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 Media
Coverage
Problem Solved
Profit Magazine (November 2003)
Every entrepreneur runs into roadblocks. Here’s some education and
inspiration from one of our Top 100 Women who overcame hers.
You know those salespeople at airport kiosks who try to sign you up for
long-distance phone plans? The firm behind most of them is SPP Marketing
Services (No. 53 among this year's Top 100 and No. 7 in Growth Leaders
with 380% revenue growth over a three-year period).
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Growth leaders
Top 10 companies ranked by three-year revenue growth* |
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Revenue
growth (%) |
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1. CarePartners, Belgrave, Ont. |
2,061 |
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2. Career Essentials Inc., Markham, Ont. |
1,084 |
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3. Optionelle (Underlines Inc.), London, Ont. |
964 |
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4. L'Occitane Canada, Toronto |
843 |
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5. Energy Savings Income Fund, Toronto |
692 |
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6. APEX Public Relations Inc., Toronto |
598 |
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7. SPP Marketing Services Inc., Toronto |
380 |
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8. Phancorp Inc., Port Franks, Ont. |
374 |
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9. Bowen Workforce Solutions Inc., Calgary |
338 |
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10. Event Spectrum Inc., Toronto |
330 |
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*Among companies with base-year revenue
exceeding $100,000 |
Originally a promotional staffing agency, SPP began outsourcing staff
for face-to-face sales in 1995. Within one year, its annual revenue had
grown from $300,000 to $1.5 million, all due to a single client: AT&T
Canada.
But unbeknownst to Elen Steinberg, SPP’s president and CEO, the firm was
about to crash. The day of reckoning came in 1997, when federally owned
airports privatized. The new owners “removed everything that wasn’t an
essential airport operation,” recalls Steinberg. That included retail
kiosks, effectively ending SPP’s relationship with AT&T. Steinberg laid
off her sales force, and revenue dropped to $100,000.
She pleaded her case to the airports’ leasing agencies, but was
rejected. Undeterred, she contacted every airport authority in the
country. Turns out they had specific demands. “They wanted to be sure
we’d be responsive to them,” says Steinberg. In fact, the new airports’
owners had caught wind of some of the challenges the federally owned
airports had experienced in working with kiosk operators.
For example, if the airport had a problem – say, it deemed the
salespeople too loud – it called the leasing agency, which called AT&T,
which called SPP; the complaint might not be resolved for weeks.
Steinberg listened to their needs, promised to follow the rules and even
offered some of them her home telephone number for emergencies.
The strategy worked. She managed to snag leases at the Halifax and
Edmonton airports and began recruiting new staff. “We had to rebuild
from the ground up,” says Steinberg. “What I learned” says Steinberg,
“was never put all your eggs in one basket and that control over your
destiny is a good thing.”
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