By
Doug Kennedy
March 20, 2013
One really interesting thing about being a hotel trainer is
that you get to peek behind the scenes at so many different types of
hotel and
lodging companies.
Regardless of the
location,
property classification, or brand, right now it seems that most hotel
salespeople are having similar challenges.
One such “challenge,” ironically, is that most salespeople
are overwhelmed with inquiries.
On the
surface this would seem to be a good “problem” to have.
Yet too many sales offices have not
re-organized their processes to meet this challenge.
The “problem” of too many leads is caused by the increasing
use of meetings management technology systems and other electronic
channels by
both professional meeting planners and those planning social and other
SMERF-type meetings and events.
Many
professional meeting planners have migrated to using various networking
services to send out their RFP’s, often keeping the name of the group
anonymous.
Those planning social and other
SMERF
meetings and functions also seem to prefer to send their initial
inquiries via
email.
As a result, in today’s world planners are inquiring at far
more properties than they did not so long ago when inquiring meant
placing a
phone call to the hotel sales office.
Whereas a few years back a planner might phone three to
five properties,
now at the click of the keyboard they can instantly inquire at a dozen
or more
hotels.
Consequently, hotel sales staff
finds themselves overwhelmed with inquiries.
Many hotel salespeople seem to be handling the challenge of
too many leads coming in electronically by trying to respond to them
all with
equal attention.
When leads
bottle-neck
during periods of peak demand, the end result is slower response times
and
generic proposals.
This levels the
“playing field” for all the hotels contacted and does not allow any
particular
hotel to stand out from its competitors.
Instead, hotel sales directors need to take a step back and
re-evaluate the processes in place at their sales offices to make sure
they
have re-organized to keep up with these emerging trends.
For those just starting this process, the first step is to
train your sales team to sort and prioritize electronic inquiries,
especially
on days when they are overwhelmed with the volume of inquiries.
I call this “reading the lead,” just as an
experience waiter “reads the table.”
- What is the source of the lead? Is it a direct
inquiry? If not, which third party did it come from?
Was it through a listing service? A convention & visitors bureau or
tourism office?
- Are their requested dates during periods of moderate to low
demand? Do they indicate flexibility?
- What special requests or comments have they
mentioned? Many of those who email their inquiries to the
[email protected] address include in-depth details about their plans
that can be used to personalize the response.
Of course it is also important to evaluate the overall revenue
opportunity of the meeting or event.
Having sorted and prioritized the inquiries, hotel sales
staff can then spend more time responding to those that are truly the
best fit
and hottest leads for their hotel.
If
necessary, others can get a more generic, template response or be
delegated to
a sales administrative assistant for basic follow-up.
Here are some additional training tips to help your hotel
stand out from its competition.
- Respond promptly to all inquiries, even those for
which you have no inventory or otherwise cannot meet their
specifications. Plans change as
meeting details are
finalized, and many planners are involved with multiple meetings and
thus could
be a future prospect.
- Pick up the phone!
Never respond to a RFP with only an electronic form of
communication. Even if you only get
through to voicemail, an energetic, friendly and engaging voicemail
message
will start to make your proposal rise up in the stack.
For those specifically indicating they do not
want to be called, send a personalized letter or card by standard mail.
- Speaking of the phone, always call to verify that the
recipient received the email proposal or contract.
With so many of us business travelers reading
email on various devices, it is easy for something to get deleted or
overlooked.
- Send a personal hand-written note. Rather
than just sending emails that say
“Just checking to see if you reached a decision,” stand out by using
the good
old fashioned postal service. A
handwritten note really means something these days.
When was the last time you received one?
- Sending a link to property information pages on a website
is not relationship selling and does not show you know your product. Nor does it provide any sense of pride and
ownership of what you are representing.
Instead, provide personalized details along with the
link.
- Sending a link to an online concierge service does not
demonstrate your knowledge of the area and is not relationship selling. Instead, assist with needs-based suggestions
and recommendations.
- Use “high tech” resources to go “old school.”
Rather than just sending an email, use your
webcam to record a short video message saying how much you want their
business. Or create a fun flash movie
using iMovie or Windows Movie Maker.
- Use your sales lead tracking system diligently. With so many RFP’s coming at us these days,
it is impossible to organize tasks using folders in your email server. Always systematically enter the next
follow-up action step into your tracking system so that it appears on
your
daily task list.
- Research the organization online prior to responding so
that you can personalize the response.
|
Doug Kennedy is
President of the Kennedy Training Network, Inc. a leading
provider of customized training programs and telephone mystery shopping
services for the lodging and hospitality industry.
Doug continues to be a fixture on the
industry’s conference circuit for hotel companies, brands and
associations, as
he been for over two decades. Visit KTN
at: www.kennedytrainingnetwork.com Read his travel blog at ontheroad.kennedytrainingnetwork
or email him directly: [email protected] |
.