October 2009: Tips from Tom Mazza

 

After You Make the Sale: Keep Selling!

I heard basically the same story from 3 clients in a very short time. "We
have been working hard on selling XYZ Corporation on using our services. We
made a presentation. We submitted detailed pricing information. We called
them, stopped by, answered innumerable questions and then we waited. Finally, celebration time, we were notified that WE GOT THE BUSINESS!"
 
Then a week goes by, a month goes by, then we see no trips on the books. Where was the mistake in this scenario?
 
The mistake is that my clients believed that the sales process ended when
the prospect said "Yes". In fact, the process was just beginning!
A "sale" in my view occurs the day you deposit the clients check in your bank account.

After the sale, keep selling!  

• Make sure your client introduces you to every person in the company who can book transportation.
   
  
•  Ask the client to allow you to communicate with all of their associates who will be using your services. 
  
  
•  If you are selling to a single decision maker, ask them, "what's next?" immediately. Stay on the account in a pleasant but persistent manner. 
  
  
• If you have been told, "you have the business" and you don't see any rides, do a recon mission and find out WHO is getting the work.
  
  
• If you have a group of potential travelers in an office setting, see about bringing them a food tray and meeting your travelers at their facility in the break room.
  
  
• If it's a hotel account, make sure the front desk staff is not ignoring your agreement and selling rides out the side door of the hotel

 

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Selecting Affiliate Companies Based on Reciprocal Business is a Mistake
Real Call to TMC from CEO of company located in big city outside New York metro area: "Hey Tom, I have been working with a great affiliate company in NYC for the past 3 years. They give great service to my clients. Their back office is right on top of things and they are a pleasure to deal with. I am going to STOP using them because I found another NYC company that promises to give me at least a few thousand a month in reciprocal business. What do you think?"
 
Real Response from Tom Mazza, "I think you are making a mistake. The transactions are separate and should be kept separate. You are making a profit and delivering good service to your clients currently traveling to NYC. (or Boston or Chicago or anywhere) Not only are your clients happy but YOUR dispatch department and YOUR back office have developed a 3 year relationship that works! Honor the relationship that works and don't penalize the company because they may not have work to give in your city. Why screw it up?"

 My reasons again for sticking with the original affiliate:

1. If current provider is delivering outstanding service, it does NOT make sense to change. You may be creating an "issue" for your company where no issue currently exists.
   
   
2. Out of town profit margins are high so delivering out of town service effectively should be an even higher priority than your local business.
   
   
3. Inbound work from other limousine companies is often discounted and there can be payment issues.
   
   
4. If there is a screw up either on inbound or outbound work, the impact of a severed relationship is greater.
   
   
5. Your inside staff develops relationships with affiliate companies. You sever a good working relationship for no real reason causes problems internally.
    

Yes, yes, yes, I can see the e-mails already. "Are you crazy, if I can get an additional 25k a year in business, I am going to turn it down? One hand washes the other, you don't get it!" I am completely lucid, razor sharp actually, with massive amounts of real life experience and I truly "get it."
 
You build this business on relationships. You build a true national network by leveraging those relationships NOT, in my view, by making "quid pro quo" a condition for doing business.

 

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LTMC Places Former Boston Coach Exec at Bali Limousine in San Francisco
Tom Mazza Consulting is proud to announce the placement on September 15th of Ashley Ferry as a sales executive at Bali Limousine Inc. of San Francisco. Mr. Ferry has an extensive background in sales and marketing in the travel industry in the Bay area. In 2006 he was appointed by Boston Coach as Director of National Sales responsible for Western United States.
 
Bali Limousine is a full service provider of luxury limousine services with a strong corporate base and  a diverse fleet of more than 30 vehicles. Billy Vang, president of Bali Limousine is delighted with his company's new hire and with his experience with TMC. "Tom Mazza understood exactly what we needed and he found an outstanding person to fill the position. Tom worked quickly and delivered exactly what we needed for a reasonable fee."
 
Ashley Ferry was the 11th candidate placed by TMC in 2008-2009. Candidate placements have ranged from GM's to department managers and sales professionals.

 

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Power Selling is Focus of New Group Meeting December 14-15th in South Beach
Tom Mazza will host a new group meeting at the South Beach Marriott in Miami Beach on Monday, December 14th and Tuesday, December 15th. (Meeting runs 9 am to 4 pm both days with group dinner on Monday night.)
 
 The meeting is open to owners or general managers of luxury limousine companies interested in 2 days of intense instruction by Tom and special guests. (The hotel is on the water on South Beach and we have secured a room rate of $219 per night with extra nights available.)  
                                                

The focus of the meeting is SALES and BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT. Attendance is limited to 1 company per city. Meeting fee is $500 per company plus shared expenses for meals and meeting room. (Typically about $250 per company which includes 2 lunches, 1 dinner, meeting room fees, etc.)
 
Topics will include:

• Producing MORE from your current client base
  
  
• Networking more effectively on a day-to-day basis
  
  
• Improving numbers and profitability on inbound-outbound affiliate work
  
  
• Every inbound call is an opportunity, are you and your team doing it the right way?
  
  
• Developing a cleaner, more consistent brand for web and print marketing 
  
  

If you never had the "Tom Mazza Group Experience" before, you are in for a great visit to Miami.

North Carolina Limo Association Chauffeur Training a Hit!
Sunday afternoon, September 27th in Durham, NC a full room of professional chauffeurs and operators were treated to, "What Great Chauffeurs Do Every Day" presented by Tom. Reaction was enthusiastic and positive.

Carolyn Henson, president of the NCLA said,"It was a great day for our association. The information was excellent and our members were inspired."

After the chauffeur training program, the NCLA had a dinner meeting where Tom gave a second presentation on "Ten Ways to Run a Better Company."
 
Tom Mazza has delivered similar programs at association meetings in Phoenix, Boston, Houston, Atlanta, Toronto to name a few over the years. The meetings are almost always well attended and energizing for attendees and their staff.

To book Tom in 2010 for your association, call today 215-973-8201

 

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TMC: A Better Solution to Handling YOUR Next RFP
How in the world can I spare the time to answer a Request for Proposal? The answer is, you probably don't have the time! TMC has a solution! Dr. Yvonne La Mar and her colleagues are writing proposals for TMC clients and they are delivering quality work, quickly, efficiently, at a price you can afford. Turnaround time can be as little as 5 business days.
 
 Mike Callahan of Able Limousine in MA said, "Not only did I not have the time to write the proposal, the finished product that Dr. LaMar produced was superior to anything we could have done without her."
 
Pricing for RFP responses is $65 per hour with a 10-hour minimum which is charged up front.
Contact is Yvonne.lamar@gmail.com or 215-904-8357 

 

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Introducing EFX Marketing & Media Design

 

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