What does it take to get a project under contract, or a 'deal done'?
This has been an agonizing period for Star. We've added to our team Duane Gerenser for the Northeast and Marvin Rappaport for the Southeast and the Pacific Coast. Duane is a real pro when it comes to negotiation and deal structure. In addition to negotiating, Marvin is a pro when it comes to finances. Both bring skills to Star where Scott Tracy and I are already stretched, so their participation expands our bandwidth tremendously.
Once we get a project [Saratoga Polo, Saratoga Springs, NY; Ocean Lodge, St. Simons Island, GA; or Marina Point, Big Bear, CA] under contract and funded, then our Chris Cannon can swing into action on marketing and lead generation.
At the end of the day, lead generation, based on solid marketing research, is still the key to success. Sales—the turning of a paper contract into cash—is still the 'name of the game' big time! Star has accepted its role in marketing and sales, to include the risk side of the business and its role in a project's life.
It's kind of like raising money. Some folk like to 'ask for the order' and others like to cultivate. Star has a network of sales pros who like to 'ask for the order' to close sales at a project.
Star’s legacy is getting the sales made and closed. That’s where our Scott Tracy comes in—the closing part. Among his other key skills, he excels at escrows and closings. That’s the key step in converting a piece of paper to cash. Without that step there is no resort development business. Scott also is key to project management, another skill set that’s important to any project.
For sales, or getting the sales made, we have a group of experienced and skilled project sales managers [and project managers for that matter] that are available based on their time and our project. That’s what 30 years in the business does for you. And one needs to treat these skilled professional right, so they want to come back to the next project.
More next month…
