How to get incentives when relocating a business

Are you planning to relocate your business and hope to qualify for incentives in a community? If so, before you even start your site location search you should be aware that it's not all about your product and finances.

What if investing a few thousand dollars could mean the difference in being awarded a $1,000,000 incentive package?

To qualify for certain types of business incentives you not only have to meet certain thresholds like the amount invested and/or the number of jobs created, you also need to convince the community you want to locate in that you're worth the investment.

This means convincing not only the economic development office staff, but also the political establishment.

Depending on the location and type of incentives you're going after, that may mean local politicians like town council members or county Board of Supervisors. It may also mean politicians at the state level - even the Governor - or members of grant funding sources like, in the case of Southern Virginia, the Virginia Tobacco Commission.

You'll need a marketing strategy for a very specific target profile.

You need to take a step back and take a hard look at all of your marketing materials. What message do they convey to the economic development professionals and political establishment?

A number of good businesses don't get very far because they don't inspire confidence in those whom they need to convince that they're worth the investment. They've never even thought about the quote "perception is reality."

Remember, incentives aren't free. Communities are giving away property and often cold, hard cash to attract companies; they're literally investing in companies.

Think about how closely you scrutinize potential investments before parting with your own cash and you'll have a small taste of the pressure the people you'll be dealing with are under. They don't want to have to face a community who has given property and cash to a company that ends up going under.

For a business that really is a great prospect, though, losing out on incentives isn't just a loss for the company. It's also a loss to the community it would have located in.

Communities need those jobs and they WANT to be able to award incentives that attract new businesses.

Remember that when preparing to start your site location search.

Don't wait. Right now, go look at your website. Look at all of your marketing materials. Put yourself in the place of your prospective communities; would you trust your business based on what you see?

Not only do we develop marketing strategies and create websites and collaterals for economic development organizations as well as businesses, I'm a former Board Member for a county Industrial Development Authority. I know how the sausage is made.

I'm offering a limited number of free consultations for businesses going into 2016. If you think you may need help, request a free consultation now.