By Patricia Thibault
ChoiceLocal had the pleasure of sponsoring another PSA and Pro Sales Conference this year. The event was held again at the Renaissance Chicago March 21-22 with over 360 participants! SIRVA did a wonderful job of organizing the conference with motivational speakers, keynote addresses, breakout sessions and a fun-filled cruise on the Chicago Odyssey on Lake Michigan.
Following are some key takeaways from the conference:
- Speaker Highlights:
- The key in life is getting back up when challenges and disappointments arise (Josh Sundquist – Paralympian and author)
- Everyone within an organization is in sales. In order to survive and thrive, it’s imperative to foster a sales culture (Todd Cohen – motivational speaker, sales trainer and author)
- Trends:
- The US tax reform is affecting Corporate HHG in many ways: increase in grossing up, increase in lump sum, increase in direct selling, and alternative options such as portables are being sought
- Consumer HHG is down 9.4% across the industry, according to AMSA
- Marketing Priorities:
- Local rankings (the map portion of search engine result pages) are a key to growth
- Generating positive, online reviews not only impacts website traffic/leads/booked moves but Google rankings as well. It’s particularly important that agents have a solution to generate positive reviews from local moves
- Lead Handling (especially after hours) is crucial. Prompt and continuous follow-up will increase booking rates
- Meet the customers’ needs throughout the entire process from being found on search engines, displaying positive reviews, quickly handling leads, and offering multiple modes of communication (online chat was a hot topic)
ChoiceLocal is a preferred, SIRVA-recommended digital marketing partner. We help Allied and northAmerican agents grow market share by deploying customized, local marketing solutions. ChoiceLocal keeps agents’ trucks moving!
About the Author
Patricia Thibault manages Business Development at ChoiceLocal. She brings over 20 years of digital marketing experience to the table. She specializes customizing marketing programs which help Moving/Logistics companies and Commercial Cleaning companies dominate their local markets. Patricia’s hobbies include music (flute and blues harmonica), boating, fishing and working with her dog, Roscoe. Roscoe is the official goose abatement dog at their local community park.
