In the latest bid to automate outbound sales in the hotel industry, I’m seeing an increasing use of automated drip campaigns, pretending to be personalized but which are obviously automated, targeting planners of corporate and group travel. Not only do I hear about this from my contacts on the buyers-side of hotel sales, but I continue to experience it personally because apparently a lot of hotel salespeople mistakenly think I’m a meeting planner.

Now, a quick look at my LinkedIn profile, a glance at my website, which is also my email domain, indicates that I am not a prospect. Yet nonetheless I continue to receive a steady stream of emails and LinkedIn messages, which are obviously crafted to appear personalized but are instead blatantly generic.

Apparently, I am not the only one who is turned-off by these methods, as I’ve had many conversations from meeting and event planners bemoaning this approach.

Recently I caught up with my friend Deanne Vigil, who has been with HelmsBriscoe for more than 14 years and currently serves as managing director.

“I’m shocked by how many emails and DMs on LinkedIn I get selling me something that they have no idea what I actually do… please know your audience!” Vigil said. “Most times these emails are obviously spam or a generic email, and I just automatically delete them. I don’t feel obligated to read them or respond to them.”

On the other hand, most meetings professionals I know will take time to reply to personalized messages, even if only to politely decline interest, out of respect for the profession of hotel and event sales, which is where many buyers started their careers.

Vigil agrees: “Alternatively, when someone takes the time to send me a real, personalized email or DM, I feel compelled to read what was sent and respond.”

Following are some ways not to use these sales methods, along with better alternatives.

In my opinion, “sponsored” inbox direct messages are worthless. Likewise, generic inbox messages sent as part of a monthly allotment for paid subscriptions are of little value. Drip campaigns of multiple canned DMs is downright offensive. Alternatively, if you have the budget to invest in LinkedIn, their display advertising options are a very cost-effective way to generate leads.

Avoid immediately sending over solicitation messages after you have made a new connection, especially if they are generic. Alternatively, send a brief remark such as “Thanks for accepting my connection request. I look forward to staying in touch here.” Then make a note in your sales CRM to reach out a week or two down the line with a personalized message.

Avoid copy and pasting generic DMs. This is NOT prospecting! Unfortunately, too many salespeople mistakenly believe that copying, pasting and sending generic sales messages qualifies as prospecting. Instead, research before you reach out. Make sure that the contact is a reasonable “suspect” for what you are selling. Next, use what you have learned from their profile to personalize the messaging.

Many of the same concepts apply here, although the tactics may be slightly different considering the source of how the seller obtains the email. If obtained from records of a previous buyer or at least someone who inquired, then it is just about assured that the email belongs to a prospect. However, if the seller obtains the email address from a list, such as attendees at a conference or networking event, it is once again important to briefly research the company or organization before you reach out.

Don’t be generic! Once again, canned, spammy emails sent to lists will remain unread, get deleted or marked as spam. Instead, use what you have learned from a brief research effort to personalize it. Example: if the source is a previously booked deal or inquiry, reference some specifics on that in the first sentence or two.

Example: “Greetings Chris! I know we had been in touch when you had inquired last year and that things didn’t work out at that time due to availability, but I wanted to reach out now to see if we can put our name in the hat for this year’s needs.”

If you have obtained the email from a list, reach out on LinkedIn a few days before you send the email to make your name and brand more recognizable when you send the email, then use what you have learned from their profile (and a visit to their website) to personalize the first sentence or two. Examples include their company, title or role.

“Greetings Chris! I noticed on LinkedIn that you are the Regional Sales Manager for Acme Widget Services. I happened to notice the post about your recent expansion into this city, so I am reaching out to see…”

Don’t waste time on generic drip campaigns, but do follow-up several times. For your second “touch” of the cadence, find and forward the original sent message, adding a brief line or two such as: “Hi Chris, just wanted to reach out again to see if I can grab a few minutes on your calendar for a brief chat…” If you can find a phone number, drop a call into your cadence routine. Chances are you are going to get voicemail, but that’s fine because a professional, friendly message will get you noticed.

Avoid hard-sell tactics such as these.

• The “double-team” email. This seems to be the latest trend where the first spammy email or DM is a direct solicitation followed same day or next by someone posing as “the boss” who is just “jumping in here to follow-up on Tyler’s message…”
  
• Throwing guilt. It is not the recipient’s obligation to respond to spam, and writing comments such as “Since I’ve not heard back…” doesn't help. Recently I received a perfect example of the “guilt” email from someone who didn’t research me at all and apparently thought I was the owner or manager of a hotel. “Hello Doug — are you not responding because you have more guests than you can handle?”

Instead, when sending personalized prospecting messages remember to:

• Be humble and grateful. When approached in a personalized, authentic way, and assuming their company or organization is a reasonable “suspect,” most people will eventually respond. Example: “I’m just reaching out so our hotel can be considered for any future needs, as we truly want to make sure your guests/travelers have memorable stays. I would be grateful if you could carve out just a few minutes for a brief introductory chat, or if you could hand me off to others on your end who might be better contacts for this.”
  
• Use Calendly to make it easy to schedule conversations. Make it easy to move the conversation from a cold digital message exchange to a warm conversation, ideally happening on Zoom.
  
• Use personalized video messages. These can be embedded directly in the body of the email so as to appear as a thumbnail (animated GIF) and not a hyperlink, and when kept around 30 seconds will likely get played. They can also be sent as a link on text and LinkedIn DM InMail.

Doug Kennedy is president of the Kennedy Training Network, Inc. Contact him at doug@kennedytrainingnetwork.com.

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