Lessons from the Field | How to make more sales calls than any other way or Trade Shows can be invaluable if... | By John Hogan

Everyone lives by selling something."
Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 -- 1894), Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer

Four steps

How to make more sales calls than any other way or Trade Shows can be invaluable if........

A growing number of people have contacted me by email recently expressing frustration with declining occupancies and revenues. The need is very real for hoteliers in every market segment across the globe to grasp how to apply a moving set of best practices in addressing these very real concerns. Those practices continue to include executing the fundamentals of sales and accurate communication.

From the standpoint of productivity, more sales calls can be made at a meeting, conference or trade show in two days than in the same amount of time on the street knocking on doors. Selecting the show or conference to attend is easy to do once you have targeted the markets you wish to reach and have completed a marketing plan.

Success at trade shows and conferences depends on the marketing strategy you develop to sell your property and the tactics you use to turn those leads into sales calls and, eventually, bookings.

The astute salesperson will not only increase the number of sales calls at shows and conferences but also expand his prospects and personal growth over the long term.

STEP 1 -- WHY YOU ARE THERE
Which groups do you want to reach?

There are gatherings for association executives, meeting planners, corporate travel managers, government individual & group travel, travel agents, wholesalers, incentive travel buyers and planners, training directors, religious conference managers, insurance conference planners and group travel producers.

If you belong to a membership, referral or franchise group, the chances are that your national and/or global sales teams are very familiar with the large shows. They may already be attending with a booth you can either buy into as a co-sponsor or join with others of your brand to make that brand stand out more than the competition. There are usually smaller chapters of all of the above groups that have trade shows regionally that can yield outstanding results because they are not as well attended by the national hotel chains.

Besides being able to attend a trade show (where contact may be made by several hundred potential buyers), there is also the chance to develop yourself, to experience new ways to conduct business and to start long-term client relationships.

STEP 2 SET QUALITY AND QUANTITY GOALS

Your performance at a trade show or conference is measured by how much business you are able to identify and/or book at the event. You can count the number of qualified prospects and actual bookings.

It turns into a numbers game: the more contacts that are made, the more leads that can be qualified. Establish goals for yourself, such as :

• Plan to make 30 new prospect contacts the first day.
• Plan to leave the show with a specified number of qualified leads upon which to follow up.
• Plan to give out at least X of your incentive promotions or other give-aways

Making productive use of your time may mean that you will have to stay out of the "comfort zone." You may not be able to mix only with people you know because the strategy will likely not be productive. The object is to make new contacts that can provide business for your property. Too often, salespeople spend far too much time mixing with other salespeople from other properties, which is not the reason for attending the trade show.

When you select a table for group meals, look for tables occupied by potential customers. During coffee breaks, keep moving to maximize the time for new contacts.

STEP 3 -- PRIORITZE
Don't Waste Time

Spend time with prospects that can buy or are in a position to recommend or influence the buying decision. Too much time is wasted on sales presentations to persons who are not in a position to buy or have no need for a particular hotel or motel. All it takes is five to ten minutes and a few key questions to determine if you are talking to the right individual, such as:

• Ask a contact to explain how meeting sites are selected
• Find out how the prospective client recommends hotels to corporate accounts.
• Ask openly (and politely), "How do you propose I go about getting business for my hotel from your association?"

By working diligently, using probably less than 10 minutes per contact, a good salesperson could generate six to eight "cold calls" per hour or 40 new contacts in a day. Even if only 25 qualify as good leads, you are still doing well and probably far ahead of traditional cold calls to unknown clients

Using attendance listings, target those people who really need to be contacted, and, if they are not seen readily during the day, find out where they are staying and contact them there. In order to follow up on a prospect, be sure to obtain the individuals name, title, company or association, address (postal and email) and phone number. For best results, get a business card or use the computerized lead systems offered by many trade shows today. Either of these approaches saves time and provides correct spellings.

Besides these vital statistics, you should also find out:

• Who else is involved in decision-making?
• What does the contact need?
• What feature of the property particularly appealed to the prospect that is what the best benefit to them was?
• What dates are being considered? Is there any date flexibility, which might allow you to offer a better value to the client?
• Is this going to be a competitive bid situation, or will it be a "best for the business" decision approach?
• Is it an RFP process and how quickly is the turn around response time?
• Are there any factors that would assist or hinder your hotel's chances, such as requirements of location proximity to a convention center, interior corridors, GREEN initiatives or other guidelines?

STEP 4 -- FOLLOW UP

The more information you get, the easier it will be to follow up. Then, most importantly, do not forget to follow up quickly while the contacts are fresh in everyone's mind.

Many sales representatives do not follow up quickly, but defer to "later", which may or may not ever occur. Even if you do not get immediate business, your prompt follow up will impress many qualified buyers and establish you as a quality resource for the future.

Feel free to share an idea for a column at johnjhogan@yahoo.com anytime or contact customized workshops, speaking engagements or me regarding consulting.

Autographed copies of LESSONS FROM THE FIELD -- a COMMON SENSE APPROACH TO EFFECTIVE HOTEL SALES can be obtained from THE ROOMS CHRONICLE www.roomschronicle.com and other industry sources.

All rights reserved by John Hogan and this column may be included in an upcoming book on hotel management. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of this publication.

Feel free to share an idea for a column at info@hoganhospitality.com anytime or contact me regarding consulting, customized workshops, speaking engagements … And remember – we all need a regular dose of common sense.

John Hogan is a successful hospitality executive, educator, author and consultant and is a frequent keynote speaker and seminar leader at many hospitality industry events. He is Co-Founder of a consortium (www.HospitalityEducators.com) of successful corporate and academic professionals delivering focused and affordable counsel in solving specific challenges facing hospitality today. www.HospitalityEducators.com is a membership site offering a wide range of information, forms, best practices and ideas that are designed to help individual hoteliers and hospitality businesses improve their market penetration, deliver service excellence and increase their profitability. Individuals wishing to contribute materials may send them Kathleen@HospitalityEducators.com. Special introductory pricing is in effect for a limited time that also includes a complimentary copy of LESSONS FROM THE FIELD- A COMMON SENSE APPROACH TO EFFECTIVE HOTEL SALES.

Consulting Expertise and Research Interest
1. Sales Management and training
2. Turn-around and revenue management
3. Professional Development for the Organization and the Individual
4. Customer Service
5. Making Cultural Diversity Real
6. Developing Academic Hospitality programs
7. Medical Lodging Consultants

If you need assistance in any of these areas or simply an independent review or opinion on a hospitality challenge, contact me directly for a prompt response and very personalized attention.

www.HoganHospitality.com
Your Hospitality Resource for Hotel Owners, Innkeepers, Managers and Associations