Exciting Expansion Launch for MPS Executive Suites
January 17, 2010 by Elite Business Team · Leave a Comment
After 28 years in business, 5 company expansions and 16 years of dreaming, the intense planning, design and construction has paid off. This month, MPS Executive Suites officially launched its modern, new look as a full-floor 33-office business centre.
“Since moving the company to 999 West Broadway in 1994, it has always been my ambition to take over the entire 7th floor,” says Owner/Manager Karline Mark-Eng. “Over the years we have been gradually expanding, and now we are happy to announce that this dream has finally become a reality.”
When she purchased the company in 1989, it offered just 8 rental offices. With her office move to 999 West Broadway, Mrs. Mark-Eng expanded to 12 furnished executive offices. As additional space came available on the same floor, she saw her bigger picture coming together, one suite at a time. An expansion in 2000 gave her 5 more offices, and four years later she expanded again by 9 offices, bringing her total number to 26 executive offices.
Effective Handling of Sales Leads
January 6, 2010 by Elite Business Team · Leave a Comment
by Karline Mark-Eng
It is surprising how many sales leads are lost unknowingly on a daily basis. Cleaning business owners can easily spend a couple of hundred dollars a month on their advertising such as flyers, community newspaper ads, Yellow Page listings, etc. But, when those prospective customers pick up the phone to call your business, what do they hear? Are they immediately impressed with your professionalism? Is their call answered promptly and courteously? If they don’t reach you, are they assured a prompt call-back with a quotation?
Give yourself full marks if this is the case. However, this is not so with a great number of businesses. What the prospect instead hears is: A garbled answering machine taped message, background noises of young children and pets demanding attention, the harried voice of someone who is behind schedule and rushing out the door or worse, no answer! Undoubtedly the first impression received by the prospective customer is not a positive one. They may assume your company is too small to handle their project. So, instead of those important sales leads being handled properly, they are mismanaged and the prospect is lost to the next company on their selection process.
Hiring a professional telephone answering service is a very economical way of ensuring your company is presented with a professional image at all times. The centre may be asked to page you directly with any new sales leads and to hold the rest of the calls until you call in for them in between appointments. By selecting a company which specializes in “personalized” service, your callers will assume the person answering is your full-time secretary.
One such service which caters to small business clients is MPS Executive Suites. Karline, the owner/manager, is very aware of the importance of handling each call as if it may be your biggest new contract of the year. She says, “we have a very important responsibility to help our clients’ businesses grow. If my clients are successful, then we will be too.” Murray Forbes can attest to the quality of service the association receives from MPS. “Besides handling our calls, the staff also assists with our other office needs such as typing, copying and even boardroom rentals. I can trust the staff to add the professional business touches to all aspects of our work.”
When it comes to reviewing your office overhead expenses, having a professional answering service doesn’t necessarily cost more. If you choose carefully it can generate extra sales leads and extra revenue that more than pays for itself.
How To Enhance Your Corporate Image
January 6, 2010 by Elite Business Team · Leave a Comment
by Diana Gray
When people think of creating a corporate image, they most often think of their advertising material and website. While these are definitely important items to present well, it doesn’t stop there. Your corporate image is being “viewed,” either positively or negatively, every time someone calls you. Do they hear the noise of kids crying in the background, a noisy café or just an answering machine message?
Although there are a lot of worthwhile advantages to working from home and operating without the high cost of a full-time office, it doesn’t have to “look” like you are a small-time business. For a low monthly fee, your business can have a professional address on your business card. For a little more, a virtual office package, offered through a professional business centre, can afford you the corporate image of having a staffed office.
Establish instant credibility
Take your home address – or worse, a post office box address – off your business cards. One tells your potential customer that you have a one-person, perhaps part-time hobby business. The other says, “I really don’t want you to know where I do business or how long I might be around.”
A business mailing address and virtual office are low-cost services provided by business centres, where reception staff can receive mail and parcels and greet visitors who unexpectedly drop by to see you. In addition to establishing greater credibility, you will enjoy the efficiency of being able to focus on your work and appointments rather than, for instance, having to wait for a courier to arrive to your home. A voice mail or e-mail from your “office” will keep you informed of important documents that have been received for you.
If the time comes when your home office is no longer working for you, you can upgrade your virtual office into a full-time office without any of the long-term commitments or high set-up fees and hassle. Your turn-key completely furnished and equipped office with full support staff awaits you.
First impressions count
How many times has meeting taken place in a coffee shop? Was it as productive as you had hoped? Often, the distraction of cellphones ringing, the conversations at the next table, the clatter of coffee cups or a cash register closing is not only frustrating, but takes the focus away from concluding a deal.
Holding the meeting in a professional business environment keeps the concentration and discussions focused. It also communicates the message that you are serious about your business and respect the other person’s time. For about the same price as the tab at the coffee shop, you can rent an office or equipped meeting room by the hour or by the day in the business centre where you have established your mailing address. This not only enhances your image, it also makes your meeting more effective.
Your phone is your lifeline
It today’s highly competitive environment, exceptional customer service is no longer a luxury, but a necessity, to keep your customers happy and informed. When a prospect receives a garbled answering machine message or is left in a voice-mail maze, it provides the competition an opportunity to offer something better.
Having friendly, informed and helpful receptionist answering your phone adds an extra level of personalized professionalism that speaks to the quality of your business. It lets your customers know that you care about them and their business, and that you value their time. Being able to be directly connected with your important callers – while the less urgent matters are screened for later handling – adds to your productivity and time management.
Focus on growth
Many businesses fail because they are too busy working “in” in their business and not “on” their business. Time is your most limited asset. The best way to gain more time in your day is to recognize the tasks you are doing that could be done more efficiently and effectively by someone trained in that area.
Gregor Anton, B.C. president of Leader Global Consulting, is a believer in contracting out for business centre support services. “Having the experienced office staff at the Central Park Business Centre take my calls, handle my seminar registrations and make follow-up calls adds hours to my business day. They not only save me time, but also reinforce the business message that I teach in my marketing bootcamps, to focus on business growth.”
Business centre staff is available on an hourly basis to book appointments, update databases, prepare professional documentation including contracts and spreadsheets – and more.
Take advantage of the flexibility and variety of services available to ensure you have the tools you need to leave a lasting positive impression on every customer and prospect.
Whether you have a virtual office or a full-time office, a professional business centre can provide you the foundation from which your business can expand to its greatest potential.
If you don’t have a Receptionist, you ARE a Receptionist
January 6, 2010 by Elite Business Team · Leave a Comment
Office Business Centres Ready For Growth
August 25, 2009 by Elite Business Team · Leave a Comment
MEDIA RELEASE
October 4, 2009
Office Business Centres Ready for Growth
The mood at last week’s Office Business Centre Association International’s (OBCAI) Annual Conference in San Diego was positive and uplifting. In keeping with the conference theme of “Evolve and Thrive,” speakers reiterated the fact that business isn’t down, it’s just different. Business owners need to recognize the changes, new trends, and global opportunities, and be able to quickly adapt. It was predicted that small, flexible, and agile businesses will do well in this economy. There is a stronger than ever need for business efficiency, so those businesses ready with the seamless provision of services and technology across borders will do extremely well.
Office business centres provide the ideal environment for consultants, professionals and small business owners to flourish. These centres serve as an “incubator” for small businesses to grow, and frequently provide the internal opportunities for client acquisition and referrals. Read more