Hotel & Motel Management - September 15, 2008 - (Page 10)

10 Sales Clinic IN THE details Group sales troublesome Require ongoing training Meeting planner complaints DIY sales training H&MM September 15, 2008 | HotelMotel.com www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition Improving meeting sales starts with training ales staffers need to start doing a better job working with the people responsible for booking groups. I have written about this topic a number of times in this column, but the subject just keeps coming up—maybe because we have more and more new sales people working at properties who have not had any sales training prior S By Howard Feiertag H&MM Columnist to getting their jobs, or perhaps they have not attended any sales workshop programs offered during conventions. Of course, sales are better all around, and they have been pretty good for the past few years. However, has it been good because our sales people are doing a better job or are there other factors? We really do not know what the future holds for the hospitality industry. Next year and the year after could be OK as far as our business goes; however, there is a good chance that some properties in some locations will become overbuilt. In addition, the economy may worsen, and the cost of fuel may still be high, thereby affecting travel. We have ©2008 Hilton Hotels Corporation Family value. Without the family drama. We all have issues. But with the Hilton Family’s network of support, the only drama will be on daytime television. When you invest in the Hilton Family of Hotels, you’re investing in more than a property. You’re investing in a philosophy, a promise to be hospitable. ® When you invest in one of our nine distinct brands, you’re backed by more than a powerful network of support, you’re backed by a family. So no matter which brand you choose to develop, the Hilton Family will be there for you. For franchise opportunities, visit hiltonfranchise.com or call 1-800-286-0645. In addition to franchising, we also offer Hilton Management Services, providing strength in numbers and a family tied to performance. For inquiries, please visit hiltonmanagementservices.com. to prepare ourselves to improve productivity, and that means getting some training on how to work with your prospective group buyers. It just never seems to stop: You can’t please everyone, and it seems that everyone wants to complain—at least that’s what we hear from sales people. But let’s stop and listen for a while to our prospective buyers and learn what they say about sales people. Last year, MeetingNews magazine conducted a survey of some of its readership, which included 342 meeting planners working for companies as well as for associations. A lot of them had complaints about how sales people do their work, including: Calls/e-mails not returned in a timely fashion Cold calls/e-mails with no knowledge of meeting proﬁles Poor communication/ follow-up by sales person with conference services person Lack of creative thinking/alternatives offered during negotiations Often dealing with a new contact at a property due to high turnover Proposals that don’t properly address all the request for proposal items Use these six areas of sales involvement with prospective buyers as a start-up kit for an inhouse training program. It is easy to create a “do-it-yourself” two-hour session once a week. Put together your sales team and a few department heads to meet once a week for a couple of hours. Alternate department heads every week so you get different departments covered. Discuss why the group thinks each issue came up with the buyers, and then all should participate in how to remedy the situation. Handle a different issue each week. When you run out of the six, contact me and I’ll send another half dozen. Just keep the training going. hmm@questex.com 1 2 3 4 5 6 CIRCLE NO. 126 Howard Feiertag is on the faculty of the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, Va. He can be reached at howardf@vt.edu. http://HotelMotel.com http://www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition http://hiltonfranchise.com http://hiltonmanagementservices.com http://hiltonfranchise.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Hotel & Motel Management - September 15, 2008

Hotel & Motel Management - September 15, 2008 Contents Microtel, Hawthorn Settle in at Wyndham Is it Black or Red for Green Hotels? New City on the Strip When in Doubt, Purchase some Seashells Legal FAQ Consultant's Corner Sales Clinic On Finance Travel Trends Franchise Law Guest Column Events Cornell Insights HotelWorld Update Trends & Stats Top Hotel Companies Survey Awards Lending Requires Knowledge, Preparation Casegoods Minibars Historian to Keynote Leadership Forum at IH/M&RS Fitness Equipment The Lodging Conference Preview Accent Lighting Awards Vacuums Supplier News Transactions People Ad/Editorial Index Marketplace Classifieds Checking Out

Hotel & Motel Management - September 15, 2008

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