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
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar