After receiving a last minute invitation to a dinner with Bob Ansett as the keynote speaker, I was a little annoyed and frustrated as it was cutting into my prospecting time and after 5pm is prime prospecting time as everyone is home. So I thought to myself, I better get some value from this dinner and hopefully meet and make some new contacts.
What I got from this dinner, I think will make up for the few hours not prospecting as Bob Ansett is a wealth of knowledge for business and sales people alike. So I thought I’d share a few key points that I enjoyed from his speech.
Bob Ansett had the Budget car rental business and lead it to be number 1. To overcome some strong competition in a regulated market (Avis were the only car rental company allowed to operate at airports at the time) Bob set out to stand. This involved keeping the brand fresh and relevant, exceeding client expectations and being innovative. Below are some short takes or bites from my notes I took on the night.
To keep the brand fresh, Budget would use creative marketing and slogans.
To stand out from the competitors, make an innovation every 6 months, by the time the competition catch on, you have created another.
Recognising their are many stages and contacts with a client prior to completing a sale and you have to nail every one of those, otherwise the customer is unlikely to return.
It is cheaper to retain your clients than it is to find new ones. To keep your customers happy, focus on the three most important points
Service – exceed their expectations everytime
Satisfaction - Ensure the customer’s need is satisfied
Retention – Have them a raving fan that will return to you again when they need your good or service
In larger organisations, Bob mentioned it is important to market internally, having your employees as advocates of your business generates volumes of referral business that doesn’t cost your marketing budget an arm and leg. Job satisfaction makes people work to the best of their ability and increases productivity. Set six month targets and if they are achieved, celebrate them.
I hope these points help you as much as they helped me. If you would like to find out more about what we are doing differently and the exciting changes ahead for Shedden Real Estate contact us through the channels below.
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