We have successfully navigated dark economic waters before and we didn’t just survive, we thrived. Our success proves that creating new revenues in tough economies requires inspiration, action, flexibility, fortitude and empowered partnerships.
In 1991, after 11 years in the executive search business, Rich Mancini partnered TDMagic with another recruiting thought leader and pioneered a bold partner strategy that seized immense opportunities within the chaos of the 1991 recession. We zeroed in on our corporate customers’ pain and realized that they needed different staffing solutions than we and their other service providers were offering them.
We also recognized that our behemoth Big 8 (now Big 4) competitors were conducting business as usual without any sensitivity to the changing needs of our mutual customers. Our opportunity became crystal clear and so did our competitors’ vulnerabilities. We had keener business acumen to our customers’ needs than our competitors, we were more flexible than they were and we had a better operating model than they. They were fat and we were muscular. Our strategy was inspired, we acted fast and our customers rewarded us with lucrative, large-scale, long-term contracts.
So how did we eclipse the Big 8 in every one of our customers without the Big 8 knowing? Largely, by flying under their radar and delivering what our customers needed when they needed it - better services, custom tailored to their needs at more attractive prices. That did not compromise our profit margins, however. We regularly realized 60% profit margins on our services and we paid our employees far greater than they would have been paid by the Big 8.
We also knew how to recruit premier, just-in-time talent, and scale our bench according to our business. Additionally, we forged partnerships with others who could quickly provide us with additional resources and scale according to our needs as we seized new opportunities outside of our core competancies at our existing customers, dramatically growing our business and reducing our competitors' footprints at our mutual accounts.
In 1996, Rich expanded on the empowered partner concept and forged an alliance partnership with a preeminent technology financing company whose loyal customer base included the largest and most successful companies on Wall Street. The finance company was a master in its core competency but it did not offer system integration services which were TDMagic’s strong suit. The combination of financing with system integration services enabled both partners to do what they did best and it provided a huge opportunity to up-sell the Wall Street customers on integration services when they financed new technology.
By partnering with the finance company we won significant deals that realized huge profits for both of us. We complemented each other, we over-delivered and we won on-going repeat business from a highly satisfied customer base. We crushed monster competitors like IBM Global Services because we were more sensitive to our customers’ needs, and we were far more flexible.
At the end of the day, the finance company did not need to build its own system integration team and TDMagic did not have to endure long sales cycles against huge competitors to win big-ticket system integration deals on Wall Street. The finance company already owned the customers, and TDMagic's partnership with the finance company empowered them to grow their business dramatically within their existing customer base. For TDMagic, we never had to make another cold sales call to capture new business on Wall Street again. The finance company gladly ushered us into every one of their existing customers.
It was truly a win-win for both partners. It was also a big win for the customers.
TDMagic believes that today’s chaotic scenario offers similar opportunities. The economy is depressed and fear is rampant. Customers have huge challenges and they need creative, empathetic and custom-tailored solutions - one size does not fit all.
Flexible, inspired and empowered partnerships are the solution that customers critically need at this time and TDMagic’s Partner Empowerment Program facilitates those partner connections.
Regardless of your size and skill, whether a behemoth or a one-person hired gun, you need to be accessible to new opportunities.
Contact us today to join our Partner Empowerment Community and to seize new and bigger opportunities through empowered partnerships.
