| Many General Managers and Directors
of Sales tell me that they establish sales goals for their sales teams
that are not being met. They indicate that they cannot seem to get their
sales people to develop new business and close it, despite the resources
that management is making available to them. The sales people are telling
me that they are not sure how to accomplish the things that they are being
asked to do.
There is no doubt that it is tough out there but the strong sales people
will not only succeed but regard this as an opportunity to prove something
to themselves and their management. Sales people with the �right stuff�
want to know how to develop their skills. The others spend their time figuring
out why these things won�t and can�t work.
The skill set that made sales people successful during the boom years
is not necessarily the skill set that will help them succeed during the
tough times. When all that was required was to answer the phone, follow-up
and book the business, the expectations were different. As a respected
business associate put it so well, �What we had were farmers who harvested
the field, what we need now are hunters to locate and close in on new business.�
Not everyone is capable of making the transition from �farmer� to �hunter�.
Some will pick up the tools of the new skill set and embrace the transition;
others will simply not be capable of doing that. The onus is on management
to ascertain who in their department will make the cut and how to hire
those who have it in them to become hunters. It all goes back to having
the right people in the right positions if you want to succeed.
In other words, it all boils down to the point of hire. General Managers
who assumed their positions during the mid-nineties often don�t know what
to look for in a potential candidate. Experience in the past is not necessarily
a predictor of success in this economy.
The interview process can be very subjective. I have worked with sales
people who were great people but clearly not suited to conducting an aggressive
sales effort and uncomfortable with the process. It is unfortunate but
those people are being set up to fail and it is not their fault � it was
bad �hire� for which management needs to take responsibility.
Here are a few steps that managers can take and tools that you can use
to make the best possible hiring decisions. They are not infallible but
can be predictors of success for hiring good sales people:
| Personality Inventories:
Decide the specific traits that you are looking for in a successful sales
person who can work well in your organization. There are many of these
inventories on the market, one that I have used in the past is PDP, which
is very simple and assesses four traits. These tools put a bit of
objectivity into the hiring process and cut through some of the 'glow'
of the interview process. As Bob Alter, President and CEO of Sunstone Hotels
once said, " A candidate looks the best they are ever going to look during
the interview process."
Questions to ask. Give careful
thought to the questions that you are going to ask a candidate. These should
include specific questions regarding successes and challenges. "What was
the most difficult selling situation you have encountered and how did you
handle it?" Solicit the input of your staff and other successful sales
people into the development of your list of questions. Make sure that you
ask the same questions to all potential candidates so you have a basis
for comparison and write down the answers. The best sales interview question
ever asked to me and one that I use is "What one thing in your life have
you overcome or are you overcoming?" Good sales people overcome obstacles
in their personal and professional lives in order to be successful.
Involve others in the process.
Have other department heads interview the potential candidate as well as
someone in your sales department with whom this candidate will have to
work. Record their input in the interview file. This also puts the interview
process into perspective and allows some objectivity. I can recall sitting
in front of a panel of interviewers and fielding questions from all of
them. It allowed me to see the dynamics of the management team and gave
them a chance to compare their impressions of me in the same situation.
If they can handle this and respond in a thoughtful but honest manner,
they can deal with presenting your hotel to a Board of Directors.
Can they sell you? Put yourself
in the place of the decision maker at one of your accounts. Who
are they and how will they react to this person? Does this person
project the skills to connect, establish rapport and build a relationship
with the contacts at the accounts and in the market that you are considering
them for? It was once suggested to me that I was intimidating to potential
candidates by virtue of my presence and position. My response was that
if I intimidated them, how would they deal with a contract negotiation
with a senior executive at one of our accounts. Do they try to qualify
you, i.e., ask questions about your expectations for the position, and
do they try to close you? Do they try to 'sell' you on their qualifications
and how they can benefit the hotel?
Never make a decision based on one interview.
No matter how desperate you are to fill a position, take your time. Call
them back for at least a second if not a third interview. This gives you
an idea of whether or not they have more than one suit. It also allows
you time to think and view them over a period of time. The 'aura' that
they may have projected on the first interview may not be as glowing the
third time that you see them. Let them know your time frame for making
this decision.
Make the expectations for the position perfectly
clear. Do not underestimate the difficulty of the position
or the market. Let them know what you expect in terms of booking activity,
call goals and follow-up. Give them an incentive to run for and how you
will schedule regular reviews to evaluate their skills and progress. Also,
outline the potential consequences of not achieving their objectives. |
While the above are not the only things to consider, it is a good guideline
to use in the interview process. Once you have hired a candidate,
treat them well and give them the tools to do their job. Provide training
and an orientation program to acquaint them with the property's operation.
Have them spend time in each department (yes, include housekeeping and
maintenance). The responsibility of hiring well is yours.
Once you have assembled an 'A' sales team, you will be positioned to
increase market share and revenue.
Without a dynamic sales force, you are at the mercy of market trends,
not leading the market.
Carol Verret is a twenty-year veteran of the hospitality business,
having begun her career with Four Seasons and Westin Hotels in Montreal,
Canada. She most recently was Vice President Sales and Marketing
for Sunstone Hotels before she left in 1996 to start her own business.
Carol Verret Consulting and Training provides consulting and training services
to the hospitality industry in the areas of customer service and sales.
For a complete description of her services, access her web site at http://www.carolverret.biz/.
Comments and feedback are appreciated and can be communicated via phone
at (303) 618-4065 or email at [email protected].
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