PRESONAL SALES

The personal sales call is often the most effective means of customer contact, especially when directed at volume movers of the leisure, business and meetings market. A personal sales call is used to build rapport with clients or potential clients and sell them the propertys product and services. Type of personal sales call 1 cold calls or prospect calls which can either be made in person or by telephone, are usually made within a small geographic area with a minimum amount of time spent on each call. 2 public relation calls This call made for existing customer to enhance the relation ship. 3 Presentation calls This call are made to individuals committees or groups to explain how your property can meet their needs and to ask for their business. 4 Inside calls These calls are made to walk-ins inquiry about the property or to group buyers, such as tour operators and meeting planners.

Prospecting
Prospecting is the life blood of sales because prospecting identifies the individuals or groups that may become the propertys client base in the future. At a minimum, each sales person should be making 10 to 15 calls per week on new prospects. Sources of prospecting - Referral program of past and present clients - Account penetration - Local organization and companies - Community contacts - Front desk personnel - Other property employees - The property competitors - Other sources - The national level - Networking - The internet

Qualifying prospects Qualify and quantify are two of the most important steps in the solicitation of any account. Unfortunately, not every prospect qualifies as a potential client, in many hotels 80 percent of business is generated by 20 percent of their accounts. Refer sample sales prospect card exhibit 2 page no 137

Prepare for the presentation sales call Once the prospect has been called on and has expressed an interest in the property, a presentation sales call can be made. Although you should approach each presentation sales call with confidence, you should realize that not all presentation lead to sale. You should have well prepared presentation. It results 1 increased credibility 2 increased confidence 3 increased probability of reaching the decision maker Pre presentation planning To be effective pre presentation planning should include property research, competitor research, and client research. Property research includes the developing a property fact book including various information related to the hotel. Such as - General property description - Guest rooms - Restaurants and lounges - Meeting and banquet facilities - Audiovisual equipment - Transportation - Recreation facilities - Out side services - Vendors Competition research includes the the gathering various information related to the competitors strengths, weaknesses, and their customer base. Refer sample competition analysis-page 143 exhibit 03 Client research includes the study about client, annual reports, internet sites, business directories, articles, trade journals etc... The sales kit Before making a sales call you should prepare a well organized and professional sales kit. Only the information pertinent to the clients particular needs should be included, too much information results in clutter and appears unprofessional.

Projecting a professional image You are the official representative of the property and your appearance, attitude, and approach to clients can mean the difference between new business and a negative response. Remember, you never get a second chance to make good first impression.

First and foremost, never smoke; chew gum, or drinking during a sales call. Other factors in projecting a professional image include nonverbal communication, voice quality, listning skills, and negotiation skills Nonverbal communication - Appearance - The handshake - Territorial space - Public space - Social space - Personal space - Intimate space - Body language Voice quality The sales presentation must be clear and understandable to be effective. The human voice is a persuasive instrument when used properly, and it is vitally important that you learn to use your voice as a selling tool. Listening skill At the other end of the spectrum, you must know when to stop talking. You need to show genuine interest in your clients need, and listening is and important part of building a rapport. Negotiating skill Listening plays a key role in yet another important sales skill, negotiating. Negotiation involves two or more parties coming together to reach an agreement for their mutual benefit. The presentation sales call The objective of a presentation sales call is to book business for the property .once you have prepared yourself for a presentation sales call it is time to make an appointment with the client and follow the five steps that will help ensure success. 1 opening the sales calls 2 Getting client involvement 3 Presenting your property 4 Overcoming objections 5 closing and following up

1. Opening the sales call All sales call begins with an opening. The opening should put the customer at ease establish rapport and build the prospects confidence and trust in you it divides in to following stages

Introduction Giving introduction about the presenter Purpose statement Stating purpose of the visit Benefit statement Reasoning out why he /they should listen to him and benefits what they can gain Bridge statement This will indicate the body of sales presentation

2. Getting a client involvement Second stage in the sales call focus on determining the clients specific needs and involving the clients by asking questions questioning always precedes any sales presentation. This is is a fundamental rule. Questioning and presenting are separate steps. 3. Presenting your property You should have prepared, rehearsed sales presentation that addresses the needs of each of the major market segments the property has targeted. For example a general sales presentation for meeting planners that relates specially to the needs of that segment. There are three skills required for a successful presentation; they are - Organization - Effective speaking - Visual aids Refer exhibit 05 page 154 for sample presentation planning check list. Closing the presentation When you have conclude the presentation, a transition phrase, which may be simple as do you have any questions can lead to the next step of the sales call overcoming any objections expected by the client. 4. Over coming the objections Step four of the sales call deals with those times when the client has objections to your sales presentation. Objection can occur at any time, and there is no reason to panic when an objection is raised. Some objections are a clients way of asking fro more information and some may offer an opportunity to close the sale. Normally the objection fall in two three main categories 1. Price or rate 2. Product or service 3. Lack of interest 4. Closing and following up Closing up Many sales people enjoy presenting their products, but hesitate when it comes to closing. Closing is not difficult, however, when you understand some fundamental

principles involved. There two basic types of closes. Test close and major close. Test close try draw a reaction from the client. A major close is a question or statement that asked for sales. Following up It is necessary to follow up all the sales call was made. If a sale was not made, follow up can consist of a brief thank you letter. The letter should be accompanied by additional material not given to the client at the time of presentation and any materials specifically requested by the client. Improving sales productivity Sales is a highly competitive field, and you should constantly monitor your performance in no of areas. In order to measures your productivity, you must first have a written list of goals, goals keep you on track and allow you to gauge your success the basis for goals should always be the hotels marketing plan, and success should be evaluated in terms of achieving the optimum customer mix set by the property. Time management Good time management is leads to successful sales career. It is important to have track record for time utilization for each task. Your workday should be planned. Non selling task should be eliminated during during prime selling time, and emphasis given to work items with deadlines. In order to use time most effectively, time spent on routine work should be minimized. By using a hotel director a sales person can utilize his time effectively Refer sample hotel director in page 164 Key account manager A typical sales person at properties of all sizes handles 300 to 400 accounts. Landing new accounts does not mean that you must service an ever increasing number of clients. New accounts with high potential will replace those with the lowest potential for business, so that the total no of accounts you service will remain relatively stable as you continually increase the quality of the accounts being followed