Hotel Sales Talent + Systems = SUCCESS
The link is important. We all understand talent, and how that plays into success in sales. I’m sure we all know someone that has that “raw talent”. They can build relationships with customers and close deals. Clients love them, and truly enjoy working with them.
I think we also recognize that talent alone is quite useless. At the end of the day, if a prospect has a need to be somewhere, they are going to go there. Yes, I know…people buy from who they like, but I also know that customers are engaging less with the sales person because they aren’t willing to engage until much later in their buying process. It’s not about the sales manager. Sure, talent is important…it is a difference maker when the buyer is making a tough choice between two perceived similar products. The talented, experienced and skilled sales person is very valuable.
But again… Talent alone is useless. Without systems/tools/processes, it’s akin to handing your sales person a notebook and piece of paper and telling them “GO SELL!” Today, this is laughable. So, let’s back up. What exactly am I meaning by systems/tools/processes?
- Customer Relationship Management systems (Salesforce, Delphi, Salespro, etc.) & the SOPs around using these systems effectively
- Business Insights Software & reports (STR, Hotelligence, Revenue Management Systems) & the SOPs around using these systems & putting the insights to use
- Systems for uncovering new business opportunities
- Systems for nurturing marketing qualified leads
- Systems for nurturing sales qualified leads
- Processes for tracking & reporting business pipeline & wins
The list could go on much further, but you get the idea.
A hotel can have the most talented & experienced sales manager, but without the systems to back them up, they will not be able to put that talent to use for the hotel to make a strong impact in the most effective and efficient way.
Turnover is a sign that your hotel is missing one of the links.
Hiring a “green,” or inexperienced, sales manager who has all of the systems, but doesn’t know how to use them is a recipe for disaster.
Hiring an incredibly experienced & talented sales manager, but investing zero resources to organize, track, incent, or essentially systematize the processes for success is equally detrimental to the success of the hotel.
Both scenarios create a “loop of mediocrity” for a hotel sales team. This ultimately leads to turnover with either a talented sales manager leaving out of frustration due to lack of support, or the firing of a sales manager that was left to their own devices to learn systems and tools that they had no experience with.
What do I see most with smaller properties? A break with both… lack of experience because it is incredibly expensive to hire the talent needed, AND lack of systems because if the hotel afforded to hire a talented sales person, they have nothing left to commit to the systems needed to aid their success.
Is your hotel stuck in this vicious cycle and looking for a way out? I invite you to check out Sales4Hire, which is our newest service putting all the pieces together for our hotel partners.
