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TOP OF THE WEEK TO YOU!
(by realwired! CEO, Brenda Dohring)
Top of the Week to You! is designed to offer the inside scoop and latest of what's important in the world of technology as it relates to the commercial real estate industry. |
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The Switch is On - Old & Gray is Important
If you don't want to hear a couple of "mature" folks this week, stop reading now. But for those of us who have passed over into the land of gray, listen up. Gray matters. And I guess you could include the gray matter we call brains. Gray matter is the cortex of the brain which contains nerve cell bodies. This is the real working part of the brain - the nerve bodies. I don't have to tell you our brains are a bit cautious these days. You can read the traditional press for that. I'm here to tell you that it's cool to be gray. Brains are muscle. They need regular exercise and training over long periods for endurance. If you happen to have gray hair and you're in any part of this real estate business, then you have experience and you are best prepared for the business coming your way.
If you're gray you remember other downturns. You are pulling useful data from that memory. You're accessing deep into your "drive". Ok, that's a pretty corny tech analogy, but you know firsthand that downturns are followed by upturns. You know that no one can accurately predict downturns, but everyone tries. You know that's normal. You know that there's opportunity. You're working hard to shift gears. I sent this article on this very topic to one of my favorite brokers. It's worth a read. Like me this person attended a program on TARP, Troubled Asset Recovery Program, last week. It brought more than 400 folks out. Why? Because people are switching gears. There were lots of "grays" in the room.
Here's what I know because I'm seeing it..
Gray folks aren't freaked by the gloom and doom. They simply roll up their sleeves and exercise their gray matter.
Gray folks have seen times like this in our industry before. Depending on their age, they'll see and work them again.
Gray folks don't sweat as much.
Women who are gray know it doesn't hold you back from looking young. You simply make a change.
Gray is the new hot pink.
Gray folks aren't afraid to work with non-grays to see and use new techniques and technology to win.
It's time to flaunt your age. Flaunt your experience. Pump up your gray matter. Work it. There's no time to be sitting on the couch or the sidelines watching. You're needed. You're important to the economy. Use the best computer you have, your "gray matter", and subsidize it with the best tech systems that are available today that maybe weren't available the last time you were successful in a downturn. Think of it like I do. After this exfoliation, we'll all have better skin and toned brain matter. What a bonus!
Let me leave you with my favorite line from one of the panelists at the TARP program - "Capitalism without bankruptcy is like religion without hell". Now that's quotable. We don't have to like it. We just have to know it's true. And by the way, maybe that's the reason there's more gray hairs in the pews on Sundays. |
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Sales/Marketing Tip
Luby's Rising
It's been only seven years since I got the letter. Then I was young, callow and idealistic. So when the letter from the AARP, telling me that I was now eligible to join, arrived I threw it in the trash with disdain. I wasn't (at least not consciously) rejecting my fiftyness on any abhorrence of the aging process. No, I said, I declined the invitation because AARP was a shameless political action group bent on sucking (like ticks) the hard-earned fruits of the labor of young workers and redirecting them to the benefit of the huge voting bloc that is older America. It was, I thought, undignified to become a member of this group. Isn't such a lobby just so many parasites?
Today, I'm still not a member. I have, however, detected somewhat of a shift in my thinking. At fifty-seven I qualify for senior discounts at some movie theatres. I'm not averse to accepting them. I also figure my expected social security checks into my long-range financial planning. Social security is just a government-sanctioned ponzi scheme. Its underlying structure is no different than that of the Bernie Madoff investment funds (Except, of course, that Madoff, albeit a crook, was a very competent manager). I don't reject this future windfall on moral grounds. What then is wrong with AARP?
Nothing.
What about their offering changed?
Nothing.
What happened to me?
Nothing that doesn't happen to everyone all of the time.
Like all humans, I am an agent for myself. My self-interest is inextricably intertwined with my ethics. Such is the human condition and no amount of rationalization will change the fact that, knowingly or otherwise, we weigh all decisions with an eye toward our own well-being.
When State Farm announced that they intended to stop selling homeowner's insurance in Florida there was an outcry. How could they? Like a good neighbor, aren't they supposed to be there? They are. So State Farm decided to move to a better neighborhood. I might not like it. But I can't blame them. There is no altruism in nature. We, and by extension our businesses, are part of nature.
The next time you are fervently pitching your product remember this. Whether or not your prospect becomes your client is all about them and very little about you. Their opinions, interests and values change over time. They are not motivated by the same things as the last prospect with whom you spoke. Pitches are about you. You can throw them. But they'll usually miss the target.
I hate to admit it, but even iconoclasts like me have early bird specials in our futures.
Mark Fitzgerald, Sales Training Institute, Inc., Tampa, Florida provides this column weekly. Mr. Fitzgerald provides both group and customized sales training for professionals and companies. For more information, please contact him by telephone at 813-831-5555, via email at mark@saleskills.com or visit www.saleskills.com. |
Furniture Outlets USA operates under various trade names at 28 locations throughout IA, MN, ND and SD. The home furnishings stores occupy spaces of 35,000 sq.ft. to 160,000 sq.ft. in freestanding locations and outlet and strip centers. Growth opportunities are sought throughout MN, ND and SD during the coming 18 months. Typical leases run five or 10 years with options. The company prefers to acquire sites. For more information, contact Bill Hinks, Furniture Outlets USA, 140 East Hinks Lane, Sioux Falls, SD 57104
Mamma Ilardo's Corp. trades as Mamma Ilardo's Pizzeria at 27 locations throughout CA, MD, NV, NY, OH, VA and Washington, DC. The pizzerias, offering calzones, salads and pastas, occupy spaces of 400 sq.ft. to 1,900 sq.ft. in malls and entertainment, lifestyle, outlet and tourist centers, in addition to urban/downtown areas. Growth opportunities are sought throughout the existing markets during the coming 18 months. Typical leases run 10 years. Specific improvements are required. The company is franchising. For more information, contact Harry Ilardo, Mamma Ilardo's Corp., 28 Allegheny Avenue, Suite 1207, Towson, MD 212
Marco's Franchising, LLC trades as Marco's Pizza at 178 locations throughout AL, AZ, FL, GA, IA, IN, MI, NC, OH, OK, TN, VA and WI. The pizzerias occupy spaces of 1,200 sq.ft. to 1,400 sq.ft. in strip centers. Growth opportunities are sought throughout the existing markets during the coming 18 months. Typical leases run 10 years with a 10-year option. A vanilla shell is required. Preferred demographics include a population of 15,000 within two miles earning $65,000 to $85,000 as the average household income. Major competitors include Domino's Pizza, Papa John's and Pizza Hut. The company is franchising.For more information, contact Bryon Stephens, Marco's Franchising, LLC, 5252 Monroe Street, Toledo, OH 43623; Web site: www.marcos.com
Piggly Wiggly Mid-West trades as Piggly Wiggly at 96 locations throughout IL and WI. The supermarkets occupy spaces of 17,000 sq.ft. to 60,000 sq.ft. in strip centers and freestanding locations. Growth opportunities are sought throughout the existing markets during the coming 18 months. The company maintains corporate and franchise locations. The company is franchising. For more information, contact Linda Emery, Piggly Wiggly Mid-West, 2215 Union Avenue, Sheboygan, WI 53081
Shaw's Supermarkets, Inc. trades as Shaw's Supermarket and Star Market at 204 locations throughout CT, MA, ME, NH, RI and VT. The supermarkets occupy spaces of 40,000 sq.ft. to 60,000 sq.ft. in strip centers in addition to freestanding locations. Growth opportunities are sought throughout the existing markets during the coming 18 months. For more information, contact Greg Rollo, Shaw's Supermarkets, Inc., PO Box 600, East Bridgewater, MA 02333; Web site: www.shaws.com
Like these leads? Want more? Go to the Dealmakers website for a FREE Trial subscription to The Dealmakers, the nation's weekly news source on retail real estate. |
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