Growing Companies

You might say that working with RSW/UK impressed Mark Sneider.

He was so impressed that he started a version in Cincinnati, and naturally called it RSW/US. And by the end of the year, Sneider hopes to gain sole ownership of the fast growing company that hooks up ad agencies and design firms throughout the country with marketers and others who use their services.

"I was a client of RSW in London (England) back in 2002," Sneider said. "I liked the concept so much that I reached out to the principals in London to set up the concept here."

He started in 2005 in dingy office space in downtown Cincinnati. Now, he's located in a fancy art-deco building just north of Eden Park. Since starting up 2005, it's grown into a firm of 22 employees that has been experiencing double-digit growth percentages over the past three years.

A few months ago, The Business Courier named it Greater Cincinnati's 13th fastest growing private company. Sneider owns 70 percent of the firm, and is in the process of buying the remaining 30 percent from his British partners.

What the firm does is rather simple -  it's a business development agency that helps marketing services - ad agencies, public relations firms, digital and design companies -  find their business niches. It does so by locating potential clients, setting up meetings on their behalf, and if needed, helping them close the deals.

By doing so, it's not only grown but thrived. It's branching out with an agency-search business, to help those marketers who need an ad agency or similar services find an appropriate one. Sneider said its services have helped it weather the recession well.

"It helped being in the business of finding businesses for businesses when they needed business," he said.

Sneider said he enjoys the RSW because it's service oriented, and he considers himself a salesman. He's a graduate of Northwestern's Kellogg Graduate School of Business, and spent 20 years as a marketer on new product concepts and ad campaigns before starting his company. Its strength, he said, is that it goes beyond setting up a meeting and bringing clients together.

"In order to help clients win business, we can't just stop the effort after we get clients meetings - we have to help them in all areas related to new business," he said.

"Many companies that operate in this industry only think of themselves as lead generation firms or telemarketing firms, and focus primarily on getting meetings -  regardless of the quality of the engagement. We are the complete opposite in that our aim is to see clients to close, no matter what the effort. We coach, counsel, and plan strategy with clients to help them get closer to close."

By Paul A. Long
Source: Mark Sneider, owner/president