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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. |
Stop Networking! - Socially, That Is.
This past week I crossed the line. I lost it. I wasn't just asking myself, "now, where did I put my whatever it was I tend to lose", I lost my social network. I lost it sort of on purpose. It happened right in the middle of the same week I read that researchers have found that social "networks" have a self imposed limit to how many people we can "connect" to. I think it's 150. Whew! That's when I think I mentally lost it...my social network that is. Now you know I love to network; I love to create connections, but I also know that a bunch of loose connections will cause things to "short out". The electrical analogy is a bit geeky, but it's true.
I know for a fact that my email is out of control, no matter how hard I try. My assistant tries, and even my friends and colleagues try to help me contain it, but it's beating me. I batch, I aggregate, I label, I prioritize and more. It seems my world needs a giant defrag. I need an aggregator for my aggregators. I need a table of contents with an index. Heck, I need my own wiki with complete search engine power the likes of Google. Allright, calm down. It isn't that bad. And I love my PDA; I love my Flip video even more; I love Skype; I like Flickr, and WellcomeMat for my photos and videos just fine. My widgets are good tools, and between instant chat, video blogging, PDFs and music filled videos, YouTube, CRMs, electronic document sharing & storage systems, accessible web environments and a zillion social networks from which to choose, I have more than enough to occupy my time. I'm good. I'm ok. Really. It doesn't bother me that in the time it takes me to take a bathroom break the world has introduced 657 new ways to connect. I can come to terms with the fact that I expect to get up to the minute "news" about EVERYTHING. I'm not exhausted trying to stay current on this stuff. I ignore the fact that in the time it takes me to refill my coffee, literally hundreds of things have come out to improve my productivity, connect me with friends, expose my products to buyers, inform and educate my clients and enhance my online presence. I'm not afraid that these tools might be chipping away at my sanity, threatening to cut that fine cord that holds together the order I seek in my world.
Where the traditional, prescribed business tasks are concerned, I am a finely oiled machine and so is my company. We have enough systems and checklists and discipline to make us the envy of any branch of the military you choose. I know this because I get recruiting emails frequently. On the other hand, where my online networking presence is concerned, I'm a lot like my tiny dog who forgets where he's made his mess. I'm making a mess, and even I can't remember where, exactly, I did it. My social network is missing. It's gone haywire. I can't begin to keep up. People must think I've crawled into a hole. I just can't remember all my logins, account numbers and access rights to keep up with the social networks I initially explored. So I know I've been successful in broadening my reach, but I've reduced my social effectiveness. Forgive me. I'll forgive you.
So here's what I ask. If anyone sees my social network, would you please drop me a message so I know where it is? I promise to respond at some point. And heck, maybe we can be "friends," unless of course we already are. If this column hit you hard, I know for sure you're already a "friend". |
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Sales/Marketing Tip
Real Referrals
First, a note on definitions: Many people confuse "referrals" with leads. Referrals are introductions to people who understand who you are and what you do. They are eager to speak to you because they feel that they will benefit from meeting with you. On the other hand, "leads" are just the names of people that someone else thinks will benefit from meeting you. These names are often no more valuable than anyone else that you might arbitrarily call. If you like making cold calls, leads are just what the doctor ordered.
The art of getting great referrals is largely a matter of identifying those who can give you them. Not everyone can. It's also unrealistic to expect the referral relationship to be symmetrical. Just because someone can refer people to you doesn't mean that you can successfully refer people to them. You'll often have to reward them in some other way. Great referral sources have four attributes.
1. They are extremely satisfied users of your services and or products. Other people may refer you but only satisfied users can do so with absolute credibility. After all, they voted with their own wallets.
2. They are inclined to introduce you. Not everyone has this altruistic attitude. Don't waste time on people who don't have a "connector" mentality.
3. They are connected to the kind of people who buy what you sell. If they don't know the right people they're very unlikely to be able to help.
4. They are influential with those people. Many people want to help but for a variety of reasons are not influential with your prospects.
Review your client base. Identify those that fit the above profile. These will be your most fruitful sources. Without all four attributes even those who want to help likely can't.
The next three attributes are your responsibility. You not only have to approach the right people but you also have to teach them what to say and then nurture the relationship.
5. They can articulate how the person they will refer you to will benefit from dealing with you. Their testimonial (see step one) makes this possible but you'll have to teach them the proper words to use and how to set up the introduction. You can't expect people to know how to do this right; you'll have to teach them. That might mean that you'll have to get some professional instruction yourself. It will be money and time well spent.
6. They can be rewarded. Cash is crass. Sometimes just the satisfaction of helping the person to whom they refer you is enough. A tasteful gift like a gift certificate to a fine restaurant is always appreciated. Send the gift after the person to whom you were referred becomes a client. Never mention the gift in advance. That's a bribe. Bribes are tacky.
7. Provide feedback to the referrer and communicate regularly. People who have all seven attributes are rare but they'll send you ninety percent of your high-quality referral.
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. |
Dickey's Barbeque Pit operates 84 locations throughout CA, CO, MS, NC, NJ, NM, OR, TN, TX and Canada. The restaurants occupy spaces of 2,000 sq.ft. in endcaps. Growth opportunities are sought nationwide during the coming 18 months. Typical leases run 10 years with two, five-year options. Preferred demographics include a population of 50,000 within three miles earning $70,000 as the average household income.For more
information, contact Cullen Dickey, Dickey's Barbeque Pit, 4514 Cole Avenue, Suite 1100, Dallas, TX 75205; Web site: www.dickeys.com
Froots operates 50 locations throughout AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, IL, MN, NC, NV, OH, TN, TX and VA, as well as internationally. The shops, offering all natural smoothies and juices, as well as gourmet wraps, salads and soups, occupy spaces of 900 sq.ft. to 1,200 sq.ft. in endcaps and inline spaces. Growth opportunities are sought throughout Los Angeles and Ventura counties in CA during the coming 18 months, with representation by Crissman Commercial Services. The company prefers to locate in high visibility locations with strong signage opportunities. For more information, contact Tim Crissman, Crissman Commercial Services, 25031 West Avenue, Stanford Suite 70, Valencia, CA 91355.
A.M.B. International trades as Claire Murray at 15 locations throughout FL, MA, MD, ME, RI, SC and VT. The stores, offering rugs and home accessories, occupy spaces of 2,000 sq.ft. in endcap spaces in specialty centers, as well as freestanding locations. Growth opportunities are sought throughout the southern region of the U.S. during the coming 18 months. For more information, contact Garrett Ames, A.M.B. International, PO Box 390, Ascutney, VT 05030
Slumberland, Inc. trades as Slumberland Furniture and Slumberland Clearance Centers at 115 locations throughout IA, IL, KS, MN, MO, MT, ND, NE, SD and WI. The stores, featuring a full-line of furniture as well as a specialty mattress department, occupy spaces from 20,000 sq.ft. to 45,000 sq.ft. in freestanding locations. Growth opportunities are sought throughout the existing markets during the coming 18 months. The company is franchising. For more information, contact Michael Larson, Slumberland, Inc., 3060 Centerville Road, Little Canada, MN 55117
Jerry's Systems, Inc. trades as Jerry's Subs & Pizza at 100 locations throughout DE, MD, PA and VA. The sandwich shops occupy spaces of 1,500 sq.ft. to 2,500 sq.ft. in strip centers. Growth opportunities are sought throughout MD, VA and Washington, DC during the coming 18 months. Typical leases run 10 years with two, five-year options. A vanilla shell and specific improvements are required. Preferred cotenants include Blockbuster Video, Giant, Home Depot and Safeway. The company is franchising.For more information, contact Jay Ryan, Jerry's Systems, Inc., 15942 Shady Grove Road, Gaithersburg, MD 20877-1315
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. |
Featured Internet Site of the Week
Woot
Woot was the pioneer of the "one deal a day" business model on the internet. Woot's main website generally offers only one discounted product each day, often a piece of computer hardware or an electronic gadget. www.woot.com | |
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