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BACK TO THE BASICS?
THE BASICS OF HOTEL SALES HAVE CHANGED! |
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The
desperate effort by hotels to develop new business has resulted in a "back to
basics" movement. However, the basics of hotel sales have changed forever. The
sheer size of most markets and technology dictate that sales be comes more
efficient and effective. While the skill sets of selling techniques haven't
changed, the way we locate and develop new business has to change.
Gone are the days when a sales person could
walk the street and cold call everyone within a three or five-mile radius. Gone
are the days when a cold phone call was returned and all it required was
persistence. Gone are the days when the sheer volume of sales calls guaranteed
success!
Even "backyard marketing" requires new
approaches. The sheer size of the "backyards" of most urban and suburban
sub-markets is too large for almost any hotel to physically or cold call on the
telephone every potential business. I was working with one property and the
sales person took me out to drive the market. A three-mile radius netted
thousands of businesses due to the large number of industrial parks and very
tall buildings. She said she was overwhelmed, where should she begin?
Another dilemma is the "list." Many sales
people are given lists of prospects in their market, trade show attendees from
very large venues, etc. One sales person with whom I worked was given a two-inch
thick state business directory by her GM. When she asked him where to start, his
reply was to begin with "A." The total frustration that resulted from twenty
cold calls per day only to be connected to voice mail and, in the event that she
connected to a living human, to hear 'no' over and over again had resulted in
"burn out."
The "dead files" are another prospect
source resorted to out of desperation. If these were such good leads, why aren't
they in the active trace system to begin with? Sales departments are pulling out
boxes or going through old filing cabinets of files that haven't been worked or
followed up upon in years. Unfortunately, in many sales departments the task of
calling the dead files often falls to the newest member of the team or worse,
the sales assistant. These people are usually inadequately trained and, in the
best-case scenario, given a list of questions to ask and told to follow up with
a packet of sales information. (Sales packets are another sacred cow that, in
many cases, should be e hamburger!)
If any of these lead sources sounds
familiar, read on – there is a better way of dealing with each of these. But it
is not the old "basics," it is a new way slicing the lists and looking at the
prospecting process.
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Narrow down the "backyard"--
Know which industry sectors in your local
market are out-performing the stock market. Sales is not a job where you can
just show up in the morning. Sales people need to listen to the news, read the
business sections of the newspaper -- pay attention to what's going on in the
business world surrounding them. The good ones do -- the ones that don't won't
be around long! Pay attention to the stock market. Those industry sectors whose
stocks are rising have the money to conduct meetings and pay your rates. Look on
the back page of the Money section in Monday's USA Today for a quick analysis of
industry sectors. One industry sector doing EXTREMELY well right now is
government subcontractors. Once you know which industries are performing well,
do a search for those in your market. These are the ones you need to be calling
on now! |
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Re-evaluate the
lists -- "slice" it
to include only those who have the potential to give you business. Instead of
starting with "A" obtain lists by market segments. Those of you who have access
to Business Journal Top 100 lists, begin calling those that are in industries
performing well -- the sectors that you have gleaned from your research above.
Log onto Switchboard. for an industry sector in your city -- see what comes
up! Call those that are in relative proximity to your hotel or have potential
meetings. The Top 100 of industries that aren't doing well represent the best of
a bad team! Remember, in the effort to save on travel budgets, those properties
in "drive" distance of the head office often have a good shot at landing the
business. |
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Apply the same
metrics to the "dead."
If a "dead" file hasn't given you business in
two years or more, treat it as a new prospect for qualifying purposes. Before
you call, check to see which industry sector it is in. You can do this by
logging onto Hoovers. or logging onto the company's web site. Don't just call
and leave a message -- deal with the file once and for all then retain it or
dump it. In prioritizing the trace files, give first consideration to those that
are doing well. This applies to associations serving the profitable industries
sectors. |
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this economy there are losers that are losing big but there are winners who are
quietly making money out there. This applies to most market segments, corporate,
the associations that support them and the SMERF markets. Government, that
segment you loved to hate, is now a big winner in the room night generation
category.
Smart prospecting takes more time, but is
more profitable in the amount of time expended. Call activity be comes more
productive and "sales burn out" is less likely. Next month we will deal with
effective ways to approach new business prospects, calling and leaving messages
just doesn't cut it any more!
In this economy, and make no mistake, the
recovery is likely to be delayed until 2004 at the earliest and even then will
not return to the robust times of the mid-nineties. We in sales are going to
have to refine our skills and the way we prospect and approach new business for
the long term.
The sales "basics" have changed!
It is my mission to provide the industry with
training that is not only useful but also cost effective. This is why the live
real-time web cast series "Training Bytes: A WebCast
Series for the Hospitality Industry" is available. Module 2,
"Stalking The SMERF Market" is now being scheduled for June.
Each Training Bytes Module includes a live
presentation and an opportunity for information exchange among participants.
Each module is brief, an hour long, and can be done from any PC.
If you would like to reserve your spot for Module 2, "Stalking
The SMERF Market" of Training Bytes, click
here:
Web Cast: Skill Sets
for Hunters |
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Carol Verret, Owner of Carol Verret Consulting & Training, is a twenty-year
veteran of the hotel industry. She arrived in Denver in 1984 in the midst of an
economic downturn and quickly established herself as an expert in sales and
marketing in hotel turn-around situations, applying her formula for REVPAR
improvement. To learn more about Carol Verret, Consulting and Training, visit
her web site at http://www.carolverret.com
Send email to
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ResultsWoW Sales and Customer Service Newsletter by Carol Verret
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| copyright © Carol Verret, 2002-2003 |
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