eTenant Care System Promotes Communication between Regent Staff and Clients
Effective communication between office staff and our clients has always been a hallmark of the service Regent Business Centers provides. We strive to deliver our clients an exceptional office experience that allows them to manage their business without having to worry about the daily tasks of running an office. Our eTenant Care System enables the Regent team and our clients to easily communicate with each other, while we fulfill each client need quickly and efficiently.
RBC clients enjoy the flexibility that the eTenant Care System provides them. Through this innovative system, RBC clients are able to:
- Schedule conference room space
- Book video conferencing equipment
- Request assistance with professional secretarial, word processing and delivery services
- Order catering services
- Request additional phone lines for their offices
- Request IT support
- Inform the RBC team of any maintenance issues that arise
With eTenant Care, clients are able to take advantage of and manage the use of all the amenities that Regent Business Centers offer. When using the eTenant Care System, a ticket is opened notifying both the client and the Regent team of the request. That ticket remains open, as a reminder to both parties, until the specific task has been completed.
The eTenant Care System is also used as the primary communications portal for the Regent management team. All memos and correspondence to our clients are delivered via email through the eTenant Care System. This allows our management team to notify our clients of building closures, facilities upgrades, emergency notifications and any other items that clients may need to be made aware of.
Our clients find great value in the eTenant Care System. Robert Tessier, of Tessier Mediation at our Woodland Hills Center, said, “With the eTenant Care System recently instituted, it has become even easier to have all your business needs accommodated. I highly recommend RBC to the busy professional. The people at Regent Business Centers are the best. They are always happy to help you and your clients, and project a professional yet friendly demeanor.”
If you are interested in learning more about the eTenant Care System, and about the Regent Business Centers facility near you, please visit our website at www.regentbc.com.
Maximize Your Marketing Investment
In today’s economic environment all businesses want to get the most from every dollar. Making the most of your marketing investment is no different. Here are some quick tips for making sure never leave a dollar on the table.
Working with Agencies
If you choose to work with an agency, be sure you fully understand all aspects of what you can and should expect from that relationship. Know how they bill, how projects will flow internally within the agency and how that will relate to your own involvement, ask lots of questions about the fine print in their contract and about advertising and marketing terms which you are unfamiliar with. Be specific about your needs, strategies and concerns. This should be a partnership relationship, so treat it like one. Encourage an open sharing of ideas, concerns and information gained from your previous experiences and successes. Challenge your agency partner to do better and achieve more.
Research is King
For any good marketing or advertising campaign to work, research really is essential. Before launching your campaign, research to know what your target market wants. During your campaign, research to monitor the success of your messages. Research when the campaign is complete to see if you have achieved your goals. Without research how can you know where you are going or if you got where you wanted to be?
Quality Feedback is Essential
When creating a campaign, you need to provide more feedback than: “It doesn’t work for me.” Or “I don’t like it.” That doesn’t help your creative team to fix the problem. Are the colors wrong? Is the target market off? Did the pitch run counter to your marketing strategy? Figure out why it doesn’t work and then provide constructive, directional feedback so you can make meaningful changes quickly. Imagine how much money is saved when you only have to make 2 rounds of edits versus 10.
It Needs to Look Good
Knowing where to spend your money is essential. Don’t skimp on production costs. Producing quality pieces that look good is essential to presenting the right image to your customers and for your company.
Did You Know? Facts About Small Business in America
Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy. While it might seem like everyone works for a large corporation, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Check out these facts on small businesses in America:
- Approximately 2,346 small businesses get established each day.
- Nearly 10.1 million Americans are self employed.
- Small businesses employ approximately half of all private sector workers.
- Small business employment grew 1.6% in May 2010; translating in to approximately 25,000 new jobs.
- 99% of all independent enterprises in the US employ fewer than 500 people.
- 19.5 million, or approximately ¾ of all US businesses, have no payroll. Most are self-employed persons operating unincorporated businesses that may or may not be the owner’s principal source of income.
- America’s small businesses account for 39% of the country’s gross national product.
- Small businesses have generated 60 to 80% of net new jobs annually over the last decade.
- 53% are home-based and 3% franchises.
Source:
entrepreneurship.doodig.com/2010/02/17/entrepreneurship-in-the-us/
Intuit Small Business Employment Index
economics.about.com/od/smallbigbusiness/a/us_business.htm
www.census.gov/epcd/www/smallbus.html
www.smallbusinessnotes.com/aboutsb/sbfacts.html
Did You Know? Facts About Entrepreneurship in America
Entrepreneurs are leading the growth of American business. According to Carl Schramm, president and CEO of the Kauffman Foundation for Entrepreneurship, “Entrepreneurs are still the primary engine of job creation in the United States. In the last 30 years, literally all the net job creation in this country has taken place in firms less than five years old.” That is an amazing statistic.
Here are some more interesting statistics on entrepreneurs in America from the Kauffman Foundation for Entrepreneurship.
- 40: The average and median age of company founders
- 95% of entrepreneurs have a bachelor’s degree
- 47% of entrepreneurs have an advnaced degree
- 69.9% are married
- 59.7% of entrepreneurs have at least one child when they launch their first business
- 43.5% of entrepreneurs have two or more children when they launch their first business
- 2.3: The average number of businesses launched by study participants
Success: It’s a State of Mind
Everyone who starts a business does so under the assumption that it will be a success. If we are being honest, many of us start a business with the belief that success is just around the corner. But what if after a few months on the job, things aren’t going exactly the way you had planned? When self doubt starts to creep in, that is the most important time to step back and remind yourself of why you know you can and will be successful!
It is essential as a business owner that you believe completely in your success and the success of your business. If you don’t, no one else will. People respond to confidence. Your clients need to feel that innate sense of power and persuasiveness that comes with knowing that yours is the best possible product or service for their company.
So, how do you keep your chin up during the dark days? Being a business owner is a tough job. It’s one of those things that most people don’t think about when they dream of owning their own company. The hours are long, the multitude of tasks and responsibilities are endless, and the thanks are few and far between. Some tips for avoiding disillusionment include:
- Get organized early on and do everything in your power to stay that way.
- Know your limitations and get help for those tasks that you don’t enjoy or are not your strong suit.
- Gain as much knowledge as possible prior to starting your business. Seek out and use your vast network of resources to learn as much as you can about what to expect. Learn early and keep learning each day you own your business. As the old adage says, “Knowledge is power.”
The multitude of daily tasks and the overwhelming amount of knowledge needed to be successful can bring even the most motivated and positive person down. Businesses most often fail because owners underestimate the time, resources or work involved in getting started and keeping a business running. Keeping ahead of these pitfalls will help you to avoid being overpowered by all that it takes to run a successful business.
Be realistic about what it takes to start and maintain your business and then be positive about how you can make your business a success! With hard work and the right attitude, you can turn your dream into a reality. When you are convinced of this…everyone else will be too!
Moving Out of the Garage and Into Office Space
You start out small; working in the garage, at the kitchen table or in the spare bedroom. You scrimp and save; reinvesting every dime into your business until it starts to thrive. Then you reach a point when it is time to upgrade to office space. Every entrepreneur has to make this decision at one time or another, but it opens up a whole load of questions that you never had time to consider before.
Where do you locate? Do you lease space or buy space? How much space do you need? How long should the lease be for? What about phone lines and internet access? The list can become so overwhelming that you might just decide to stay where you are at.
If this is where you find yourself, it is time to consider the advantages of shared or serviced office space. Also known as executive office suites, shared office space provides many advantages to the start up business. For very reasonable rates, you can take advantage of offices that are furnished prior to your occupancy. A quality shared office suite will provide its clients with executive quality furniture and a host of amenities. Common amenities in shared office suites include:
- Conference room space
- Multi-line phone systems
- Permanet internet access
- Back office services
- Reception staff
- On-site cafes
Shared office space is also popular with start up businesses because it generally come with flexible lease agreements. These agreements allow businesses to increase or decrease space as needed. With none of the expense of starting up a traditional office, shared office space offers businesses a great way establish themselves with a prestigious address.
When it is time for your business to move out of the garage, moving to a shared office space may be the best, most economical solution.
If you are interested in more information on shared office space, please contact Regent Business Centers at (888) 616-6378.
Relationship Building and Closing the Sale
All too often sales is viewed as a win-lose proposition. One party in the process “wins” by either closing the sale, or throwing up enough objections to prevent the sale from being closed. Most sales training courses teach us how to handle objections, as if an objection is an obstacle to be avoided at all costs. By changing your way of thinking, and viewing the sale as part of the relationship building process, you will find that closing a sale is easier than ever.
Let’s be honest no matter what you sell, your objective is the same…to secure the business of your client. But what if your objective changed from meeting a short term goal…closing a single deal …to achieving long term success…nurturing a relationship that leads to a series of sales over many years? Changing your focus from transactional based sales, to relationship based sales, allows you to enjoy the fruits of a long term approach to meeting your client’s needs.
When you embrace a relationship building approach to sales, you are able to view the objection, not as an obstacle, but as an active engagement by your client. While the client may have some concerns about your product or service, they are still talking and considering your offer. They are actively engaged in a conversation leaving the door open to a future sale. This is infinitely better than the prospective client who has become so disengaged that they don’t even return your calls.
With relationship building, you can embrace the objection and recognize it as the opportunity it truly is. You can move forward and explore the concerns your client has and look for ways to resolve those concerns. If you are able to meet those concerns head on, and with viable solutions, you will most likely close the deal.
If your client’s concerns cannot be resolved, it is almost certainly because now is not the right time or yours is not the right product. By acknowledging that a solution may not be attainable, you actually gain credibility with your client. This fair, open minded, relationship building approach to sales keeps the door open to future meetings with your client. Continue to actively engage your client, and you are likely to get a heads up the next time they have a need for your company’s goods or services. This could be one of those times where you lose the battle, but win the war.
By establishing and maintaining a relationship with your clients, you are building trust and the foundation that will benefit your business for years to come. When push comes to shove, business is often given to those partners who are trusted. Become that valued, trusted partner by building relationships and, in the end, closing sales.
