[cwish001]

I am starting a new business where I am developing a website that will list local apartments for rent. It will be different from other sites because it have videos of the apartment, live chat with apartment offices, and a program that can give a virtual tour on request for people who can't make it to the area. (There is a large army base in my area and some prospective families are not able to tour apartments physically). The issue that I have is that I am very nervous in talking to people. I really don't know how to approch a business and get through the secretary level to the decision makers. Does anyone have any pointers that will help me with success through speaking.

-Corey

[Squandered Halfpints]

I would suggest you find out as much as you can about the company's operations, at whatever business you plan on approaching. It sounds like you'll be approaching prop. management companies. Try to find out how they currently advertize and what they pay, and how much they receive for finding a tenant. Getting this type of info. will give you much more confidence because you'll feel like your couple steps ahead of them.

[jfeldstein]

Wow. Just wow. I'm actually in the process of starting an almost identical website, The One Stop Spot for Renting in Bloomington - IURentStop. I understand the difficulty in trying to get apartments listed, and having to chat your way in. That's actually where I'm stuck on mine.

Remember, as a business they're expecting businesspeople to call them, so just act like a business person. You're supposed to be calling them, they should be interested in what you're saying, because your offer will be helpful to them. Always tell them what will help them.

As you mess up a few times, you'll learn what people reacted poorly to and what they enjoyed hearing, and you'll be able to create a basic script in your head for most interactions you'll have with those people. The first time I tried talking to another company to get them using my site, I got a door shut in my face. Not cool.

I'd suggest breaking down the owners of the local property into categories by size: individual, small business, large business. Practice on the individuals. There's tons of them and they only own one or two apartments, so if you're script isn't worked out yet and you totally drop the ball it doesn't really matter. Also, having a lot of small people listed will give you a great leg up when you're trying to get a large company to use your site. They'll know you're serious if you have lots of other people behind you.

Feel free to PM me if you want to get some more in depth discussion going. We'll IM or email. I'd like to discuss what you're doing, we may have some good ideas to share with each other.

[fwn122]

thats a great idea. sounds like somthing people could really use.

[nocci01]

Yep...just ask them if they'd like more traffic to rent out their vacant spaces. Talk to them in terms of what they want to hear. Read articles or books about prospecting and sales. There are tons of ways to get around gatekeepers (secretaries).

Zig Ziglar is a great sales trainer and I highly recommend his books, audios or videos to help you improve in that arena. Also, if you want a competitive edge, read "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie. You can find a copy to check out at the library for free.