A few Sales Tips

My 1st job was sales in a travel agency. In a city of 10 million with about 1,000 travel agencies it was a daunting task. There was no differentiation except to say I provide better service. I was given an area about an hour’s commute from where the office was located. I knocked on businesses street by street, building by building, floor by floor and door to door.It was a city much like San Francisco with very tall buildings. But I loved that experience it would be my backbone to learning sales and the industry. That same year the Philippines had a major political upheaval and the exchange rate was changing by the hour. All transactions were in cash and I had to ride the bus! Luckily on one such office that I knocked was a construction firm. Since the Philippine economy was not going well were getting projects overseas. To this day I consider that client, now my friend as my Godfather in the travel business.

 Here are but a few sales tips I learned.

Be business like. Wear a business attire, always. Never mind if it was sweltering hot. I looked 12, so the blazer certainly helped. Be friendly but do not get familiar. Addressing them with a Mr. & Mrs./Ms/ plus their last name always works.

Each call is important. Answer each inquiry like it is the only inquiry you got.

Reply to inquiries immediately. Not within 24 hours. That’s what the other guy is thinking. By the time the other guy comes around you would have negotiated and re-negotiated and already signing the contract.

Each person and group is important. Whether it be 1 or 100 each sale is important. Maybe you lose the sale this time for whatever reason. They would return for an inquiry because you treated them well. A client remarked, "You  make me feel like I am the only group you are attending to". She wasn't, but I was so glad she had that feeling.

Do not keep your pricing a secret - at least the basic one. I was planning a travel agent product seminar and was getting information on the various meeting room rental costs on certain specific areas. All but 2 gave me their pricing. The reason? They are afraid of competitors. Newsflash – the pricing around the area are mostly on the same level. What is different are the value added or concession they are willing to give to the clients. But at that point I was not negotiating for any, I just wanted the basic room rental so I can start planning. The result? The 2 properties were not in the list to be given any consideration.

The sales people are out or not at their desk all the time. Nor is the general manager. Assign someone as a point person, maybe a sales coordinator or a front desk agent. Equip other team members with basic information in a digital flyer that they can email with the contact details of the one in charge. At least start from there.

I called around 30 hotels for information on their meeting rooms and not one of them had an inquiry form to fill up. Like the one you fill up on Cvent or Meeting Planners and the like? It does not have to be online. Send a fillable pdf file so they can include information on what they require. PM me for a sample inquiry form. Without the inquiry form the process took about one week. It started with what date did you need? After several minutes – for how many guests? By the end of the day – what type of set-up? If the inquiry form had been sent, you would have had all the information in one email.

Send the contract right away along with the payment form. Secure the business by making them sign.

Update and contact the client in regular intervals before the event, more frequently as the event nears. This is dependent on their requirements. If they have guest rooms, food & beverage and banquets you will need to be communicating more to fulfill their needs.

Taking it to the extreme….

Lunch break? What lunch break? What if it is after office hours? Okay so this is going too far for a few. But yes, I had many working lunch days. Really, when you are in sales, you are on call. Reply to that email. Answer that call, even if to say – thank you for your question I will reply tomorrow with the information you need. Acknowledging their email makes you a hero. The client would ask – do you ever sleep? Because you respond to me right away at 11 PM. No one really expects you to reply during that time of the night. But the fact that you acknowledge them is quite special.

A Few Sales Tips (Originally posted on LinkedIn 3-17-2016)

Be prepared before you meet with your Revenue Manager

Xotels  in their eBook titled ‘Leadership in Revenue Management’, defines revenue management as “Selling the Right Room to the Right Client at the Right Moment and the Right Price”. They have also added this, “On the Right Distribution Channel with the best commission efficiency”.

I was Group Sales Manager (then General Manager) at the Holiday Inn in Chico, California when I started learning or might I say dabbling in revenue management.  I was working closely with Mohammad Rana our management consultant who gave me guidance and the basic tools in understanding this seemingly complicated discipline. I looked at his laptop where he had a program with all these numbers in the screen and I blinked. My mom who is a Physics and Math major swears that my brain simply goes into rejection mode when I see numbers.

But fear not, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I learned the parameters and certain indicators that helped me through this labyrinth. So, whether you are a front desk agent, sales coordinator, or sales manager I hope this helps you. But wait! This is not a cue for you think you are an expert in revenue management after this. Even I will not claim that for myself.

These are just tips that would help you have a productive conversation with your revenue manager. Or sometimes you are just pressed for time that you need to give a quote, as in now! I ran into those situations many times as my revenue manager was always traveling around looking after several hotels.

Here is one sample situation: It is March 15, 2016 and a coach of an out of town basketball team calls you inquiring about the rate for his team playing versus your community college basketball team. Let’s say Saturday - September 10, 2016.

1) From your property management system (there are different ones depending on the hotel brand), pull out the history of September 1 to 30, 2015.

• September 10, 2015 was a Thursday. Check the nearest Saturday which is the 12th. They plan these things on Saturdays which is usually busy,
• Note the Occupancy for the day. Individuals and group. 
• Note the ADR (Average daily rate) for the day.
• Was there any event that weekend that made for higher occupancy?

2) From your property management system (there are different ones depending on the hotel brand), pull out the forecast of September 1 to 30, 2016.

• Note the Occupancy for the day. Individuals and group. 
• Note the ADR (Average daily rate) for the day.
• Is the same event returning this year?
• Are there other groups already booked that day?

3) Research your competitive set.

• Pull out 2015 STR report. Compare how your hotel fared in occupancy, average daily rate, market share versus your competitive set. Adjust accordingly.
• Search their 2016 rate on their website or 3rd party websites. This is a good estimate (guestimate) of their percentage occupancy. But if you have a friend in that hotel, ask!

4) Research the group, i.e. the basketball team.

• Did they book last year?
• How many rooms did they actually use from the original block.
• If there are other groups what type are they?
• Note: That same wedding block will not return.
• There were 2 sports teams blocked and one of them is this team.

5) Therefore: Make the recommendation to your revenue manager.

• The quoted rate will be between the rate of 2015 and current 2016. If this is the 1st group booked, then the lower range rate applies.
• If there are more groups already booked the rate will be higher.        
• Make sure you have a good ratio of individual and group bookings.You do not want your hotel to be fully booked by the same low group rate.
• Remember the law of supply and demand. The less rooms you have available the higher the rate goes.
• Number of rooms will be based on their needs. Any additional requirement is subject to space and rate availability.
• Set a deadline to give you the name list 30 days before arrival. Do not keep holding on to the rooms or the rate if the team is past the deadline. But do give them a call or email to remind them of the deadline. Also, before you cancel their group block.
• Complimentary rooms if offered are not given up front and do not have cash value. It must be offered as 15(example only) paid rooms + 1 room free.  It must be used at the time the group is in-house. Or at a later date with date and use restrictions. 

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment. Do you want to know more? XOTELS has a free downloadable ebook:  HOTEL REVENUE MANAGEMENT BOOK AND ARTICLES

Good luck and have fun!