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TOP OF THE WEEK TO YOU!
(by realwired! CEO, Brenda Dohring Hicks)
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. | The Art of Choosing
Since last week's article on CRM brought up some questions and some good comments from readers, it makes sense to address them in a short follow up. And, while I must admit I wish the discussion would/could take place in the blog so that more people could weigh in and help each other, it seems that you, my wonderful, loyal readers generally prefer to send comments directly to me and that's just fine!
One thing mentioned was that putting a CRM in place requires upfront time and cost and so it's hard to make the decision to do it. This is one of the "It always gets worse before it gets better" rules of the universe. There's no denying that fact. There are, of course, ways to minimize the pain of getting started by ensuring that the company you buy from is known for great tech support. There are always trade-offs to consider. In an ideal world, the trade-offs would be simple to see. Finding the right fit for you would only require a couple of things to consider, such as: a smaller company may not have all the shiny bells and whistles you "think" you need, but you get to work with more senior folks which is great for the "getting started" phase and, of course when you have issues, or select a larger company, who got that way because they have a platform that appeals to a lot of people, but personalized care is not really possible. Both options are viable and so the decision would be an easy one.
Unfortunately, it's never that cut and dry. What we tell clients is to, "Make the decision based on what you think your needs will be when something goes wrong". I don't care how great a company is or how wonderful the product works, things always happen at some point. Do whatever you can to figure out how the company treats customers when something goes wrong. As a little aside, this story/video, United Breaks Guitars, about a United Airlines problem that went the wrong way is well worth your time. I guarantee you'll laugh...but I don't take any responsibility if you can't the get song out of your head once you hear it.
And for that one anonymous reader who wondered when it makes cost sense to quit using Excel because cost is the only thing that really matters, the answer is...never change. You'll never find a cheaper piece of software. But when you do decide that there's a more cost effective way to handle your lead generation and conversion process, chose a very basic product and you'll be happy.
Click here to join our blog discussion or simply shoot me an e-mail when you get a chance. |
Sales/Marketing Tip
Diary of a Daily DialerYou may or may not like the idea of making cold calls. The good news is that it's cheap and easy. The bad news is that it's a little scary. But when you wake up in the morning without enough qualified prospects in your pipeline, calling a few strangers might be just what the doctor ordered.
I hate to tell you this, but few of your prospects will greet you with, "Goody gumdrop, thank goodness you called." A small number of them will be hostile. Some will be friendly. Most will be neutral. Just get rid of the hostile ones. Life is too short to deal with other people's anger management issues. Your job with the others is to make them comfortable and at least curious enough to start a conversation. Here are a few counterintuitive concepts that, if mastered, will make your cold calling life a lot easier. - You must keep the prospect on the phone in order to accomplish rule #1.
- You
must explicitly give the prospect lots of opportunities to get rid of
you or he won't be comfortable staying on the phone with you. If he
keeps talking it must be his choice to do so.
- Never say, "Is this a good time to talk?" Instead say: "did I catch you at a bad time?"
- if it's a bad time, say: "Then I'll get off the phone immediately. When should I call back for a two minute conversation?"
- Respect his wishes and call again at the time he suggests.
- Tell
the prospect that you're not sure if he's the person that you should be
talking to and could he possibly direct you to the right person.
- Tell
him very briefly what you do and then say: "most people already have a
vendor that provides our service, or they just don't need our stuff at
all. Are you in either category?"
- No matter what he says next, be sincerely curious about his response.
- Continue being curious until you find out what you need to know or set up a meeting.
- Enjoy
the call. Most people are friendly and will gladly speak with you if
you are not pushy, overly enthusiastic, or make inflated claims.
- Sound a little uncomfortable. Don't sound like a salesperson.
The secret is in your tonality. How you sound is more important than what you say. Scripts usually sound like scripts. You must practice a lot to find your own style. Talk the way you talk to your friends. Use an easygoing conversational style and avoid sales-type language. Don't take yourself too seriously. Remember that you're playing for big bucks so your self-consciousness and apprehension will be worth it when you get this down. It works!
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. © Copyright Mark Fitzgerald, 2009, All Rights Reserved. |
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Hot Deals/Leads
Kahala Corp. trades as Frullati Café and Bakery and Rollerz at 75 locations throughout AR, CA, FL, IL, IN, LA, MI, MN, MO, MS, NM, OH, OK, OR, TN, TX and WA. The restaurants, offering sandwiches, smoothies and bakery items, occupy spaces of 600 sq.ft. in malls and 1,000 sq.ft. in power centers. Plans call for 30 openings nationwide during the coming 18 months. The company will also consider locations in office buildings. For more information, contact Jerry Conklin, Kahala Corp., 9311 East Via de Ventura, Scottsdale, AZ 85258.
Bill Gray's, Inc. trades as Bill Gray's Restaurants and Tom Wahl's at 24 locations throughout NY. The quick-service restaurants, offering burgers, fries, steaks and seafood, occupy spaces of 6,000 sq.ft. to 7,000 sq.ft. in freestanding locations, malls and strip centers. Growth opportunities are sought throughout Rochester and Syracuse, NY during the coming 18 months. Typical leases run five to 10 years with options. Preferred demographics include a population of 65,000 within five miles earning $40,000 as the average household income. For more information, contact John Gonzalez, Bill Gray's, Inc., 964 Ridge Road, Webster, NY 14580.
Starbucks operates 15,000 locations nationwide and internationally. The coffee shops occupy spaces of 1,200 sq.ft. to 2,000 sq.ft. in downtown areas, office buildings and endcap spaces in shopping centers. Growth opportunities are sought throughout Manhattan, NY during the coming 18 months, with representation by Northwest Atlantic Real Estate Services, LLC. Typical leases run 10 years with options. For more information, contact David Firestein, Northwest Atlantic Real Estate Services, LLC, 711 Westchester Avenue, 2nd Floor, White Plains, NY 10604.
Galeria Art & Home Décor operates 12 locations throughout FL. The stores, selling home furnishings, occupy spaces of 2,000 sq.ft. to 4,000 sq.ft. in neighborhood and power centers. Growth opportunities are sought throughout southeastern FL during the next 18 months, with representation by Horizon Properties. For more information, contact Eileen Cardelle, Horizon Properties, 7785 Northwest 146th Street, Miami Lakes, FL 33016.
Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams operates 14 locations nationwide. The stores, selling better lines of furniture geared to those with modern lifestyles, occupy spaces of 7,500 sq.ft. to 9,500 sq.ft. in freestanding locations and lifestyle centers. Plans call for three openings throughout the New York, NY metropolitan area; Los Angeles, CA; Dallas, TX; Seattle, WA and Chicago, IL during the coming 18 months, with representation by Robert K. Futterman & Associates. For more information, contact Robert Draizen, Robert K. Futterman & Associates, 521 Fifth Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10175.
Like these leads? Want more? Go to the Dealmakers website for a Free Subscription. The Dealmakers, the nation's weekly news source on retail real estate. |
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