Prodigm - Blog #Selling your businessProdigm - Blog #Selling your businesshttps://www.prodigm.ca/blogs/tag/Selling-your-businessWed, 04 Mar 2026 21:36:29 -0800http://zoho.com/sites/<![CDATA[Zoho Case Study: Barlings Barn - Self Catering Holiday Rentals]]>https://www.prodigm.ca/blogs/post/case-studies
Barlings Barn - Self-Catering Holiday Rentals 
2 users, Zoho CRM, Zoho Sites, Zoho Mail

Executive Summary
Barlings Barn has been established for 40 years. The owners, Felicity 
and Terry Margolis, purchased a tract of Welsh hillside, a dilapidated 
cottage with no running water or electricity. They had a vision to create 
something special.
  


Introduction
Felicity and Terry knew they needed a modern CRM to help them manage
their holiday rental property, which is a 13-bedroom facility that is 
rented to large groups. They rentthe Welsh property to vacationers by 
the week or weekend. They also managed twoSpanish apartment rentals,
 until selling those in 2018.


The Challenge
They had encountered difficulty with managing operations based on 
spreadsheets andMS Outlook email. They also used mobile 
communications based on a Blackberry email system. Prodigm
 assessed the needs, the sales process and marketing integration. 
We suggested an on-going booking system, client contact process and 
effective data capture.

  • Responding quickly to emailed inquiries with quotes and availability

  • Adding the booking contacts to the CRM for further stay-in-touch, 

  • coordination, last minute changes, rebooking and referrals

  • Maintaining a web presence with a booking form

  • Advertising on a variety of holiday booking sites

  • Accounting and payroll

  • Banking and reconciliation

  • Staff coordination: part-time staff involved with bookings management,

  • forestry cleaning, laundry and marketing database building from all 

  • inquiries processed

  
Implementation    

  • Zoho CRM configuration

  • Data load from spreadsheets and diverse data sources

  • Marketing strategy

  • Customization

  • Quote management

  • Email integration with CRM and mobile mail

  • Familiarization, strategy, sales process automation

  
Results  

Barlings Barn is now fully booked for properties in the up-coming season

 and can turn-around quotes in a fraction of the time required previously.

 Even in the challenges of Covid19 and lockdowns, Barlings has collected

 a record number of bookings for “staycations”. The best aspect of using 

Zoho has been that the process continues when Terry and Felicity travel

 and they have distributed the administrative and marketing roles to new

 staff.


About Prodigm  

Prodigm was formed in 1992 and for the first twenty years concentrated

on providing leadership and innovation to larger organizations such as 

insurance companies, the insurance arms of major banks and large 

professional associations. We provided leading Artificial Intelligence,

 CRM and marketing automation solutions that drove hundreds of millions

 of dollars in Insurance policy sales for the Insurance companies and

 positioned Associations as leading providers of investment management

 and on-line processing abilities for self-service investment and 

insurance management.

  

When we decided to become Zoho Partners we were passionate to 

bring business advantages, that were previously only in the budget 

range of very large organizations, to the smaller companies that are 

the life-blood of the Canadian economy. It is difficult, challenging and

 yet hugely rewarding when our customers thrive and grow.


Zoho builds the software, Prodigm makes it work for you. 

]]>Wed, 27 Oct 2021 10:13:33 -0400<![CDATA[What do the Zoho suite of apps do for your business?]]>https://www.prodigm.ca/blogs/post/what-do-the-zoho-suite-of-apps-do-for-your-business

Automate

  • Make your business easier to manage, more efficient and organized 
  • Review up-to-the minute reports to show all Key Performance Indicators for immediate action. You need to know now what's happening now.
  • Respond to customer requests immediately. Automated events trigger workflow processes that send emails, ask for approvals, create and assign internal tasks
  • Website forms deliver leads directly into your system for instant response and assignment of sales resource
  • Automatic scheduling of social media posts weeks in advance for consistency and brand awareness

Collaborate

  • One source of all data that is shared as needed, automatically stored in a secure, encrypted multi-backed up data centre
  • One login for all applications 
  • Assign tasks to your team along with a link to the associated records
  • Increase productivity by making relevant information accessible for employees as needed
  • Immediate access for customer-facing employees to all relevant information to "Know Your Customer," to provide prospects and existing customers with a personalized experience

Manage

  • Have additional time to do the "more important things"
  • Welcome growth because additional volume is no problem
  • Coordinate sales teams in any location
  • Process real-time information from your entire business suite
  • At-a-glance graphic representation of key trends 
  • Encourage remote workers with tools that support productivity and results 
]]>Tue, 29 Jun 2021 11:19:25 -0400<![CDATA[How to improve your business- plan to sell it!]]>https://www.prodigm.ca/blogs/post/How-to-improve-your-business-plan-to-sell-it

Try preparing to sell, it may be the shot in the arm your business needs.

Cleaning out the attic

Whether you sell or don't sell, cleaning out the attic (physically and metaphorically)  is often long overdue. 


By preparing to sell  you are automatically going to focus on those aspects of your business that need decisions:


"This part of the business is always
 a headache
 and unprofitable,  
let's get rid of it."

"This kind of customer is our best prospect."

"We should fix up our customer waiting room."

"let's collect our customer's    email addresses."


If you have ever "staged" your home for sale, you know what we mean.

You paint, tidy, repair, mow, plant, get rid of clutter. You get around to doing those fix-up projects you have been putting off. 


By the time you have finished, you begin to think: 


    "Wow, this is actually a really nice place! Perhaps I should stay."


About Prodigm Inc.

At Prodigm we provide and configure the business systems you need based on relatively inexpensive, easy-to-use cloud-based software.


If you know of someone trying to sell their business, or who needs to spruce up their business and communication systems, we can provide a high value upgrade to their existing client management system

Contact

Peter Coy,  
+1 416 564 1446            

petercoy@prodigm.ca

www.prodigm.ca

Seven key improvements you can make 
​to "stage" your business and increase its value


  1. Establish a documented and transferable: history of successful sales; a great pipeline of current prospects and a proven successful sales process.
  2. Generate in-depth lead source reporting- prospect to profitability tracking.
  3. Document key relationships- emails, notes, associated business documents and successful sales linked to the lead, contact, account or sales opportunity.
  4. Show proof of a successful and repeatable business process, including marketing campaigns and their outcome.
  5. Empower your staff and management with universally shared information including sales, marketing, administration and production data - with appropriate safeguards and data security.
  6. Attract and manage the right kind of prospects using a website landing page with clear benefit statements and a unique sales proposition - why your customers choose you. Include a call to action sign up form that leads straight into the CRM leads automation process.
  7. Take advantage of simple automation of key customer communication interactions, like reminder emails when a contract is about to expire, notifications and task assignments when stay-in-touch or follow-up calls should be made.



Nobody will buy a business 
that is disorganized! 
(Well they might, but not for the price you want!)





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