How To Indirectly Tell If a Business Has Money

You’re in a business meeting a potential client. You have 30 seconds to come up with a figure that will be profitable for you and fair for them. You know nothing of how much this company makes, never seen any numbers, and you couldn’t find any in your research. How do you know if they’ll even be able to afford you? There are many indirect clues that will give you a good estimate of how much they’re making.

Security/Night Guard

You pull up to the parking lot, and notice that they have a security guard. A security guard for a parking lot is a healthy indicator that have money to spend for something that’s not necessarily essential. Especially if he doesn’t carry anything on his belt. He’s just a glorified watcher, to make sure no one breaks into the cars.

I know of one security guard that greets us every time we visit our client and tries to remember our names but always gets it wrong.

Card Stock

If the business card you get from a potential client is thicker than yours, then they probably have money to spend on a little extra heavier card stock. I know people who have tiny companies and have fancy plastic cards so my first impression would be that she has a big successful company. However if I realize she’s only the worker/employee, and her office address is an apartment complex, then I’ll know something is off. So this tidbit is only a small part of a bigger whole that you should look out for.

Marketing Department

If a company has an outside marketing company, then they have boatloads of money to spend. If they have their own marketing company, then that means they’re very controlling of their image, but still have enough money to spend for a department that is not super essential for most companies.

Fax Number

Most people these days don’t have or need a fax machine. However, if you hit on a company that’s down to toss some money for a fax machine and a monthly number, then you’re golden. Hi-tech companies probably use e-fax numbers, so this only counts for companies 10 years or older, back when faxes were still essential.

Vending Machines

Vending machines are a good indicator that a company has a certain amount of employees to even turn a profit of having a machine there. I don’t know the exact number but it’s definitely over 50 employees.

Vending machines are not usually owned by the company. They either pay the company a percentage of sales, or the company asks to just reduce the soda/food price to pass on the savings to the employees.

If a company has that many employees, then that means stability.

Past Clients

When I’m looking at potential clients, I look at their clients, and use indirect clues to see how much they’re worth. So it’s kind of like asking the girlfriends of the girl you like to see if she likes you.

If a client is a service provider like me, I look at the past clients to see if they are a recognizable brand. I google them, and look at their website, and look for other clues.

If a potential client had a huge client, then I put my bid accordingly.

Year Established

If the company’s been operating for more than 10 years, then it’s a good indicator that they know what they’re doing and have money to spend on your product or services.

Obvious But Still Useful Indicators

Many of these clues are obvious, however, because they’re soo obvious, alot of businesses use them as smoke screens, and to beef up their image.

Office Size

If it looks like they have a big space, check to see if they’re sharing it with someone. Usually there are several people renting the same place to share the load.

Location

I interviewed a well-off PR person once, and they said they rented an empty office on Avenue of the Stars, a wealthy area in Los Angeles, but would always meet with his clients somewhere else until he could afford to furnish his office.  ”Fake it till you make it” he said.

Multiple locations

This is a huge indicator of big business. I know a photographer/make-up guy that has an office in New York and in Los Angeles, even though he’s the sole owner and worker. He said he easily spends over $30,000 to run his business on both coasts.

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