Room for Sales

Mark Dixon has come a long way from his youthful days selling hot dogs to his present position as CEO of Regus, a serviced-office company that comprises 750 locations in 330 cities spread around the world in 60 countries. There have been bumps along the way, including a rough patch in 2003 when demand for office space turned down with the rest of the economy. Dixon, however, has weathered them all and never lost or forgot his sales skills – and perhaps for that reason, Regus offers some attractive options for salespeople and their managers.

Regus provides modern office space, fully furnished and equipped with the latest in information technology and staffed by local professionals. The customer pays only for the amount of space needed, for as long as the space is needed. This deal is appealing to even global corporations.

Express-shipping giant DHL, for example, was looking for room near its headquarters in Brussels to manage its operations in 227 countries. Instead of buying or building new space, DHL signed a two-year deal with Regus that provides 230 workstations for its staff. The temporary quarters suited DHL perfectly. “Regus can be summed up in the word flexibility – flexibility in services, flexibility in the length of contract and flexibility in budgeting,” says Patrick Van den Bogaert, DHL’s office services manager. “We pay only for services used and are not obliged to carry any overhead.”

Telecom star Nokia was looking for more far-flung assets. With 60,000 people working in sales and other offices in 130 countries, Nokia signed up with Regus for five years to obtain space for up to one-fifth of its workforce. “The agreement provides us with both improved operational flexibility and increased efficiency, which will result in substantial cost savings,” notes Mark Tanburro, Nokia VP for Real Estate and Facilities. Nokia estimates it will save 35 percent on the cost of offices in the locations it selects.

These are relatively long-term deals for Dixon’s firm. Regus offers a complete menu of services that can be tailored to each client’s specific needs and time horizon. You can sign up for full-time office space for a branch location, project or start-up; a part-time office or team room for short-term needs; Hot Desk cubes for rotating staff in a remote location; Network Access for temporary use of Regus properties in many locations; or even Virtual Offices that give you fax, phone, email and other contact points for customers or prospects.

In all cases, you just sign a simple one-page contract with Regus, paying only for what you need. If this sounds attractive for sales, Dixon planned it that way. “We just launched the Network Access Card,” he says. “Sales directors and managers are picking it up for people working from home and working in a mobile way. They get the prepaid version – for example 10 hours per month of office time – including IT, telecom and support services anywhere in the US.” About $300 to $400 up-front buys 10 hours per month of office time in any of Regus’s Cyber Cafes.

Dixon estimates that at least a quarter of Regus’s space is now used for sales purposes, and he expects that share to grow as managers learn about the services Regus offers. “You can take a virtual office for about $150 per month that gives you an address, phone number, everything you initially need,” he says. “Then, when you do your sales push, you take an office for three months, to see how things go. Or, if you are a sales force out on the road, you might take our Hot Desk product, which gives you a three-person office that nine or 10 people can use in rotation. If more than three people come in, we’ve got spare capacity in the centers for hourly and day users. You just take the space, and it is very economical.”

Salespeople are often out on the road during the daytime and just need somewhere to come back to at night to clean up the reports. “You could take a virtual office and then maybe a Network Access Card so you have a place to drop into,” Dixon explains. “Or, if you want to have a team meeting every couple of days, you take a meeting room. You mix and match these products to match your project.”

In a sense, Regus is filling the gap between hitting Kinko’s and taking expensive space in a fully equipped business hotel. Dixon thinks that is a pretty big gap. “We give users flexibility. For a start, we have quality buildings with professional support staff. And unlike hotels and Kinko’s, you are not competing against people making 100 copies or people competing for hotel bedrooms.”

Regus prides itself on its well-trained staff and giving customers a quick check-in and checkout. “You’ve got a resource very focused on making you, the customer, highly productive,” Dixon says. “You aren’t sharing the equipment with students making copies. And hotels tend to focus on bedrooms and serving large conferences.”

Regus’s facilities are available when you want them, at the touch of a phone or click of a mouse. “Say you are going to New York tomorrow and need an office at 3 p.m. You can get it online. Or, you can just turn up. You don’t have to make a booking, because we keep availability for a growing number of users. If you want Peru tomorrow, we can do it. We have a global concierge service, one number to call and they fix everything up for you.”

Dixon is confident he has a winner in the new sales environment. Cost reduction is the number-one reason for seeking flexible space options now. “Everyone’s trying to sell with less money,” he emphasizes. The second reason his business is growing is because Regus always has the right technology available for reasonable charges. Third, Dixon says, is the convenience of getting what you need easily, without hassle or confusion.