by Gary Hernbroth, Training for Winners
Guest Contributor

In 33 years of being on the firing line and in the tempest we call the hospitality or meetings industry, I’ve come across all kinds of buyers, sellers, and intermediaries. I’ve observed some real professionals, “winners” whom I admired, from both sides of the buyer and seller equation. I’ve also seen some real “losers”, who either flared out quickly from the business, or continue to flounder and wonder why. Then, there are the many, many legions of mediocre, well-intentioned folks who do OK, but could do a whole lot more if they just applied themselves better, worked smarter, listened more, put their ego in check, and s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d themselves to learn new skills and get to the next higher level of sales sophistication.

I’ve compiled a short list of 10 sales mistakes I’ve addressed as fairly common, based on my own experience as a salesperson (sure, I’ve done some of these myself, who hasn’t?), a sales team leader, a sales coach/trainer, and a liason between meeting planners and salespeople. This “top 10″ is confirmed with every workshop, seminar, training program, and industry educational session I present, from the stories I hear people tell over and over again. So, take a look at it — be honest and self-critical — and see if you couldn’t use a bit of sharpening & re-tooling yourself, or for your team. Your customers and prospects will thank you, and book you more, too. Your competition will wonder why they lose more business to you.

And isn’t that what it’s all about?

1. Salespeople not listening. Hearing, maybe, but not really listening
2. Not paying attention to details (especially with respect to RFP’s)
3. Not pushing themselves to learn more, know more, ask more, invest more in relationships
4. Choosing to take the “path of least resistance” rather than the right (or better) path with customers, alliance partners (such as CVBs, etc.) and teammates. Some call it being lazy. Get it off the desk, whether it is accurate/quality, or not
5. Taking customers for granted—”entitlement” that they’ll always be their customer, so why worry?
6. Trying to be too slick or smooth, which most customers see coming from miles away
7. Not evolving their skill set beyond what the basics are—being “good enough to get by”
8. Not keeping their word
9. Sloppy work
10. Mortgaging the future for the quick sale now

Hotels can increase sales by considering everyone in their hotel a sales person, or at the minimum, a sales lead generator. It’s not just the sales and catering team that needs to generate revenue, everyone that works at the hotel has the potential to generate new business.

Let’s start with the front desk team. They meet with hundreds of customers on a daily basis. Many of the customers checking in have associates who are staying with the competition. These associates of your current customers possibly book larger conferences and events at your competition. There is a huge opportunity to connect with these guests and uncover new revenue opportunities for your hotel.

Next, your bartenders and servers interact with guests on a daily basis. Many of these guests have the potential to refer your hotel to additional travelers who require meetings and events. Your food and beverage team is already building rapport and relationships with guests who represent tremendous revenue opportunity. Hotels should be taking advantage of these relationships to generate additional revenue.

Finally, reservation departments, PBX operators, and even engineering and housekeeping have the opportunity to generate new leads for your hotel. The key to making all of your employees revenue generators is training. If you train your entire staff on sales and catering you will see increased leads for your hotel; especially if you combine training with incentives.

Aprinda can help you generate more revenue by training your staff with online sales and catering programs available 24/7 – 365 days a year. It’s effective and affordable, and your employees’ progress can be monitored from the comfort of your office and with a click on a button.