Direct Contact

I could have titled this section ‘direct sales’. But this might have put you off. Who wants to read anything about such a harsh, unfriendly activity as sales? What indeed is ‘sales’?

Poor sales practitioners have unfortunately sullied the reputation of the sales business: we can all imagine the door-to-door salesman, foot in door, foisting their unwanted goods on unsuspecting householders. It is not all like this. Indeed, I would contend that there is no such thing as selling; there is only giving people the opportunity to buy.

What we are doing in the hotel business, with our range of hospitality options, is helping people, not selling. We are helping our contacts to meet their objectives, whether they are a booker trying to give her overnight visitors a relaxing overnight stay or a meeting planner with a brief to provide a creative environment. It is a collaborative process, leading to a mutually satisfactory outcome.

There are some extremely helpful sales and catering software systems available that enable you to track business sources and file revenue generated by company. You can also send proposals straight to your prospect’s computer. However we are still in the people business and must not let the technology blind us to the need to develop rapport with prospects and clients by meeting them face to face either at their offices or on-site. This is not only a job for your sales executive (if you have one), but for others too.