At the core of every business, whether you sell a piece of high-tech equipment or hotel rooms, is the need for a consistent pipeline of customers interested & needing the product or service. While a majority of sales staff learned the importance of this on “Day 1,” unfortunately it is still an area with the most inconsistency! So, how do we fix it? We go back to the basics…
What Is a Lead?
A lead is a person, or business, that has shown interest in your hotel. That’s it! They just have to be interested!
What Is a Sales Qualified Lead?
A Sales Qualified Lead takes it one step further… To be a SQL the prospect has shown interest in your hotel, their needs match those of your hotel, and they are willing to receive information from the hotel.
So, how do you find out if someone is interested in your property? Well… many wait for them to call and book a room, or send an RFP (Request for Proposal). But, as we all know those can be few and far-between, and definitely not enough with the multitude of choices buyers have today… How do you combat this? With Proactive Lead Generation!
What Is Lead Generation?
Lead Generation, also referred to as Prospecting, is the process of proactively finding people, or businesses who fit your target market, attracting them to your hotel, and converting them into sales qualified leads. This can be done through a variety of techniques & steps including: internal CRM analysis, social selling, email marketing, and phone prospecting.
Why Do You Need Consistent Lead Generation?
60% of the B2B buying process happens before a prospect engages with a hotel. This means that no matter how strong your sales team is at closing the business once RFPs are received, there is still a great risk of your hotel being deselected before you ever even get the chance to compete for the business! It is sales & marketing’s responsibility to find those customers that are not “raising their hand,” and nurture them through the sales cycle.
The ultimate goal of lead generation is to find prospective clients before they are reaching out to the hotels with RFPs. In 2015, we found most prospects 6-8 months before they were prepared to engage at the RFP level, which gave our hotel partners a clear advantage over the competition by building relationships and eliminating competition by the time the buyer was ready to solicit bids. The key is consistency! To be effective, there must be complete consistency when it comes to proactive prospecting! Consistency creates a stable new business pipeline that will provide a steady flow of opportunities, allowing your team to overcome soft season business challenges. I can’t express enough how important it is to always be searching to uncover new opportunities, even during the busiest peak seasons. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the need of the moment, but successful hotel sales teams are persistent with their new business strategy.
Don’t know where to start? Simply, don’t have enough time? Plan B Consultants, Inc. and Sales4Hire™ is your hotel sales solution partner! With more than ten years of serving the hospitality industry, we are dedicated to building your sales pipeline with qualified leads, and providing valuable insights 12 months a year!
If you would like to connect and see how we can make an impact on your hotel sales success, fill out our no obligation Contact Form, or schedule a FREE Call with our Founder, Amy Infante.
Or Contact: amy.infante@planbconsultants.com (312) 636-7384
