Many meeting and event planners, as well as prospective corporate and business transient guests, go through the entire buying cycle without ever visiting the hotel in person, but there are plenty who prefer a site tour.
Typically, it’s those who are booking the highest revenue-generating deals who are the most likely to want to visit. Certainly, it is essential for today’s hotel salespeople to master the skills needed to sell to prospective guests who are working remotely.
Yet the hottest prospect for any hotel is surely going to be the one who is willing to invest time in stopping by in person. Chances are good that the buyer or planner is also going to be visiting other potential hotel providers on the same day. Therefore, here are some hotel sales training tips from my on-site training workshops to help your sales team stand out when they stop by.
- Proactively offer to host a site visit. Rather than saying, “Let us know if you want to stop by and see us,” instead say “We would just love to host you for a site visit. Let us know when might be a good time to have you stop by.” Ask them for an estimated time of arrival so you can prepare a proper welcome.
- Prepare your front-office staff to greet the prospect by name. Search social media and/or LinkedIn to find a picture or headshot and share it with your team just prior to their arrival so that they can greet the prospect by name before it is provided.
- Introduce them to key leaders such as your general manager, operations manager, and guest services manager.
- Likewise, introduce them to some of the key frontline staff at the front desk, and guest services.
- Consider “heart of the house” tours. Especially for larger hotels, buyers may find it interesting to peek behind the scenes. If you are proud and confident of your team, let them see how organized, clean and efficient things are behind the scenes.
- Avoid the habit of listing quantitative facts such as the number of rooms, square footage and hours of operation, which excite no one.
- Instead, use a storytelling approach. First, use a “just-for-you” sales approach. Rather than saying “We have …” or “We offer …,” instead lead with the word “You,” such as “Your guests (or attendees) will enjoy …” and “Imagine your guests walking in and experiencing …”
- Make your “story” alluring and enticing by using language that is visually and emotionally descriptive. Use colorful adjectives and adverbs that help them sense what the experiences will be like. This one takes a bit of work. Much like the waitstaff at a fine-dining restaurant work to expand their culinary language that allows them to provide those mouth-watering descriptors, hotel salespeople would do well to expand their sales vocabulary, too. Start by reading the website copy that your marketing team already created to describe the experiences you are selling.
- Ask for their business! Rather than saying “Let us know what questions you have …” instead say something such as: “Chris, we would really love to have a chance to host your (event, group, or BT/corporate) guests. How does this all sound? Do you think we can move forward?”
- Leave the next step on your “to-do” list. Chances are that most clients will respond by saying they have to check with someone else who is involved with the decision and that they will get back to you. This is a great time to say something such as: “That sounds good. I will also make a note to check back with you around that time to see what else we can do on our end to secure your business.”
- Send personalized follow-ups. These days, a personalized handwritten note really stands out in an era when even birthday cards come by email. Send a short, personalized video email message as well, which they can then use to forward on to the other decision-makers who could not make it.
Doug Kennedy is president of the Kennedy Training Network, Inc. Contact him at doug@kennedytrainingnetwork.com.
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