The traditional way for hotels to manage sales is to hire a salesperson and start selling. Hotel salespeople had their list of contacts from previous jobs, so the starting point was to convince the people on the list to switch their business to a new hotel. However, the turnover of salespeople has been high in the industry, and when the salesperson left the job, so did the list of contacts. The hotel was left with nothing due to a lack of processes for collecting, managing, and storing customer data, contacts, sales activities, and outcomes. The new salesperson had no other choice than to start with their contacts.
The sales function is vital for success
The sales function is vital for hotels with a large share of B2B business. There are challenges ahead. Can the hotel afford a salesperson? Can the hotel find the right person? Will the salesperson make a difference and bring enough revenue to motivate t e cost? These are relevant questions since hotels should optimize the sales team and each salesperson to increase revenue and profits. The sales team is vital for successfully running a hotel with a large share of B2B revenue, especially during the recovery when the competition is more challenging than ever. There are three straightforward steps in making the sales team more productive.
Define the hotel B2B sales job
There are two parts in the formula to set expectations. The first part is the job statement that defines the job. The second part is the desired outcome of the job that sets the direction. The job statement should not be too vague or too narrow. Find the right balance to give the sales team freedom to make tactical decisions. Finally, express the desired outcome as a direction of improvement of a predictive metric.
Design powerful sales workflows
When there is a straightforward job statement and desired outcomes, the next step is to design how to perform the job to reach the desired results. The workflow should be designed to minimize wasting time and maximize the output. It is vital to meet as many potential customers as possible in sales instead of sitting behind the computer screen working on administrative tasks. A well-designed workflow will increase productivity dramatically and make the salesperson more successful in bringing in revenue to the hotel.
Find and select a B2B Sales CRM
Finally, to make salespersons productive, they need tools and systems that help them perform the job. If the hotel only uses manual processes, salespeople will waste time instead of meeting potential customers. Ensure that a B2B Sales CRM automates the mundane tasks a system will do faster and more accurately than a human being. Decide on the five most important selection criteria before evaluating different systems.
Download the whitepaper
The whitepaper "3 steps to make hotel B2B sales more productive" contains details on how to define the hotel B2B sales job, design powerful sales workflows, and how to select a hotel B2B Sa es CRM. Click on the link, download, and get started on improving sales productivity.