Jeremy Hall – Confessions of a serial entrepreneur

Phone Days

At Wyse Leasing, we had days when 50 plus people would be on the phone. The company could get through 5,000 calls in one day. We could dig up over 100 new business enquiries. We made these days special, we often had a theme with prize giving at the end of it. Wyse Leasing offices throughout the country would compete against each other.

 Our teams would call customers for 45 minutes then take a 15 minute break. We could get seven sessions in a day. We could only do this once or at the best twice per month. It was tiring but great fun and truly beneficial to the business. It also guaranteed we called all customers on a regular basis.

 Do we know how many companies do this? Well my gut feel is hardly any.

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I pride myself on having a great customer database. I know this is the backbone to any successful business. When looking at an exit strategy, this is where you can extract some great value from your potential buyer.

 I have been lax. Not enough time has been spent on updating details, writing letters and sending out e-mails to our database. Even our software needs to be revamped. Well at least on this issue, I have put the time in and arranged for a major overhaul of the CRM system. We are improving the functionality, speed and look and feel of it.

 Even with this done, we need to work our customers more. Recession or no recession, I can see, smell and feel business is out there. It is all in our customer database, all we need to do is unleash its potential.

Painting the Forth Bridge

Friday 26^th was spent in the office keeping in contact via the phone.

 A simple plan – make the call, check their details, make notes and update the database. Arrange meetings where appropriate, dig up leads where possible, data load a recall date in 2011.

  Mr. X has a middle child who is eight, I make a note he has three children. I called Mr. O’B on his work number, he left that company in 2003! Somehow, we are even connected on LinkledIn. We have a chat and reminisce on the days we did business together. He lives and works less than ten miles from me and gave me the mobile number of a mutual acquaintance.

 I attended Mr.P’s 50^th birthday this year. I give him a call and say hi. His company name has changed and needs £200k. Quote “Government grants are a waste of time, banks are not lending.” He cannot find the cash anywhere.

 I book my first meeting for 2011 with Mr. W. He sells microscopes and has not done a lease deal in years, other than the one that came through earlier this week!

 Mr. B was the person who introduced paint balling into the UK many years ago. He has made and lost a few million. His most recent business has gone from £100k loss in 2009 to a £100k profit in 2010. We have met up a few times and get on well. Regardless, that has not stopped my competition getting in there and stealing the show.

On the 6^th December I am in Basingstoke, so I focus on speaking to other companies in the area to ensure I have two meetings in the town. The same applies for Bristol on the 16^th December. Driving consumers time and costs, it is better to have three meeting than two.

 What were my thoughts at the end of the day? Keeping a data base up to date is an impossible task. It is like painting the Forth Bridge

Keeping in contact

Mr. Red and Mr. Black paid me a compliment recently; they noted how I was good at keeping in contact. They were not making reference to text or e-mail, they were making reference to me picking up the phone and having a conversation.

 Entrepreneurs do not just come up with good idea and implement them, they canvas views and sell the idea/product/service. Communication is key, they speak to and meet people. It is interesting how so many people just do not get it.

 To be fair, I do get bogged down in administration and do not always pick up the phone and keep in contact. This is a bad thing, time is better spent speaking to people. Not getting the time is not an excuse, we all do get the time.

 So take my advice, pick up the phone today and speak to a few people you have not spoken to in some time, you will be fascinated with the results.

Defining success

Receiving more incoming calls than making external calls (after deducting calls from salespeople trying to sell to you)

She refused to take my call

We worked hard in an account, offered excellent pricing and generally did a good job. I remember going out of my way to meet one of their customers in Leeds only to make a profit of £12.00. Over a period of time, I called this account, only to find the lady in question was always too busy to take my call.

 Well this week she needed my help and strangely enough, she took my call. I did politely point out that I had called her a number of times and could never get to speak to her. I also noted, again very politely, we had done no business for some time. The outcome was that our mutual customer had to pay more than they were expecting or she was hoping for.                      

I make a lot of calls and still on far too many occasions, the person/people in question do not return them. This is not a bad thing, it drives me even harder to be successful. There will be a day when they will want something from me, and do you know what, I will return their phone call.

How much can you save by shopping around?

Some people are addicted to shopping around to get the best deal, it is in their nature. Being obsessed with the best price sometimes leaves them blinkered to the best deal. In leasing, a company may opt for the lease with the lowest repayments but not look at what happens at the end of the lease agreement or the small print.

 The second key element is the time involved. I saved £188 on my currency exchange but have to drive to London and pay the Congestion Charge, plus give up a couple of hours of my time. Saving money takes time and that does need to be factored into the buying decision.

 Lastly, remember the other person needs to make a living as well.

Back in Blighty

I look to change my $4,800 back into sterling. (Never take a credit card to Vegas, when the money runs out, it is time to leave, and if you leave with some money, you have made a profit.)

 The Post Office offers me a rate of $1.72 to £1.00, another company $1.62, a difference of £188 on the $4,800.00.

 Being a salesperson at heart, I often focus on selling as opposed to buying at the best price. However, sometimes it is better to focus attention on saving money by finding and fighting for the best price. There is a fine line though. Some people change bank every year to get free banking or take out a new credit card to get zero% interest charges on balance transfers. I certainly cannot be bother with that, but spending time on the bigger expenditure is worthwhile.

Leaving the city of Lost Wages

As we leave Las Vegas and hop on Virgin Atlantic back home, it gives me time to reflect on the last few days.

 Desperation – Las Vegas has one purpose in life and that is to extract as much money as possible from you. As the recession has struck, there seems to be more of a feeling of desperation with some of the population taking advantage of you.

 Tipping – Us English are not used to this American phenomenon. In simple terms, American companies pay low wages and expect employees to fight for their bonus by offering good service and expecting a tip.          And if you do not give a tip, or not enough, then you will certainly know about it.

 Have a nice day – Insincere comments and false smiles. They don’t care if you have a nice day or are feeling great or not, they are simply after the dollars in your wallet. Next time an American says “how are you doing today”, say “really, really bad” and see what their answer is. Probably, “well that’s great to hear!”

Property prices down by 50% – It just sounds implausible, but it has happened in Las Vegas

 Getting away – it is time consuming and expensive, but if you can, get away for a change of scene. Our motto is if that business is going well, we celebrate and if things are going badly, we commiserate.

If you want to know what’s going on, ask a taxi driver

I remember once someone saying to me they were looking to buy a house in Brighton, but did not know the area well. They got in a taxi and just drove around. Taxi drivers do have a habit of knowing what is going on in their town.

 Vegas is no different, the taxi drivers know the city and what’s happening. One driver explained to me a problem the hotel owners are having. He did not realize it, but what he was discussing was a well known business problem.

 The exclusive hotels in Las Vegas make their money as follows: 1/3 from room occupancy, 1/3 from gambling and 1/3 from food and beverage/entertainment. You have to get occupancy rates high or it will affect the other 2/3 of the income stream. So, as the recession kicks in, less people come to the city, the result being the hotels lower the cost per room to attract more people. You then start attracting people who would not normally eat in an expensive restaurant or spend that much gambling. The result, the hotel is full but income is well down.

 In business I have lowered the price to attract volume and just recently, I have gone to a couple of old accounts and sold out at cost price, just to get new customers on board and keep the deals flowing. The challenge is that we have now disclosed our lowest price so moving the customer up to a higher price is not always that easy. Like the hotel owners, we have to keep business rolling in, be it the cash and profit generation may not be what we need it to be.