The Blog
March 10, 2010: We hosted an engaging seminar today delivered by Vinay Kumar, an associate at Winning Ways, Inc. The title of the talk was "Selling for Introverts." Vinay is very well known and respected and a frequent speaker in the local Association community, so it's hard to believe he is an introvert. Yet he told stories from early in his career of the dread he felt at picking up the phone for sales calls, or showing up at a networking event where he did not know many people. Many of us in the room could relate. By the end of the session, the introverts in attendance understood how they could see their introversion as an advantage in sales. Thanks, Vinay!
February 5, 2010: Great tip today from the Institute of Management Consultants: http://www.imcusa.org/members/blog_view.asp?id=334056.
We love hearing stories like this, as it gets right to the core of our business - helping our clients become more effective. Our most basic reception services save our clients time by enabling them to avoid many time-consuming nuisance calls and choose which calls they want to take without ever alienating a caller.
But the clients who benefit the most use higher value added services, such as estimating, scheduling, and event registration.
For example, we offer estimating and scheduling services to a moving company. Our team of receptionists has undergone extensive training with the company. When we receive a call, our receptionists walk the caller through a multi-page questionnaire. "How many bedrooms do you have? Apartment or house? Is there a freight elevator? etc etc. At the end of the call we produce an estimate of the cost and schedule the appointment. When the questions get over our head, "Let me get my manager to help us with that."
We are helping this company stay lean and mean and NEVER miss a sales call. Could your company benefit from a service like this?
February 1, 2010: Intelligent Office of Alexandria, VA, (http://alexandria.intelligentoffice.com) will host the new Alexandria Chamber of Commerce Internet Engagement Group on February 2. To mark the occasion, we have launched our new blog with this posting.
Intelligent Office (IO) is a franchise operation offering professional office and meeting space, back office services like Remote Receptionist Services, and "Business Identity" packages, so that small businesses can have the benefits of a professional business address, mail services, etc. We help small companies enhance their presentation and professionalism and thereby gain credibility with their clients and prospects. Our clients include attorneys, government contractors, consultants, medical professionals, moving companies, cleaning companies, and more.
Our blog will focus on issues relevant to small business, particularly those with a focus on creating back-office efficiencies and a professional image.
If you happen to catch this in time, please join us for the kickoff meeting of the new Chamber group tomorrow morning. If not, we hope to hear from you in the future.