| by Carol Verret, January 2006
There is a huge difference in �pushing� a product to new business prospects
and �pulling� or attracting new business to the hotel. The sales paradigm
is shifting � not just in hotel sales but also in terms of the sales processes
in most industries.
The �cold call�, in person or on the phone, is pretty much dead -- no
one misses it much. Anyone who is still using directories that begin with
the letter A and end with total frustration know exactly what a waste of
time it is. Many potentially talented hotel sales people have been totally
burned out by this method because the ROI is simply not there.
Potential clients check us out on the internet before they ever make
contact with us. They receive industry newsletters and belong to organizations
that discuss hotel experiences, both group and transient. People talk to
other people in their positions in other organizations before they talk
to you. These people are influencers who can make or break you.
Our potential clients also access the travel review sites. They know
the difference between trivial problems and major issues � they are sophisticated
enough to make judgments based upon the specifics in the online reviews.
Do you know what the reviews say about your property?
How can you �attract� a potential new business prospect to you and the
hotel? It all begins with image, presence and reputation � both the hotel
and the sales person.
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The Web Site. Put yourself in the client�s perspective. Are you
easy to find on the search engines, do you have a presence in key word
searches? On the meetings and conventions page, is there a call to action?
Does the list of key contacts have pictures and a brief profile of each
sales person for each market segment? This is the age of communities, think
MySpace, where people are more comfortable contacting people they feel
they know. For that matter, does the GM have a picture and profile? (The
profiles should not include info on the person�s family or the dog!)
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Testimonials. The positive reviews you get on guest comment cards
or in post convention surveys should become an integral part of all marketing
initiatives. Ask permission to use names and organizations � these become
a third party reference that resonates with potential clients. These should
be on the web site, electronic sales kits (you do have electronic sales
kits and brochures, don�t you?), one should appear on all correspondence,
electronic and traditional as well as embedded in all presentations.
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Become a Resource. Become a resource to your clients in terms of
the lodging industry and how trends in the lodging industry might affect
them in terms of impacting their travel or meeting planning. Offer to talk
about the local industry to meetings and associations of people in your
market segment. This cannot be commercial for the hotel. Everyone belongs
to the obvious meeting planner organizations, you know what they are and
they are a wonderful resource. However, there�s a lot of competition in
those � seek out business organizations in your market segment and become
a resource for them. Even if the planners themselves do not attend the
meeting, let them know what you are doing and seek out others from their
company or organization at the meeting.
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Develop a Blog. Create a community with your clients and potential
clients by developing a monthly or quarterly blog. Sales people are always
looking for ways to stay in touch with their contacts without annoying
them with �Hi, how are you?� It�s incredibly easy to do and you can send
the link to all of your contacts when you add new stuff to the blog. Again,
leave out the family and the dog!
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Develop �Attractive� Electronic Communication. Cold calls may be
dead but an attractive email approach with the WIIFM of your potential
client in mind is alive and can be awesome. Give them value in the form
of information that is useful to them and let them know that you have researched
their business by approaching them with insightful references to their
special requirements.
There are many other aspects to this �attractive� business development
paradigm and not enough space to detail it all in this article. Stay tuned
for more. This is creative selling at its best � it�s fun and a whole lot
less frustrating than the directories that begin with A.
 Carol
Verret And Associates Consulting and Training offers training services
and consulting in the areas of sales, revenue management and customer service
primarily but not exclusively to the hospitality industry. To find out
more about the company click on www.carolverret.com.
To contact Carol send her an email at [email protected]
or she can be reached by cell phone (303) 618-4065.
copyright © Carol Verret, 2002-2003 -2004 -2005 - 2006 |
