Marketing Insights
Don’t stop this train! By Zach Schabot, MIRM 2009 Chair, Triangle Sales and Marketing Council
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I was sitting in my new office with iTunes on “shuffle” and a song by John Mayer came on ...Stop This Train. Some of you may know it. The chorus goes: Stop this train I want to get off and go home again I can't take this speed it's moving in I know I can't Cause now I see I'll never stop this train I couldn't help but think about advice I received last year from Phil Jawny, the 2008 Triangle Sales and Marketing Council chair. He said “When you take on this role, you will feel like you’ve jumped on a moving train. You can’t stop it. You just have to try and keep it from derailing.” Personally, I think we did more than just chug along this year. We are fortunate in the Triangle to have an award-winning SMC, fueled by the hardest-working, smartest, most caring, most fun-loving professionals in the nation. I cannot say “thank you” enough to all those who participated. I was constantly overwhelmed by the generosity of our members – our community outreach programs helped hundreds of people in the Triangle! Our MAME (Major Achievements in Marketing Excellence) award show was fantastic! Our social media programs are thriving! We worked hard to hold each and every education program, even if attendance was not as high as we hoped. Most SMCs around the country didn’t schedule a class. Our networking nights were well attended, our membership numbers are
“When you take on this role, you will feel like you’ve jumped on a moving train. You can’t stop it. You just have to try and keep it from derailing.” still tops in the country. Myers Barnes came in and got everyone pumped up – and then became a member! Our reserves were there to lend a hand at the drop of a hat. It was magical. (Rumor has it the goal for next year is 100 people on the reserves committee! Watch out!) We celebrated our accomplishments every month, awarding sales people for millions of dollars in production. There are so many happy homeowners out there because of what we do. You should be proud of yourselves. And we ended the year on a high note,
with another successful Big Give and the announcement that we are a finalist for SMC of the year. I am honored and humbled to have been your conductor. I know the impact we made this year, on our industry and our community, had very little to do with me and everything to do with you. It has been a wonderful ride and I don't want to get off! ■ NB Zach Schabot with Garman Realty can be reached at zachschabot@gmail.com or (919) 796-5891. Be sure to check www.trianglesmc.com regularly to stay informed.
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