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In the age of the nanosecond, it's survival of the fastest. Companies that don't keep up with the latest technology and can't reposition themselves accordingly in the marketplace risk falling off the map.

But what if corporate leadership won't embrace change?

Ask H. David Goldman, a seasoned advertising and marketing exec, who up until 2000 served as president at a computer graphics firm. His firm, he argued to its owner, was becoming obsolete. Anyone with a computer could easily create presentation slides and posters. Better add new services to stay viable, Goldman suggested.

The owner, however, didn't share Goldman's view.  I felt the market was dying, Goldman recalls. I didn't want to be a caretaker for a dying business.

Instead, he gave entrepreneurship a try. He purchased several accounts from his former employer and joined forces with Steve Levine, owner of a film-developing company in need of a digital makeover. Together, they opened Presentations Plus in 2000. With viable equipment and a three-story office building off Route 110 in Farmingdale, Levine's move enabled Goldman to service accounts immediately.

But as Goldman understood, companies must do more than stay ahead of market needs when it comes to technology. To survive in a crowded marketplace, a company has to differentiate itself, without taking on more than it can handle.

So, with one artist on the payroll, the partners focused on specialized services, trade-show displays and multimedia presentations. And once they got their foot in the door, they nudged it wider by providing a host of advertising and marketing offerings.

Why start with trade-show displays and multimedia presentations? There were not many competitors, Goldman recalls. We had done a lot of work in those areas and had good samples.

They gave their business model a year, testing its viability.

And wisely so, says Mitch Tobol, who teaches entrepreneurship at the Scott Skodnek Business Development Center at Hofstra University. It's risky to purchase clients, he says, You have to make sure the clients want to go with you.

In addition, when principals merge, they must make sure they collaborate to enhance service levels to existing clients. Gaining office space alone may not cut it, Tobol says. But if you're adding new capabilities that benefit clients, it's an excellent strategy.

Fortunately for Goldman and Levine, their client base grew from the first year. They hired staff, beginning with a sales manager who helped grow their customer base.

Today, Presentations Plus boasts 100 accounts, nearly 15 of them major, the rest casual clients needing two or three projects annually. The offices are dotted with projects for big names like North Fork Bank, Pall Corp., Business Week and more.

Presentations Plus now offers advertising, packaging design, Web and multimedia services, and digital printing. In 2004, the firm purchased a signage company, adding yet another capability to the mix. The technology may have changed - for instance, they've gone digital, and the company is adapting the latest techniques showcased in video-game graphics to help clients achieve the results they want - but the selling strategies remain the same. When knocking on a prospect's door, Presentations Plus reps typically open with the firm's trade show and display expertise. Rather than suggest a million dollar campaign, we start with a $5,000 exhibit, Goldman says.

From there, reps explore how else they can serve existing clients. Sometimes that simply means asking what additional services clients need. Other times, it calls for showcasing how the latest technology can benefit the customer.

It's an excellent way to open that door, says Rich Isaac, president of Sandler Sales Institute in Hauppauge. Once a person transforms from a prospective to an active client, the relationship shifts and instead of pitching, the rep is now seen as consulting. The way Isaac sees it, the challenge is for salespeople to continue to score additional business from existing clients. They still need to conduct a fact-finding mission, asking probing questions that will uncover other ways to serve a client.

As for Goldman, he simply believes his firm has hit on a winning strategy. The other pieces fall in naturally.

Copyright 2005 Dolan Media Newswires
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.

See the original post here - In changing tech world, Long Island's Presentations Plus offers something.