Carol Verret Consulting and Training Consulting Training Seminars |
|
Creating Sales "HUNTERS": The Skill
Carol Verret / April 2003 |
A colleague of mine suggested that
what is needed now in hotel sales is "hunters" - what we have had in the
recent past is "farmers." Since I first mentioned this distinction in January,
it has provoked a great deal of interest and implicit agreement. Let's
delineate how these two types of sales are different and why we now need
"hunters."
Any farmer can tell you that the most frustrating thing about farming is the lack of control over the environment needed to produce a crop. Drought (such as we have now in the hotel sales environment) means that fewer crops grow and those seeds that do come up produce plants of inferior quality (read lower yield). The crop is diminished and revenue from "farming" declines. Pestilence (we could call this competition) disseminates the crop and makes less of the crop available for harvest (everyone is going after the same business). The "farmer" is dependent on the environment to generate revenue. Hunters have a different perspective. Hunters go out and actively seek their revenue. If one type of "prey" (market segment) is in short supply, they shift gears and pursue another. Hunters are opportunistic - they have control over the environment (the market) because they can actively seek their prey (prospecting), develop a strategy to "attack" the prey and close on them - bringing them back to the home base. Hunters are not dependent on the environment - they actively adjust to the environment in which they are and control their activity to maximize the opportunities. Farmers starve (read go out of business) because of their inability to harvest a crop (i.e., the phone doesn't ring!). Hunters only starve if they don't go out and pursue prey - it's the hunter's choice. This should describe why the skill sets for "hunters" are dramatically different from those of "farmers." Can "farmers" be taught to be "hunters?" In many cases yes -- in others, no. However, every farmer deserves to be presented with the skill sets required to become a "hunter" and survive in a difficult environment. However, not all of them will pick up the tools and use them. The following are some of the skill sets of "hunters" that can be broken down into specific training bytes:
It is also my observation that potential sales "hunters" are often frustrated
by the attitudes of managers who are still operating in the paradigm that
hotel sales people are essentially farmers. These managers are still operating
on the assumptions that hotel sales is revenue management versus revenue
generation. The skill set exercise is one that both can use.
copyright © Carol Verret, 2002-2003 |
3140 S. Peoria St, PMB 436 Aurora, CO 80014 (303) 618-4065 Web Site: http://www.carolverret.biz Email: [email protected] |