Overcoming the fear that kills two-sided marketplaces before they start
“You’re gonna steal our customers.”
“You’ll devalue our rates.”
“You’re trying to cut us out entirely.”
Chad Smith has heard every objection in the book.
As VP of Supply and Media Owner Success at Blip, Chad’s entire job revolves around convincing billboard owners to share their inventory on a platform that, at first glance, looks like direct competition. Over 10 years, he’s built relationships with 400+ media owners who initially feared Blip would cannibalize their existing business.
The challenge goes deeper than simple sales reluctance. Media owners operate from a scarcity mentality—every new sales channel feels like a threat to their existing customer relationships and pricing power. They’ve spent years building direct contracts with advertisers, and suddenly here’s a platform that controls those relationships.
Through trial, error, and hundreds of conversations, Chad developed what he now calls the MAPS framework: a systematic approach to transforming “absolutely not” into long-term partnerships. This framework addresses the fundamental challenge of two-sided marketplaces: showing supply partners that your success is built with them, not against them.
Key Takeaways:
- The cannibalization problem is psychological. Media owners fear losing customers they don’t actually serve (yet).
- Win 2 out of 3 internal stakeholders to secure the partnership. Each stakeholder requires targeted messaging that addresses their specific concerns.
- Limited allocation converts skeptics faster than aggressive asks. Starting small minimizes risk while proving complementary value through real results.
The Cannibalization Trap
Most media owners that Chad talks to are worried about the same thing.
“The objection I get a lot is that we’re gonna cannibalize business from them,” Chad explains. “That’s the biggest worry that they have—that we’re going to devalue their boards and their rates, and remove them from the equation.”
This fear stems from how billboard sales traditionally work. Media owners build their business through personal relationships, multi-month contracts, and guaranteed spending commitments. Their entire revenue model depends on direct customer relationships and pricing control.
Blip’s self-serve model triggers every protective instinct.
Competition as Complementary Revenue
Once Chad stopped trying to convince media owners that Blip wouldn’t compete with them, he could reposition the entire conversation around market segments media owners either can’t or don’t serve.
“We’re really trying to be an additional revenue source and going after customers that they either don’t have time for or don’t want to spend cycles on, or even the customers that don’t want to buy in the way that they want to sell,” Chad says.
In many cases, small businesses can’t operate following traditional billboard sales models. Small, unpredictable spenders who want flexibility aren’t competing with guaranteed contract customers. They’re filling space that would otherwise remain empty.
This positioning transforms the conversation from competitive threat to revenue opportunity. Media owners can continue focusing on their large contract customers while Blip handles the small advertisers who don’t fit their traditional sales model.
The MAPS Framework: From Fear to Partnership in Four Steps
Chad’s framework meets fears head-on with specific strategies that prove complementary value rather than competitive threat.
Map the Decision-Making Structure
If a partnership is going to succeed, you need to really understand your partner.
“I need to win over two or three positions,” Chad explains. “There’s usually three: the owner, sales manager, and then usually a scheduler or an operator. If I can get at least two, I’m in a pretty good spot.”
Chad has spent years mapping these positions to answer a few critical questions: Who has veto power? Who influences the decision without formal authority? Which stakeholders will become internal advocates? Understanding the decision-making structure allows strategic relationship-building with the right combination of people.
His approach then involves crafting targeted messaging for each stakeholder to address their specific concerns, rather than relying on generic value propositions. Owners worry about brand integrity and long-term business model threats. Sales managers fear commission loss and impacts on team morale. Operators worry about workflow disruption and additional responsibilities.
Winning over the owner but losing the sales manager creates internal friction that ultimately kills partnerships.
Two out of three wins the deal.
Address the Scarcity Mentality Directly
Acknowledging fear works better than dismissing it.
“I think it comes from a scarcity mentality,” Chad notes. “You’ll see that with salespeople—the grabbing of ‘that’s mine, those are my customers, that’s my thing.'”
Instead of fighting this protective instinct, Chad validates it—then redirects attention. His pitch centers on specific advertiser profiles that don’t fit traditional sales operations: local shops testing billboard advertising for the first time, seasonal businesses running 4-6 week campaigns, and budget-conscious brands that need flexibility over guaranteed placement.
And here’s the kicker: these small businesses are not competition for contract revenue—they’re the opportunity hiding in unsold inventory.
Chad reinforces this boundary explicitly. When advertisers request guaranteed placement or multi-month commitments, Blip routes them directly to media owner sales teams. That handoff proves the platform isn’t competing for premium business—it’s capturing demand that falls outside the traditional model entirely.
Prove the “Free Money” Value Proposition
Chad reframes unsold inventory from lost opportunity to found revenue.
“If you saw $100 on the ground, are you going to pick it up or are you going to say that you wish it was $200?” Chad explains. “No, you’re going to pick it up. Free money is free money.”
When media owners operate at 60-70% occupancy (which Chad says is a typical capacity), that remaining 30-40% sits empty and generates zero revenue. Blip fills that empty space with small advertisers who likely wouldn’t have purchased that billboard space otherwise.
The value proposition extends beyond just filling inventory. Blip pays faster than anyone in the industry—at the end of the following month versus the 180-210 days some national vendors take. Speed of payment transforms theoretical revenue into actual cash flow that improves business operations.
Proof matters more than promises. Chad walks media owners through specific scenarios showing how allocated inventory generates consistent revenue without displacing existing customers. The “free money” angle acknowledges that this revenue might not match what premium contracts deliver—but it’s revenue from inventory that would otherwise generate a big, fat zero.
Start with Limited, Specific Allocation
Asking for less actually generates more—and that’s by design.
“The guidance I usually give people is I want one to two slots of your loop to start,” Chad says. “Because typically, a billboard will have eight slots on it.”
This is a foot-in-the-door tactic that expands over time. Chad deliberately limits allocation to 1-2 slots initially because that’s where the economics begin to show promise.
The limited allocation strategy hits two targets simultaneously. First, it minimizes media owner risk while maximizing comfort. They see consistent revenue from allocated slots without losing their premium customers. Second, it maintains a brief scarcity in the marketplace, which keeps rates stable and revenue predictable for when future slots are allocated.
This approach converts skeptics into believers through evidence rather than promises—and keeps both sides profitable. Once that foundation is in place, the move to more slots is primed and ready.
From “Absolutely Not” to 400+ Long-Term Partners
A network of 400+ media owners built using MAPS, with retention rates high enough that most stay for years. That’s Chad’s proof. Media owners who initially refused now recommend Blip to other operators because they’ve seen the complementary revenue model work firsthand.
Blip has positioned their marketplace as solving problems their supply partners can’t solve themselves. Small advertisers who want flexibility don’t compete with large advertisers who want guaranteed contracts—they fill different needs in different ways.When you systematically prove your success enhances rather than threatens their business, your supply partners won’t fear cannibalization. Map the politics. Address the fears. Prove the value. Start with the specifics in mind. That’s how you turn “you’ll steal our customers” into “you can have as many slots as you want.”
FAQ: Building Supply Partnerships Without Cannibalization Fears
Can I customize the MAPS framework for different industries beyond billboard advertising?
Yes. The framework translates across two-sided marketplaces, but the specific fears vary by industry. Map which stakeholders control decisions in your sector, identify what scarcity mentality looks like for your supply partners (commission loss, customer poaching, pricing pressure), prove value using their specific pain points, and determine what “limited allocation” means in context.
