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Sales Managers and keeping up with the follow up

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Follow up plays a very important role to every Sales Manager in every industry.  You follow up on inquires.  You follow up on generated leads.  You follow up on plans that your bosses are asking you to do.  You follow up on your kids school work.  Everything requires follow up. 

Many Sales People fail to provide the proper follow up thus possibly losing the sale.  Remember, a Sales Person is to build relationships.  Sales People that establish the relationship, wins the sale.  If the Sales Person does not “follow up” they will lose the sale. 

Follow up consists of client traces – potential, repeat or referred, collecting contracts and deposits, rooming list, inquiries and maintenance calls and more.  I find that I am on the phone a lot and I do miss some of my incoming calls.  They leave a message, I am to call right back.  If you make the client wait too long, they will assume that their business is not important to you and THEY WILL CALL SOMEONE ELSE.

This is why it is very important for you to keep a close eye on your incoming calls, no matter who they are, and to call the right back.  It’s bad enough that they couldn’t reach you and now they have to wait.

Most hotel sales offices consists of a sales software program to enter in client data and set the client traces.  Take advantage of this system, learn it’s features and do it.   This is a very efficient way to increase your calls and the more you get out, the more you will get back. 

Remember the old “index card trace cards”, pulling files and papercuts?  Well, if your property is not using a sales software program then get with your owners and purchase one.  It is best to purchase a sales software program that interfaces with PMS (Property Management System) however that could be costly.  Instead take a look at Goldmine, Hotel Sales Pro and other programs. 

As I make my trace calls throughout the day, handle inquires and do things, I put it all in my sales software program which currently is Hotel Sales Pro.  When I’m done with my call, I put in my notes, then I trace it.  Although the client may not have needs currently, as you qualify you may identify something that you would want to follow up on.  Any leads for 2010 I trace at least 3 other times to keep in touch with the client.  When a need arises, I want them to call me first. 

The beauty of email – these days you don’t even need to call the client.  You can email.  I will email them simply to say hello and let them know that I was thinking of them and here if they need anything.  With the super highway accessible to everyone there is simply no excuse not to follow up.  Your 30 second email can turn into revenue. 

When you get an inquiry these days be very grateful and make sure that you thank the potential client for taking the time out of THEIR busy day to call you. 

Be sure to take the time to trace your clients appropriately and be sure to make your calls and follow up!

Good Luck

Pure Energy

A New Dawn for The Screamin’ Sales Manager

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Today I was pretty busy. I did some soliciting over the phone this morning working on trying to get some appointments for next week. Finally all of my letters went out and are completed. And my traces are caught up. Since we don’t have any sales program in the office, I still use the old trace system writing down the group name on index cards. We even still use the big “bibles” for our function bookings. Pretty amazing and what a pain. I waited for my tour bus to arrive tonight…est 5pm…just 16 rooms and found out that they weren’t arriving until after 10pm. Everything was all ready for them so I left to go home about 6:30pm.

I have almost 16 years experience in the hotel industry and I have worked in every department with the exception of Housekeeping….can’t even keep my own home clean! My most recent hotel – full service mid class – is just under 350 rooms with 15,000 square feet of flexible meeting space.

We are located 2 miles of an airport so we draw a lot of business from the airlines and distress passengers. The hotel is newly renovated but still has area’s that could look better and there are projects that we are still working on. They renovated for over 3 years so a lot that has been done is looking worn now. There was no preventative maintenance program ever in place. Yes, I have never experienced a 3 years renovation plan either until now.

I’ve been there almost 2 years to date working mostly as Director of Sales in a 3.5 man office – p/t secretary, 2 catering sm and me the DOS…by 2008 we were down to 1 catering sm (1 had to be let go) and myself and finally I got more hours for the secretary to work with the Catering sm. I mostly booked SMERFE groups. We did increase sales but not enough although we did make budget 9x out of 12. Still many service issues and rude staff. When the new GM came aboard about 2 months ago, I simply was tired of being beat up by my guest’s and the back stabbing, gosh. I asked to be a Sales Manager and for them to bring in someone new to handle this mess.

My new boss is pretty cool and I like her. So I was asked to work in Corporate Transient Segment which I did for 2 weeks and then I was asked to take on the SMERFE Sales Manager position that they were interviewing for. Although at first I was a bit offended, but when I thought about it I realized that I really enjoyed working with the groups….so I’m settled now and plugging away. I have the gift of patience and I’m very friendly so I fit well with all types of SMERFE clients.

Most of the Management Team was let go and new people are being brought in. At first I felt like I was walking on eggs shells each day as these new people were so hard to read. They were and still are always behind closed doors and you just don’t know what is going on or if you are going to be the next one fired. I’m in my 40′s now and I simply want to settle down, book tons of business and have some fun.

I don’t have an interest in hotel hopping anymore as like I did when I was younger simply to make a few bucks more. I did think about looking for a new sales job but my positive benefits list simply out weighed the negative. I like the staff and I know the product and I want to be a part of the team that turns this hotel around. I don’t feel like that everyday though….

Good luck selling tomorrow. I’ll be back.