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...t to be the right one. A large agricultural company liked a marketing services...ospective client ask, “What other agricultural companies have you worked for?”...

...re, Garden Supply and Mobile Home Dealers (SIC 52); General Merchandise Stores...TITLE Retail Trade 55 Automotive Dealers and Gasoline Service Stations 56...

.... On the other hand, softs are agricultural products such as wheat, soybean, l...

... be the right fit for your company. To help your company broaden its perspective and take better advantage of your opportunities for solving problems, ask yourself these six questions: 1. What do we need to accomplish (rather than who do we need to get to do it)? This is a case when what looks like the wrong fit turns out to be the right one. A large agricultural company liked a marketing services firm's thinking about the way manufacturers should relate to and support their dealers. At an initial meeting, the issues discussed focused on helping the more than 400 dealers enhance their businesses and how the marketing firm had helped companies in other industries achieve this objective. At no point did the prospective client ask, "What other agricultural companies have you worked for?" If ... question had been raised, how would the marketing firm have responded? The answer would have been "no." Objectives-driven selection opens the door to finding relevant solutions. 2. Who will be objective and challenge us (rather than trying to figure out who will tell us what we want to hear)? "We know what we want," said the company's coordinator of special projects. "You're welcome to apply, but I want to make it clear that you must have experience in our field. We've had trouble in the past. We have a way of doing things." The tone of his comments and just the way he spoke left the members of the vendor team with the clear feeling that the "new ideas welcome" flag was not flying over that company. ...