Hotel & Motel Management - November 5, 2007 - (Page 10)

10 Sales Clinic IN THE details Boom will lead to hiring Look beyond the résumé Interviews are key Give candidates details H&MM November 5, 2007 | HotelMotel.com www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition Careful hiring of sales staff increases success O By Howard Feiertag H&MM Columnist ur business has been great the past few years, with increased occupancy, a much better average daily rate and increased profits. Naturally, in such a favorable climate for business there is no doubt we will see a pretty big increase in new properties being built in most markets. Already we have seen ﬁgures of the number of new rooms opening this year, along with news reports of major brands expanding and new companies getting into the hotel business. The pipeline of new construction planned for 2008, 2009 and 2010 is moving along with fairly large numbers. All this will result, without question, in the hiring and employment of sales staffs to work to bring business to all these new operations. So many costly mistakes have been made in the hiring of sales staffers over the years, and it appears we have not learned much about how to handle the process. The big question to answer is: “Does this candidate have the talent to be a successful sales person?” “If anybody can tell you how to control energy bills, it’s me.” “My guests are always opening the windows to look at the ocean, so I need to do everything I can to keep my energy bills low,” says Marcus Lewis, Vice President of Development, Tidewater Hotels & Resorts. “That’s one reason I use only GE Zoneline® units in all nine of our oceanfront properties. They help keep rooms comfortable, are very quiet and help me control energy costs…even if I can’t control my guests’ behavior.” GE Zoneline®, the most efﬁcient line of package terminal air conditioners and heat pumps in the industry In the book, “How to Hire and Develop Your Next Top Performer,” the authors compare the results of hundreds of thousands of salespeople assessments with actual sales performance measurements. Their results: “Fiftyﬁve percent of the people earning their living in sales should be doing something else” and “another 20 to 25 percent have what it takes to sell, but they should be selling something else.” (www. mysalestest.com) What are the talents we need in people we want to hire for sales? Of course, there are the basic résumés to look over, and we make calls to gather information on a prospect for employment. Perhaps the prospect might have hotel sales experience that may look good, but are we really looking for experience? The interview process could be the key to determining if there is a ﬁt for the prospect in your organization. Certain characteristics may be a key as to whether the prospect would have the talent to be successful in hospitality sales. For example, see if you can determine if the candidate for the job shows enthusiasm, professionalism, a sense of humor, motivation and good communication skills. It also is important to observe if the candidate has an interesting personality, transferable skills, a willingness to learn, the ability to be a good listener and the potential to build relationships. Before a decision is ﬁnal, it would be important for a good deal of information to be clariﬁed to the prospect. Be very speciﬁc about the details of the job function, preferably in a written job description, so that there is no misunderstanding of what is expected. An explanation of the salary, beneﬁts and incentive program should be detailed. Certainly there is a lot more to the hiring and employment of sales staffers than these tips. All too often management fails to cover some of these important issues. hmm@questex.com 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. CIRCLE NO. 123 http://HotelMotel.com http://www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition http://www.mysalestest.com http://www.mysalestest.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Hotel & Motel Management - November 5, 2007

Hotel & Motel Management - November 5, 2007 Contents M&A Pace Slowing After Early Boom LodgeWorks Jumps Into Upscale Game Accor Reorganizes Leadership, Structure Perspective At Your Risk Travel Trends Sales Clinic On Finance Family Business Matters Cornell Insights Franchise Law Training Trends Satisfaction Trends Management Trends Events Guest Column Trends & Stats GM Survey Historic Property Conversions Offer Appeal for All Extended-Stay Brands Survey Green is the Word at IH/M&R Show Transactions Restaurant POS Handhelds Keep Managers Alerted Rising Costs Confront Midwest Builders Business Travelers: Breakfast Still an Important Perk IH/M&RS Product Preview Vacation Ownership Projects to Grow in U.S., Abroad Awards Training Programs Jump to Front Lines Refrigeration: Before You Break It, Fix It Lighting Enhances Property People Supplier News Best Western Aims High with Atria Vantage Makes Global Plans Sierra Moves Forward with New Name, High Expectations Maintenance Doctor Social Marketing Makes Way into Hotel Industry People Ad/Editorial Index Marketplace Classifieds Checking Out

Hotel & Motel Management - November 5, 2007

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