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Have An Advocate
Know what you can do for a company and then let them know too!
by Mary Welch
May 30, 2008
E
ven though Mary Parker is in the security business, she admits to "stalking" Rosemary
Jones. Usually stalking is frowned upon, but Parker saw it as her way to get her foot in the door
at Turner Broadcasting System Inc.
"I must say that we were profitable almost from the start," says Parker, who founded All(n)1
Security Services Inc. in her kitchen. "But I realized that having my certification in itself
wasn't going to get me business. I had to get to know those who had the business I
wanted."
So Parker researched local meetings, seminars and conventions where corporate supplier
diversity executives would likely attend. She identified three women she was determined to meet –
Jones, vice president of supplier diversity at Turner, Johnnie Booker of The Coca-Cola Co., and Roz
Lewis, then with Delta Air Lines.
"I would attend these meetings where I knew these women would be, and I first focused on
Rosemary. I went up to her at a meeting and introduced myself. Then I would do that meeting after
meeting until they got to know me. You have to get yourself into the diversity arena so you can get
a chance at opportunities. I wanted them to know me and know how I can help impact their
business."
Such dogged tactics worked. Parker's business now lists TBS, Coke, AGL Resources, AirTran
Airways and the Atlanta Braves as clients. Business has grown more than 300 percent over the past
three years. She has a staff of 65 full-time professionals and a pool of more than 300 for
part-time or special events work.
Parker admits that the certification process is "so overwhelming" but also worth it.
However, she cautions that "just because you're in a company's database does not mean you're going
to get a contract. That's the greatest myth about diversity
programs."
Her advice is for companies to get certified and then figure out how their company can meet
the needs of the major corporations. "Know what you can do and what you can do for what companies.
Then, go after only that business," she says. "Don't worry about getting in the door at companies
that don't need your business. Get an advocate within a company that will help
you."
Parker believes that a company should get a job based on one's expertise and
professionalism. "I've been in business 30 years, and if I don't know what I'm doing, no
certification is going to help," she says. "I don't go in seeking business as a female or a
minority-owned business. I present myself as a professional businessperson, but if I have to use
the minority- or female-owned designation to get in a company, then that's the card I'll pull out.
But, it's not the first one I use."
