MIA: SBE Sells SLS South Beach for $125 Million
Following the sale of the SLS Beverly Hills hotel for $195 million to Torrance multilevel marketing and hotel firm Sunrider International in May, Sam Nazarin has now sold the high-end and chic SLS Hotel South Beach. The famed hotel at 1701 Collins Avenue has a new owner, GoldenPeak Capital Real Estate, ooo bought the haute property for a reporterd $125 million, in other words $892,857 per room.
Source: www.hauteliving.com
PRESENTATIONS
Antonio Garrido is President and Founder of Absolute Sales Development – Miami’s own Sandler Sales Training organization that provides companies of all sizes with superior business-growth training. Visit: www.absolute.sandler.com or contact: (786)-527 0277
Twitter: @SandlerASDMiami
The TACTIC: Who pulls the trigger?
The STORY:
Mark was meeting with the president of the company, the sales manager, and the office manager.
Prior to the meeting, Mark had determined the president was the one who would make the decision, as long as the sales manager was positive. He wasn’t quite sure why the office manager was there, since she had yet to ask a single question.
“So,” went on Mark, making eye contact with the sales manager, “you said earlier that our prospect tracking and geographical mapping system would greatly add to your strategic planning.”
“Definitely,” he responded.
Mark waited a moment to see if he would expand on his comment, and seeing that no further response was coming, asked, “By definitely, what exactly do you mean?”
“Well,” said the sales manager, who then proceeded to talk for the next five or so minutes. Every now and then, the president added a comment.
“Now,” said the president, “all of us here at this meeting have one major concern, which you and I covered a week ago when the two of us met; I think it needs to be addressed.”
“And that would be…” asked Mark
“Concerns over training how to use the system and whom do we deal with when they,” gesturing to his sales manager and office manager, “have software questions.”
“Understand the concern… so, as sales manager, what specific concerns do you have?”
The sales manager and Mark spent the next 1 0 minutes going over those. At the conclusion, Mark looked at the office manager, who still had not said anything, and asked, “Do you have any questions?”
“Well, most of them you already answered, and the others are minor.”
“So you don’t have any questions now?”
“I guess I don’t.”
“Okay,” said Mark, “what would you like me to do now?”
The RESULT:
Mark knew who the decision maker was. Unfortunately, he ignored the minor questions of the office manager by dismissing her and basically telling her she didn’t have any questions. Can you picture her saying to the other two folks, after Mark leaves, “Don’t feel good about this system, not sure why. Who else is coming in?”
DISCUSSION:
Every salesperson is told to make sure that the presentation, the talk, and the direct mail piece is sent to the decision maker. Sometimes in the rush to concentrate on the decision maker, those who also influence the outcome can be overlooked.
People who are ignored, because nothing was asked of them, can easily develop a great deal of resentment. It’s not enough to smile at everyone present and make eye contact with everyone. Because everyone smiles back, and makes eye contact with you, doesn’t mean they are pleased with you.
Good manners, which we all try to have in any encounter, dictate the appearance of involvement.
A problem for some salespeople is that they assume good manners are enough. Because the spouse, the partner, or the office manager doesn’t say much of anything, and smiles and nods at the correct time, it’s easy for the salesperson to delude themselves into believing those people are “on board” for the sale happening,
These silent prospects could be thinking that what you are proposing is wrong, dumb, stupid, off-the-mark. How do you find out? By asking, “Do you have any questions?” No-this is just a polite way of saying, “OK, I’m done selling. Now write me a check.”
APPROACH:
Ask each person to whom you are making a proposal at least two or three questions which demand an answer and then wait for an answer. For example, “How do you see yourself using the (whatever)?” Or, “Bill made an excellent point earlier that I had not considered, and I really appreciate his bringing it to my attention… I sense that you might also help me out the same way… ” and then wait for them to respond.
Even if you don’t get much of a response, you are involving them in making the decision by simply asking for their input. You might have heard the adage, “An involved prospect is a buying prospect.” It’s true.
Everyone in the prospect group you are talking to needs to be recognized as involved in the decision. You make that happen by taking the initiative to get them involved.
Never ask, “Do you have any questions?”
THOUGHT:
Never assume you know who OKs the check being written; it could well be the person at the meeting who sat there like a bump on the log.
Sandler Training is a global training organization with nearly 50 years of top-flight training experience. Sandler Training provides training and consulting services for small-to-medium-sized businesses, as well as corporate training for Fortune 1000 companies. With over 250 offices located throughout the USA alone, Sandler’s goal is to help clients initiate substantive, measurable and sustainable growth.
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The Advanced Premium Tax Credit is an estimate – Avoid surprises in your tax bill
No one likes unpleasant surprises on April 15th. To avoid an unexpected tax bill next April, notify the Healthcare Marketplace of any relevant change in your circumstances. Advance payments of the premium tax credit provide financial assistance to help you pay for the insurance you buy through the Marketplace, but this is an estimate of the actual credit to which you are entitled. Having at least some of your credit paid in advance directly to your insurance company will reduce the out-of-pocket cost of the health insurance premiums you’ll pay each month. However, it is important to notify the Marketplace about changes in circumstances to allow the Marketplace to adjust your advance payment amount. This adjustment will decrease the likelihood of a significant difference between your advance credit payments and your actual premium tax credit. Changes in circumstances that you should report to the Marketplace include, but are not limited to:
An increase or decrease in your income
Marriage or divorce
The birth or adoption of a child
Starting a job with health insurance
Gaining or losing your eligibility for other health care coverage
Changing your residence
For the full list of changes, you should report, visit HealthCare.gov/how-do-i-report-life-changes-to-the-marketplace.
If you report changes in your income or family size to the Marketplace when they happen in 2015, the advance payments will more closely match the credit amount on your 2015 federal tax return. This will help you avoid getting a smaller refund than you expected or even owing money that you did not expect to owe.
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3 Steps for Assembling a Startup Dream Team
You may have a great idea, but your company’s fate depends in large part on the strength of your team. In fact, many venture capitalists say that the character, complementary skill sets and working style of the key players are some of the most important factors in selecting companies in which to invest.
We spoke with Naeem Zafar, who teaches entrepreneurship at the University of California, Berkeley, and serves as CEO of startup Bitzer Mobile, to walk us through the steps you should take to assemble a group that will start you on the road to profitability.
The Founders
The first and perhaps most difficult step is to evaluate your business partners. “The quality of people in this phase will define the DNA of the company later,” Zafar says. “It’s critical to be ruthless.”
He points out that having even one person who is not up to snuff can derail the entire team. “It’s very difficult to find the A players if you have a couple of B players,” he says, “and very quickly you end up a mediocre organization.”
The key, he adds, is to “ask yourself every day: In the whole world, are these the best people I could be working with?” If the answer is yes, it’s time to designate roles and divide responsibilities.
“When we were starting our last company, we decided that for anything technical, my co-founder would make those decisions ultimately–so we would not debate them ad nauseam–and for anything business-related, I would make the decision,” he says.
Now is also the time to figure out the company’s equity structure–a crucial step that will help avoid expensive legal problems down the road.
Advisors, part-timers, contract hires
There are five types of advisors essential to any startup: a market/domain expert, a connector (a well-connected person willing to make introductions), an industry celebrity (who will lend a name but not necessarily be directly involved), a personal coach and a technical expert. Attend industry events and read business journals, trade publications and blogs to find people who may want to work with you. “See who you have the right chemistry with, who is intrigued by your idea and who you can rely on,” Zafar says.
As the business grows, if tasks start to go undone due to lack of time or expertise, it’s time to bring in extra personnel. Determine what skills you and your partners are lacking and seek out part-timers and contractors to fill in the gaps. Zafar suggests searching LinkedIn for people with the expertise you need, then sending a straightforward e-mail requesting a few minutes of their time: “Typically four out of 10 people will say yes if you approach them honestly, correctly and with an interesting topic.”
Any outside help should sign a legal agreement that enforces confidentiality and confirms that you retain ownership of any work produced.
Full-time staff
When should you hire your first full-time employees? Often, finances will dictate your readiness to take this step. When you score an infusion of capital–whether through bootstrapping, venture capital or a bank loan–you’re ready to add staff and kick your company into a higher gear.
When considering candidates, think about whether they have the temperament necessary to succeed at a startup. In brand-new companies, business processes and roles are often fluid, and the ability to be flexible is a must. “I’m highly skeptical of somebody who has been too long at a big company because they simply don’t understand that [at a startup] there is no job definition–you do whatever it takes,” Zafar says.
Ultimately you have to find people who can pull their own weight and work for the greater good. “You have to decide: Are you going to hire people who have major strengths or are you going to hire people that lack major weaknesses?” Zafar says. “The funny part is people who have major strengths also have major weaknesses … the ultimate example would be the New York Yankees, or a pirate ship, where everybody is extremely good and has extremely big egos and they almost can’t stand each other, but as a team they somehow make it work. Not every founder is comfortable with that; most want harmony. But harmony doesn’t create excellent products.”
4 Keys to Build Your Dream Team
Within the first 48 hours of using Launchrock, GRAPPPLE received over 200 individual signups. But which should come first? Launchrock or “The Dream Team”?
First, you need The Team.
As a young entrepreneur who has launched a few ideas on LaunchRock, I can say from experience that great ideas will have a much better chance at success when they are backed by a similarly great team. No matter how incredibly genius an idea is, the world won’t respond to a poorly executed idea that is quickly splattered on a landing page, shared on Facebook or Tweeted a few times. Ideas are nothing more than ideas until you execute. Words of wisdom from successful entrepreneurs like Steve Blank and Dan Martellconclude, the team is just as important if not more then the “idea” or “technology” your company is based on. Here are my 4 keys to building a Dream Team of talented individuals that form a well-rounded, idea implementation machine.
Step 1. Understand yourself
Step 2. Network
Step 3. Look beyond talent
Step 4. Start the Magic
Step 1: Understand yourself
This is one of the hardest parts for most and it’s time to get out of denial. What are your weaknesses? You’re not going to be able turn your idea into action by yourself. You need to focus on finding a team that compliments your strengths and overlaps your deficiencies. If you’ve had prior career success in sales and marketing, realize that you need to partner with technical and design expertise to collaborate and build the product. Don’t outsource your team! It’s a major mistake, money pit, and you’re ignoring the most important part of a startup, the team. Building a startup isn’t a linear process, it’s full of pivots with ups and down and constant changes and you’re all going to need to be there together to succeed.
Step 2: Network
You’re dating, you’re seeking a partner(s) to get in bed with your idea. Just as you would go about finding your soulmate, attend events where you’re more likely to meet the skills and experience you’re looking for. Meaning if you need an awesome designer, don’t waste your time looking for referrals at the weekly PHP meetup. Go to Meetup.com or Eventbrite and find events that designers will attend. Also, keeping your ideas as “top secret” is amateurish. The more people you share it with the better. Why? You’re going to learn and receive a whole lot of help along the way. Won’t someone steal it? No, the hardest part of any idea is making it reality. You’re the one with the passion and if it’s a good idea you’ll get referrals to create it faster then anyone else.
Step 3: Look beyond talent
Team building on steroids takes place every weekend at hackathons and Startup Weekends. Go to one, and actively participate even if it’s not your idea. At the event, PLEASE don’t be the one who is looking for free development hours or free marketing help. People are not machines and don’t abuse the younger generations. You need to work in order to earn the respect of others. On the other hand, I would recommend profiling those you speak to about joining your team. It’s obvious that you want the most talented individuals, but if you’re making a product for those who love going outside, don’t waste time trying to convince the engineer who spends their free time on Xbox 360. Another common problem is finding potential teammates who are content working for Google, Oracle, Facebook etc. Realize, entrepreneurship isn’t in their blood, and move on. They won’t join you until you’re the top story onHacker News. Most importantly, look for the passion. When you first tell them your idea, look for their fire to start and if it doesn’t ignite, move on quickly. Down the line, when it comes to reaching a milestone the passionate ones will be those joining you for 12+ hour days to complete it.
Step 4: Start the Magic
The magic of the startup “dream team” is when you first get together. During our first meeting, I laid out the original idea and we ripped it apart for a week. Out from the brainstorming mess of whiteboards came the gem of an MVP (minimum viable product) produced by all of us: GRAPPPLE. Afterwards, keep the magic alive by giving everyone ownership of the product and their role within the team. It also helps to get recognition for the team’s progress wherever you can whether the local newspaper, contests, Reddit, etc.
Meet the GRAPPPLE Team:
We came together in January and were one of the winners at Startup Weekend San Luis Obispo. Fast forward a few months, one pivot, and after 1,200+ hours of work producing 25,000+ lines of code we launched our alpha just a few weeks ago. This summer we’ve been invited to the SLO Hothouse accelerator and we’ll be launching our beta soon!
Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Garrett Lauringson, Co-Founder of GRAPPPLE, a web and mobile application inspiring the world to accomplish their goals & share their achievements through connected communities. You can follow Garrett @GLsmoove.