Keeping on Top of Your Database Post-CASL

With the passing of Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) last July, the world of database management has changed for Canadian marketers. No longer can we simply email a list of prospects, weed out the bad addresses and follow up with the good ones to ensure our database is clean. If an email is sent to someone who doesn't want to be on your list, it can land you in trouble!

(Read more about the do's & don'ts of CASL by downloading this Greenfield CASL overview).

But what should you do if your database is a mess? Here are a few tips:

1. It's the circle of life!  Accept the fact that the minute you've finished updating your database, something in it will be obsolete.
2. Resist buying data.  Even if a list seller says they have email opt-in, don't believe it!  Legal professionals tell us email permission is not transferable; it rests only with the entity who obtained permission in the first place. A list seller would have to send the email for you in other words.  So be careful and buy only from reputable entities.
3. Focus first on the data you do have.  Set up a phone campaign. Have the list cleaned the good old fashioned way. 
4. Update in small chunks. Set aside a few hundred of your best records, get those updated and feel good about what you've done. And focus on keeping this chunk of data pristine. Make it your A-Team and work from there. 
5. Be brutal! If a contact can't be updated in a predetermined number of phone calls, archive it, delete it, or remove it, but get it our of your regularly accessible records. 
6. When you make a call, start at the top. An Executive Assistant to a President will know who plans the meetings within the company. To get past a tenacious receptionist, ask for Sales. The Sales department is a great place to start since they will be hosting a number of the meetings. 
7. Keep your funnel full by topping it up with new records.  This means systematically adding to your database as you acquire new leads from a trade show, and inbound inquiry, or a networking event.  Ask your new prospects if you can keep in touch via email, and send them an email with a formal opt-in request they can accept right away.
8. Email regularly. Don't be afraid of email just because of CASL. Moving prospects from implied to express consent can be simplified with an opt-in campaign via e-blasting, so why not do it? And for those who have opted in, they have given you permission to email them regarding specific topics. Why not woo them with great email content and keep them coming back for more?

Data cleansing isn't rocket science but it's time-consuming and required consistency. Remember that clean client and prospect data will make you a more efficient hospitality sales and marketing organization and ensure you are follow all of the new rules!

Meetings Industry: Back to a Seller's Market in 2015?

As 2014 draws to a close, many meetings industry suppliers have reported to us here at Greenfield that they believe it definitely will be back in a seller's market.

This prognosis seems to be supported by a number of surveys and forecasts from travel companies and industry associations:

• AMEX 2015 Global Meetings & Events Forecast
• GBTA-CWT Global Travel Price Outlook
• PKF Outlook for the Canadian Lodging Sector 2014-2015
• PKF: A Tale of 13 (Canadian) Cities
• PWC US Lodging Forecast
• MPI's 2015 Meeting Outlook

So suppliers, what are you seeing in your city for 2015?  Planners, what are you doing to mitigate the rising costs for your meetings and events?

#Eventprofs: Are You Listening to Your Clients’ LEAN IN Statements?

Art Sobczak is a speaker and trainer providing how-to prospecting and sales tips that get results. This was reprinted from his Smart Calling Tip of the Week. See back issues and get a free ebook of 501 tips at http://businessbyphone.com/free-sales-tips/.

Listen for Their "Lean In" Statements to Learn EXACTLY What they Want

If someone in a conversation dropped this on you, how would you react?

"So, anyway, I'm only sharing this with a couple of people, but my aunt in Omaha is good friends with Warren Buffet and this is where he said she needs to put all of her money..."

• You'd snap to attention.
• You'd elevate your listening to a higher level.
• You'd zone out everything else around you.
• You'd lean in closer. 

Because you now want, and must hear what is about to be said. What caused that was the "Lean In" statement. You hear these with prospects and customers too. Do you pick up on them and react the same way? On a call with a prospect, my ears really perked up when he said,

“Here’s our real problem ...”

I leaned forward in my seat, turned up the volume on my headset and took even better notes. I questioned deeper with each response he gave. By asking money questions we were able to agree that the problem was costing him about $50,000 monthly.

My point here is they will often let us know when they are about to reveal their problems, pains, and desires. I wish it was always as easy as hearing the word "problem." Sometimes it is, other times we need to focus even more intently.

Listen for the "Lean In" words and phrases that describe pain, discomfort, or dissatisfaction such as:

• “We need to do something about ...”
• “We’ve noticed a downward trend in the ...”
• “It’s concerning us that ...”
• “A trouble area is ...”
• “An area of difficulty is...”
• “A dilemma ...”
• “We worry about ...”
• “It’s a hassle when ...”
• “What’s frustrating is ...”
• “We've been unsuccessful at ...”
• “We're not satisfied with ...”
• “What’s disappointing is ...”
• “What takes time is ...”
• “It costs us to ...”
• “We try to avoid ...”

On a similar note, listen for them visualizing the result of a solution:

• “What we could use is...”
• “A solution would be to ...”
• “What we'd like to achieve is ...”
• “We could show a savings from ...”
• “The ideal would be to ...”
• “We’d show the most benefit from ...”

Of course, the best thing to do with all of these, once you hear them, is to keep them talking.

• “Tell me more.”
• “Explain that please.”
• “Interesting. Go on.”
• “In what way?”
• “How else does that affect you?”
• “How do you feel about that?”

Lean in, listen, keep them talking, and they'll write your recommendation for you.