Or, How to get an audience with Real Estate Developers and Agencies in the Region…

This short article is more apt to the way Businesses function in the region, and may not be applicable world wide. However, although we use the Real Estate Industry as an example, it can broadly encompass other markets as well.

This article is targeted at peripheral and associate industries that have dealings and interests in the Real Estate industry, such as Advertising Agencies, Interior Design firms, Suppliers, Finance providers etc.

Business is Booming, Innovation can wait!

This is most likely what you will hear (and we know we have) so this small guide is to help you get past some of the initial hurdles to reach the right key decision maker and then hopefully impress them enough to get your work sanctioned. Real Vision uses some of these tried and tested methods after running into many a brick wall when presenting a non ‘established’ business idea. Without further ado, lets start with…

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The Golden Rule - Do not tell them they ‘need’ what you have:

Instead introduce it as THE most prestigious thing to have! Always compare your unique idea / proposal to what is currently the established and accepted way of doing things, and repeatedly introduce the thought that it is more prestigious than what the competition is doing.

Although it hurts to ‘dumb down’ a proposal, chances are this is the ONLY way you will get an audience. Suggesting to management that what you have is so innovative that its never been done before can lead to a downfall. Go with terminology like prestigious, luxury, and you start off on the right foot!

Tip 2: Use Fax to complement your Emails:

Yes there is a strange fascination in the region with fax! Although it is slowly dying out, it hasn’t been stamped out yet. Paperless office concepts and environment friendly initiatives are gaining ground, but Fax is still a faster way to reach the desk of the CEO or upper Management.

We discovered this quite by accident, when we were getting spammed by regular paper fax, which led us to install a PC fax machine. After several trial runs due to the ease of use of sending a fax from a PC, we realized that it is indeed still an effective communication tool! The only thing to consider is to not send a fax with pictures, like a restaurant menu. Even if you are an interior designer or an advertising agency sending in a brochure concept, send an official covering page with the obligatory fine print and business details. This will ensure that it gets neatly stapled together and is placed on the CEO’s desk.

Tip 3: Send Your Mailings On Sunday:

It makes no sense here to send out important mails (faxes?) on a Thursday anytime after noon. As the weekend starts and chances are, your email or proposal will get lost among junk mail that will collect in in-boxes before the next working day - Sunday.

In the UAE, Thursday is still a working day, with Friday and Saturday being the official weekend. Other countries in the region however, still may have Thursday and Friday as the weekend. To ensure top of mind recall, schedule all business mail for early Sunday morning delivery or if possible Sunday afternoon. This leaves time for people to clean out their weekend junk mail.

Tip 4: Use A Courier Service to Deliver your Proposal:

It is a known fact that due to the nature and schedules of Top management, coupled with the market boom, management or the person you would like to target, never gets to read your proposal because it is screened by personal assistants. Now the Pa’s job is essential to screen out the chaff from getting thru, and you don’t need to be a CEO to know how having someone clean up your email box is a needed luxury! However, Pa’s are seldom trained in ‘all’ spheres of a business to know what is and is not chaff, so it’s an evil we have to live with.

This is why using a courier service, with a neatly bound leather trimmed hard cover (remember prestige and richness is the order of the day here) proposal will always be delivered to the CEO’s desk guaranteed!

Tip 5: ‘Contact’ marketing - It’s not what you know, it’s who you know:

This rather long sentence can be summed up elegantly in local language in one word ‘Wasta’. Roughly translated it means ‘influence’.

It works like this… If you have Wasta, you can reach the desired person in management, quickly and effectively. Wasta or Vaasta, in this case is usually an influential person. This is not to say that sheer talent and merit won’t get you recognition, its just a known fact that either way, to swiftly conclude a business proposal, it is needed!

In some cases, sheer innovation and talent will always have a bumpy ride to the top if you don’t have some Wasta to cushion it with.

Do you know of any other tips that will help your fellow readers? We would love to hear them below.