Apex United Hosts Its First Think Tank in Downtown Toms River

April 8, 2019

On April 2, 2019, Apex United Corporation hosted its first Think Tank in Downtown Toms River at its 26 Main Street location. The event was held with the intentions of bringing together those with an interest in business and the development of the Toms River area. Throughout the event there were several key topics that were discussed:

The importance of sales and developing a goal-oriented sales process
Ideas that would bring more life to the Downtown Toms River area
The brands that Apex United Corporation manages

The Importance of Sales

It’s fair to assume that most businesspeople would like to obtain more sales for their business. However, it’s important to understand that you don’t “get” more sales – sales are found, and sales are earned. As a business person, the first two questions you should be asking yourself are:

How do potential prospects find me?
How hard am I working to find them?

You should know who your customer is better than anyone else. Understanding who your customers are, how they behave and their interests are the first crucial steps necessary when developing a sales plan. Your customers may have several different channels they use to find you.

Whether that would be your website, social media, search engine platforms such as Google or Microsoft Bing, Google AdWords, Radio, Television or even digital streaming, you must know which platforms are connecting you and your customers the most.

Once you feel confident you understand how your potential prospects are finding you, you’ll then want to identify just how hard you’re working to find them.

Search Yourself

To begin answering the first question of “how do potential prospects find me?” you should first begin searching yourself to see how easy it is to find yourself. This helps you put yourself in your customer’s shoes. Take note of your position in search engine results, social media search results, etc. You will also be able to discover any competitors that may be ranked above you.

Find Your Prospects

When it comes to finding potential prospects, you could either pay an agency to do your digital marketing and sales plan development for you, or you could work hard and do it yourself. You should identify just how hard you are working to find your potential prospects.

SEO – Is your website’s content optimized for search engines? Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is a very labor-intensive process that is necessary for any businessperson seeking to have their brand found online via search engines.
Paid Advertising – There are several different methods of paid advertising that you could do to reach your potential prospects. Whether that would be Google AdWords, a radio advertisement, a physical billboard advertisement, or posting your ad on an affiliate marketing network, each method will have its own unique cost and degree of success.
Community Outreach – Attending events and even hosting some for your community on your company’s behalf is a great way to advertise your business. Most small businesses start local, so, it makes the most sense to network locally before attempting to branch out.

Think Like Your Customers

Are you thinking for your customers or are you thinking like your customers? Make no mistake, it’s important to think for your customers, but you should also be thinking like your customers. It will ensure that you have a better understanding of how your customers behave and the actions that they may take to find you.

The Importance of Goal-Oriented Sales

The most important part of the sales process is to ensure it is goal oriented. There must be a starting point and an ending point. Each sale is going to be a bit different – but they should all try to follow a straight line to the end.

By identifying what your goals are for yourself and your business, you’ll be able to create a sales process that promotes and can achieve those goals. Diving into the process blind is not something you will want to do.

Build Rapport

A lot of people talk about building rapport and rapport is important. Building rapport needs to start immediately in a sales conversation. It should be enthusiastic and come from a place of authority. Without building rapport with a goal-oriented method, you could lead yourself off the line and into “outer space.”

Under Promise and Over Deliver

It isn’t always about price – the biggest excuse most salespeople have is that people won’t buy something because of the price. The rule of thumb is that anyone will buy something that they don’t need if it’s being sold by someone they like, but people will not buy something that they do need if it’s being sold by someone they don’t like.

You need to be a likable, knowledgeable and enthusiastic salesperson that people enjoy doing business with to set yourself apart. You should do everything in your power to under promise and over deliver. Make sure you complete the order of service in a timely fashion to go above and beyond. Pay attention to detail and the little things and do it in a method to earn a customer for life, not just for today.

Work Hard

You need to work hard to keep your customer’s business just as much as you did to earn their business. It takes one negative experience for a person to write a bad review, but several positive experiences for a person to write a positive review.

Building Up Downtown Toms River

Apex United Corporation is located in the heart of Downtown Toms River, New Jersey. Giving back to the community and being a part of the development process is something we hold dearly at Apex. Downtown Toms River is located in a convenient area on the Jersey Shore. It’s about a 10-minute drive to Seaside Heights and its beach on the Atlantic Ocean. It also features the Toms River Park-and-Ride, where commuters can hop on a direct bus to and from the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan, New York City.

Throughout Apex’s Think Tank session, several ideas that could potentially improve Downtown Toms River and its surrounding area were brought up.

More nightlife.
More art scenes.
More youth-oriented businesses.
Development to Huddy Park for event hosting.
Re-opening the New Jersey Transit line to reach Toms River.
Launch a shuttle bus to Seaside Heights during the summer season.
Additional community events and fairs throughout every season.

Currently, Downtown Toms River has been working hard to grow its economy and create a warm and welcoming community area for everyone around. In 2018, Apex United teamed up with Downtown Toms River by sponsoring a trolley in the area. It operates as a free hop-on-hop-off ride throughout the Downtown Toms River area.

Also, the Red Carpet Inn hotel was recently closed and is scheduled to be torn down. This was done to improve the safety of the community and free up land to build something that will benefit all of the community.

Brands Managed by Apex United Corporation

Apex United Corporation manages several diverse brands in the extended warranty industry. Those brands include DriveSmart Warranty, LifeGuard and Motor Vehicle Assurance. Each brand is an industry leader in its respected vertical and Apex is proud to manage them.

DriveSmart Warranty

Founded in 2016, DriveSmart has redefined expectations and quickly grown into a leading extended auto warranty provider throughout the United States & Canada. We started with two goals in mind: to always stay true to our values & to save customers money on unexpected auto repairs. Today, we have exceeded these goals and have expanded from a local corporation to a nationwide corporation.

DriveSmart’s premium coverage offers protection and savings that cannot be found anywhere else on the market. With the inclusion of regular maintenance such as brake pads, oil changes, and air conditioning repairs, DriveSmart policies lead the industry by providing more value than any leading competitor.

DriveSmart offers amazing benefits such as free introductory maintenance, roadside assistance, trip interruption and car rental assistance with every policy it offers.

LifeGuard

LifeGuard was created to provide consumers with the very best protection plans in the industry at the most affordable price. Partnered with A+ Administrators, LifeGuard is proud of its Electronic, Appliance, and Home Protection Plans that surpass the competition in every way possible. With the flexibility of multiple pricing options, easy claims, and no contract obligations, LifeGuard is your one-stop shop for protecting everything important in your life.

Motor Vehicle Assurance

MVA is a Vehicle Maintenance Service Protection Provider that provides our policyholders a safeguard against unexpected repairs. MVA ensure that your repair costs are covered without the financial burden causing stress. MVA’s policyholders experience a wide range of benefits and features such as Direct Pay, Roadside Assistance, and Comprehensive Coverage Packages.

Great Things Start from Small Beginnings

Small businesses are what drive the economy of the United States and what makes our country great. In fact, over 28 million small businesses operate throughout the country. It is crucial for small business owners to be able to have access to a network of resources that will assist them in their growth.

Apex United is proud to be a part of the Think Tank in Downtown Toms River and was happy to host one at its 26 Main Street location for the first time. Apex firmly believes that there should be a forum for open discussion amongst small business owners and those interested in business throughout the community.