Resources: Courting Clients

Understanding the importance of relationships, Wilma Boyd

invites 125 of her clients to an extravagant party each year, hoping to wow

them with the event and her Naples-based company, Preferred Travel. Her latest

affair, called “Four Corners of the World,” featured cuisine from Africa,

Europe, the Orient and the Americas, and, with the help of Robb & Stucky,

exotic displays served as a background. The parties are “talked about for

weeks,” she says.

When it comes to corporate entertaining on a local level,

Southwest Florida’s business hosts spice client outings with creativity and

personal charm. From scoring hot tickets to hosting trips to the Bahamas,

executives swear by the benefits, saying that even a modest investment can open

a door with prospects and make a lasting impression with VIPs.style="mso-spacerun: yes">

In his private box at TECO Arena, Denny Grimes of VIP Realty

hosts catered parties for up to 10 guests during Florida Everblades games and other

shows, such as Disney on Ice. “Family events are best of all. Everyone’s kids

have a ball,” says Grimes. “Even if a client can’t go, the invitation counts.”

Corporations comprise 42 percent of the Everblades’

season-ticket business, says Kendra Sutton, director of ticket sales. Companies

that book a group of 20 or more appreciate the personal service, the 15 percent

discount and the absence of lines and surcharges so much they “buy admission to

non-hockey events as well.” Another perk: first dibs on touring shows.

Although front-row seats for Everblades games are sold out,

30 coveted passes, priced at $661 each, for rinkside seats (which typically

become available only via a waiting list) are available before the season

starts. Businesses often take advantage of this, Sutton says. A mini-package of

16 vouchers, redeemable at will, makes another good bet. For $164, an executive

gains access to a personal ticket manager and is likely to get good seats even

at the last minute.

Outings to performances at The Philharmonic Center for the

Arts in Naples or Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall in Fort Myers and

gallery tours often wrap around pre-show hors d’oeuvres, a sit-down dinner or a

dessert reception on or off the premises. Ten-percent savings on the adult

ticket price and the first pick of other shows attract corporate business,

which accounts for 20 to 25 percent of group sales, says Lana Waltzer, director

of sales for Barbara B. Mann.

Ballet works on Sanibel, while south Fort Myers patrons

prefer Everblades games. Meanwhile, during spring training, downtown Fort Myers

customers enjoy cheering on the Boston Red Sox from behind home plate. Other

executives look to the outdoors. Offshore and backcountry fishing are executive

Gail Markham’s favorite ways to nurture friendships with clients in her

business consulting and accounting firm, Markham Norton Stroemer & Co.

Robbie Roepstorff, president of Edison National Bank,

recently hosted female clients from New York on a chartered snook hunt. “We

find ourselves doing different things in different markets,” says Roepstorff.

Some executives entertain on their boats, says Priority

Marketing’s Teri Hansen. Voyages with business colleagues may mean weekend

trips to the Bahamas.

One local company recognizing a market for corporate

entertainment is Nautilus Boat Tours in North Naples. Owner Jay Stemen recently

started offering annual corporate passes priced at $250, which lets buyers

treat up to four guests to half-day shelling and nature cruises as well as

sunset cruises.

In some metropolitan areas, wine tastings are gaining in

popularity. VIPs may sample wine and appetizers, converse with a wine steward,

or feast on regional dishes. At Haskell’s Wine & Spirits in Naples, a

tasting for 20 can range from $75 to $100 an hour. Adding appetizers translates

to $25 to $50 a person, with a full wine dinner about twice that.

Southwest Florida’s staggering number of golf courses lend

themselves to business outings on the green. Virtually every office boasts an

official golf host. Merrill Lynch financial advisers Scott Chalmers and David

Goduti regularly host clients and prospects at the Rick Smith Golf Academy at

Tiburón. The academy offers private instruction in one- to three-hour clinics

(averaging $75 per person per hour); golfers learn to analyze their swing,

shave strokes and improve their short game. Groups of five to 60 combine

lessons with nine holes of coaching at discounted rates. The academy’s many

seminars include a few focusing on executives. One, for instance, explains how

to effectively mix pleasure and business on the golf course.

WCI Golf organizes special events for 16 to 24 golfers on

their course of choice. Participants enjoy 30- to 60-minute clinics plus 18

holes of PGA-certified professional coaching. The corporate price tag ranges

from $80 to $250 per person in the summer and starts at $220 in season.

With golf on the hosting company, the only price for clients

is a willingness to hear what the adviser can do for them. “Typically we talk

business for 15 minutes before lunch,” says Chalmers. “The rest is pure fun.”

Ten Top Tips for Wooing Clients

1. Accompany your

guests.

2. Take clients to your favorite places.

3. Try to match clients’ interests

with

activities.

4. Invite guests to bring their friendsstyle="mso-spacerun: yes">

and families.

5. Add memorable touches.

6. Be sociable. Keep business brief

and low-key.

7. Thank guests afterwards with a

note or phone

call.

8. Offer available tickets to employees

or charities.

9. Get together at least once or twice

a year.

10. Build client entertaining into the

marketing

budget.