BECOME HOTEL SALES IN 3 DAYS (DAY 1)

Sales from other industry or fresh graduate often wonder what it takes to become a sales person for the hotel industry, what do they do and how to do it?

Here are some of basic day to day sales activities in hotel and industry and how to do it:
1. Conducting hotel inspection
2. Telemarketing or cold call
3. Conducting sales visit
4. Canvassing or sales blitz
5. Sales presentation
6. Participating in travel trade
7. Reporting

1. CONDUCTING HOTEL INSPECTION

This activity can be divided into 2 types:

a. Inspection to Competitor's hotel (by Sales)
Inspecting/visiting competitor which include guest rooms, outlets, meeting rooms and other guest service areas

Pre-Activity:
1. Prepare SWOT's (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat) form for each areas that you want to inspect.
2. Prepare your own hotel SWOT and USP and understand it well
3. Make prior appointment with you counterpart but if your competitor neglected to assist, be a mystery guest  instead
4. Set objectives on what do you want to achieve from this activity such as, knowing your competitor's SWOT  for each areas, USP, no of sales personnel, detail information of each areas, pricing for each segments
5. Prepare necessary equipments such as camera, notebook, pen and your hotel merchandises
6. Prepare itinerary on your competitor's hotel inspection

On The "D" Day
1. Make sure you are well dressed, remember that you are the representative of your hotel
2. Follow your itinerary on step by step of areas that you want to inspect, its recommended to start it from guest rooms-ballroom and meeting rooms-outlets-other facilities
3. Write down the SWOT of each areas compare to your own hotel and identify Unique Selling Points
4. If possible take photos of each areas for further discuss with team
5. Get as many as possible of information related to the competitor's hotel, fact sheet, sales organization structure, pricing, staff
 6. Thanks them for assistance

Do's
-Be efficient in timing, avoid taking so much time as your counterpart may have limited time to assist you

Dont's
Comment about your competitor, especially commenting on negative or weakness points

FAQ
What if my sales counterpart doesnt want to assist us in hotel inspection?
- Be a mystery guest, pretending that you are the client who want to use the hotel for meeting, wedding and etc.
- Avoid meeting sales personnel while you are conducting the inspection, chose the right timing while most sales already go home
- Do not use hotel jargon while you are asking questions, its can show your trully skin to your competitors

After Activity
-Prepare SWOT report on your competitor
-Set meeting with your sales team on SWOT
-Analyze and use the information as your base to outplay your competitor

b. Hotel Inspection to your hotel (by your clients/competitors)

There are different ways on how to handle client's inspection and competitor's inspection, in this subject we will take more on how to handle our client who come to our hotel for site inspection

Pre-Activity
-Find out client's objective either the inspection for specific event or general inspection
-Set time frame with client and inform them on the itinerary

-Make sure all areas to be inspected are clean and ready (including room's key, room's no etc)
-Coordinate with other department related such as Housekeeping, FO, Restaurants and keep them well informed and make sure each areas are ready and clean, staff are neat and tidy
-Prepare sales collateral and gimmicks
-Prepare initial proposal if you already get the detail of event prior to inspection

On The "D" Day
-Stand by at the lobby to greet them at least 10 minutes prior to their arrival
-On their arrival, Greet your client and in some cases if you are expecting high profile, you may want to invite your superior to greet them too
-Conduct site inspection following clock wise, be efficient
-Engage your customer with information about the area you are passing by or showing to your customer
-Emphasize in unique selling point of each facilities, for example show your customer why your room is better compare to other hotels and tell your customer why it will fit their needs.
-Show your customer your confident toward your product, anyway if not you who else?
-Handed the brochure and packages relevant to your customer needs
-Treat your client for lunch or dinner depending on what time the inspaction take time, make them feel guilty if not supporting you in the future, make them owe you something
-Avoid talking about business during the treat/entertainment, it may make them inconvinience
-Finally, ask them to fill up the questioner about your product, ask for honest opinion
-After all areas inspected, bid them farewell to the front door

Do's
-Well prepared, make sure everything in place
-Address them always by name and make sure other department know their name too
-Consider time consumption on doing this activity depending on your property size
-Higlight your strength in each area inspected
-Greet every staff you meet, it show that you are respecting your colleagues too

Dont's
-Talk bad about your competitor, you never know how close your client's relationship with your competitor
-Chasing them for business while they are in your property
-Blaming other department if you found something not right

After Activity
-Send thank you email/letter to your client for spare their time to inspect your hotel
-Offer complimentary stay, it depending on their business potential to your hotel
-Set your visiting calender/next visit to their office

Below is the sample of schenario which may happen in this activity:

Sales: Welcome to our hotel Ms Jane
Client: Thanks John
Sales: As what we have agreed over the phone, you would like to see all areas at our hotel, lets us start from here, "The Lobby". In this area as you may see we have several outlets in the lobby, the left side is our lobby lounge call "One-18", its serve light food and beverages like coffee, tea, mocktails and cocktails
The lounge open from 7 am till 10 pm.

Sales: We have 7 elevators in lobby area divided into 3 guest room elevators and 4 elevetors accessing to ballroom and other facilities.


2. TELEMARKETING

How to Become a Better Sales Person

How to Becoming A Better Salesperson for your hotel

1. Be a Friends.... Not Sales Man

Your customer is human, just like you. He or she is not a “prospect,” a “commodity,” a “transaction,” or a “potential sale.” Seek to understand their needs and desires, listen and ask questions, and make a sincere effort to connect with them. 

2. Be Respect full

Customer have ultimate control and power to speed up or slow down the sale, you honor their wisdom and respect that they know what’s best for them. This approach allows you to build trust and credibility quickly, open doors, and earn the right to keep in touch with them. Respects your customer and honor their wishes!

3. Be a monkey who shake the right trees

Instead of  knocking every door on canvassing, you can sell more effectively by identifying and focus on the specific market segments and accounts that can most possibly can generate significant revenue. As a result of that knowledge, you can craft very specific and relevant offers for them, speeding up the sales process and establishing long-term relationships with potential clients.

4. Be Relevant and timely offers.

When you listen to your booker, influencer or decision maker, understand their needs and desires, and know why they should send their guest to stay at your hotel,  a secret weapon that many of your competitors don’t have is the ability to make valuable and timely offers specifically tailored to your potential customer.

5. Be Trustworthy

Customers buy from people they know, like, and trust. They will support you if you sincerely demonstrate that you are likable and trustworthy—something that your competitor often forgets. Let the sales happen naturally—without any pressure, force, or the need for closing questions, in fact they will be willingly become your shadow marketer and start selling your hotel to their friends and colleagues.

6. Be Honest!.

The guest is smart enough to find information. This reality is a big reason why we have to be honest, to maintain integrity, and to keep your word.  Don't promise things that you actually cant deliver

7. Be a Hotel Consultant ...Not a Sales Man.

Let customers see you as a trusted advisor. Become an expert on your hotel product or service, fully understand your target market and what they needs, and become a reliable resource who offers value regardless of whether clients are ready to use your facilities or not. Its often result to repeat business and sales referal

8. Be a Team Player..Collaborate with strategic partners to leverage your efforts.

Strategically create partnership with other industry who serve the similiar market, you not only leverage your efforts, but you reach more potential clients in less time and with less effort—potentials clients who already know and like you as a result of their relationship with your strategic partner. For hotel, this strategic partner can be in perform of partnership with Telecommunication provider in form of SMS Blast, Banking with Merchant Discount etc...

9. Be Creative..Think out of Universe

Think outside the universe and exercise creativity to build relationships and win the hearts and minds of guest and pleased them when they stay with you. Loyal clients will motivated to tell everyone about their positive experiences with you and your hotel, guest will automatically coming to your hotel. Instead of working alone, you have an army of enthusiastic guest helping you sell your hotel


10. Be Confidence


You are what you think you are in the eyes of your clients