Hotel Sales Superstar Qualifications
The other day my husband and I were chatting about hotel sales managers and sales in general. He asked me a really simple yet thought-provoking question. “What does it take to be a superstar in your industry?” This provoked a very long dissertation from me, and had he not been driving I’m sure he would’ve left the room to do something way more interesting. However, it got me thinking. There are some vital common traits that I’ve seen in the best-of-the-best over the past several years.
So in no particular order:
1. Always willing and open to learn
I’ve worked with sales managers that have had 30+ years of experience and those that have -2. There is nothing more annoying than working with someone that has a “been there done that” attitude. One of the reasons I love sales is because there is ALWAYS something new to learn either about the product or service you sell, a technique you can use to sell, or the customer you are selling. There is nothing that turns off senior leadership more than a dinosaur on the sales team that doesn’t want to learn new tricks and has been surpassed by the industry. Stay fresh and relevant to your company and industry.
2. Increase the fact/emotion ratio
We all know that great sales people tend to be highly driven extroverts. But it is imperative that we don’t let that natural state go the extreme and cause us to ignore facts and data when speaking with clients or leadership. We can’t completely ignore the emotional side to buying. However, I’ve seen the best sales professionals utilize data and facts greatly to their advantage to close more sales. How many times has your “friend” who is also a client used the competition because they were more affordable, better location, better product, etc.? Similarly, how often have you gotten a raise from your boss because you told them how hard you’ve been working and how exhausted you are vs. showed them the exact amount of revenue you’ve brought, number of deals closed, actuals vs. goals, hours spent , etc.? I know facts get my team a lot further when we’re making difficult decisions. Come to me with emotion and intuition and I’ll send you right back from whence you came to gather your facts, dang-it!
3. Work smarter not harder
Every successful sales professional I know focuses on quality vs. quantity. They know where their bread is buttered, and they focus on what yields them the highest percentage of return. I’ve worked with management teams that required their sales managers to make x amount of sales calls per day. Guess what…their best sales manager never met that goal. Guess what…the leadership didn’t care. I could go off on a tangent about sales call quotas, but my point is that you need to know how to manage time effectively and focus on the right things. Meeting a sales call quota just to meet it and appease the bosses is a recipe for sales career disaster.
4. Balance farming & hunting
It is known that not every sales person likes to hunt, or is good at it. They would prefer to farm, nurture existing relationships and squeeze as much as they can out of every existing customer. Similarly not every great hunter likes to farm. Hunters prefer to seek out new opportunities, build pipelines and constantly be building vs. maintaining. Superstar sales managers find a way to excel at both. Farmers outsource their hunting or they hone their skills at gaining new referrals. Hunters get really good at utilizing their sales CRM to remind them to keep in touch with existing customers, or perhaps they work closely with a sales assistant that can assist with managing the “farm.” If you don’t have the luxury of being on a sales team that allows you to focus on your specialty, then it’s imperative to work on this balance. It’s possible to do both!
5. Utilize resources
Unfortunately, we have to do more with less these days. We don’t always get the shiniest new toy and the best technological advances to make our jobs easier. We don’t always have the best product to sell. We’re not the prettiest hotel on the block. The most successful sales people don’t need all that bling! They get the job done regardless because they are resourceful. They find ways to get the message across using facts, stories, and testimonials. They go the extra mile and think creatively. They partner with others on their team that can help make it happen. They find ways to do all of this without whining about it! There I said it.
