placing his next bet on helping retailers with real-time customer fulfillment and channel management. It’s a strategy that will require the same patience and customization RTC applied to building its data center and its suite of software solutions