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question module that you can do tasks any questions there will be a dedicated Q&A at the end of the webinar so if you want to ask questions at any time we'll ensure that they're answered during the Q&A portion of this webinar on if you're having any technical difficulties please feel free to use the chat module and someone from our team will get back to you and then finally if anyone's on social media you could follow us on Facebook or on LinkedIn using the following tags there our host today Katie Stewart is a consultant with a long history within the hospitality industry she works with hotels and hotel groups providing still technology and marketing expertise now without much further ado I'd like to introduce you to caters to it thank you so much Joseph hello everyone this is Katie I am very excited to be here and talking with you today we will be covering quite a few slides and as mentioned there's going to be some question and answering at the end so I certainly hope that we can engage in some dialogue towards the end I have been in the hotel industry actually for about 20 plus years if I add it all together and I've had the opportunity to work in roles operations sales at the property level at the above property level and then also on the flip side of working with the technology companies that provide tools for hotels to really run their sales and operations smoothly so I'm very excited about that was very fortunate to have a lot of opportunity to work with many different brands many different sizes as well as a lot of fantastic people along the way so I think that says enough about me let's go ahead and jump right in if you want to flip the slide Joseph so we're going to be talking about creating an effective sales process and really talking about your unique experiences let's go ahead and flip this light when you talk about like what does that mean I think that everyone on some level feels like they're the same and then everyone also kind of feels like they're unique and they're different definitely throughout this whole you know conversation that we're having I think it's important to really start to think of yourselves as individuals but yet working with teams and really getting to know your market so let's go ahead and flip the slide I think there's a lot of opportunity for us to talk about kind of where you start with the prospect you kind of move through and I know that you guys are all reading these slides and looking at them with me so I'm not going to go specifically through them I think we're you know most of us are very familiar with that introduction finding a lead then you sit down you have the conversations and then you close the deal you deliver you know what is the pre post and during conversation look like so we're going to get into that a little bit later and how does it affect you and how does it affect your team's next slide so these are the ten components and I really like this process because I do think it's important even though and we're all coming from the same you know kind of from the same background from the same information in regards to what are those steps that make an effective sales process what are those steps that your team can focus on that keeps you mindful and and really following and being able to check back during the process of a sale maybe there's a hiccup maybe there's a barrier you know going back and saying okay like what happened maybe in the qualifying stage you know looking back at when was the meeting you know maybe the meeting was over the phone but we maybe we should have pushed harder for an in-person meeting but I think this is a critical for anyone no matter how long you've been in the sales business or selling to conscientiously make sure that you're going from prospecting your qualifying you making those correct connections you're meeting the customers needs and so on so I think that's some very important I think a lot of people try to skip steps and sometimes the sale kind of goes a little too fast but really those earlier qualifying and connections and really understanding the needs are just critical so go ahead and flip the slide so when you're talking about prospecting I think that the sales process tactics for revenue growth your marketing what are the prospecting to define your target target audience and to really attract and using social media these are a lot of buzz words there are a lot of things they're out there that are affecting and making some of us feel a little bit anxious is for going through the sales process am I looking at the right audience am I looking at the right social media what is my data telling me and we have data coming from us from all different perspectives we have our brands some of us are independents or boutique and so we have our own internal data and I think it's important to stay mindful of when you sat down with your team when you sat down with your revenue managers and if you don't have a revenue manager you know you have other people that are great influencers whether they're external internal of general managers your operations teams you know going and staying together and sting cognizant and mindful of looking at what it actually is that you're trying to achieve on a revenue growth throughout the year so you know talking about the sales tactics talking about your target audiences you're not really going to know that until you as a team sit down and you said you know what have we done in the past what are we doing currently and what's our projected goals you know what are we trying to achieve and you know we have a lot of influencers that we have a lot of people and we have a lot of things that kind of change that on a kind of an ongoing fluid basis but if you have that overall like solid plan you know you know maybe you're up in December maybe you're you know really slow in July so really having that mapped out and really being mindful of sticking to it as you're going through the process of the sales cycle is important to UM we can skip this or flip the slide sorry Joseph again you know what is that ideal customer profile I think I think the ideal customer profile comes in when you are truly understanding what your projected revenue and what your goals are and you should have stretch goals for for meeting your budgets and exceeding those budgets and the ideal customer profile then is going to kind of come into play as you're starting to map that out as you're looking at it and saying do any group foundational business do we need any other corporate business do we need the transient business and I think it's really important you know there's low-hanging fruit and there's this great opportunity to have a really foundational corporate business and we feel good about it but it also takes a lot of the little tiny other transient other businesses that are coming through to really exceed that revenue growth I think that the teams that can balance you know all of this is you know is important and then as you're starting to say okay where are the gaps that we're trying to fill how are we trying to put heads in bed what we're doing then these come into play you know as you're going through the cell cycle who are the decision-makers who are the roles and job titles that you want to deal with and then through as your understanding that then you can go out to the social media then you can start building and utilizing other resources that make sense can flip the slide so the tactics of hotel sales team is using online channels again I think that there's so much opportunity for us you know LinkedIn is such an incredibly strong resource for everyone and it's available to everyone I think that people are very open to communication I think that there's you know a lot of individuals that you can look at definitely I would be looking at your competitors what are your competitors doing what are your you know what is the Director of Sales down the road doing and who are they linked in with and who are you know what what groups are they you know participating in I think that's important and you know how are you managing those RFP tracking sources and how are you taking those people through that sales process as well we can go ahead and skip to the next one um in you know in the very beginning when you're going through those qualifications I think it's important as a team to really understand what those questions are I think it's a it's important to set the stage for the customer that you're looking for when you go back to your ICP and you're kind of saying okay who really fits into building our revenue growth and who we want in the hotel and sometimes you don't have much control over that maybe you have to take a group at a lower rate or maybe over a time period that you weren't you know ready for but those qualifying questions and really understanding that group seeing if there's some flexibility with individuals that are looking at really having those solid strong questions I think is is very important next slide as we all know you know budget who's making the decisions what is the need what's the time scale I think that these are all you know very important I think as you're going through the kind of the initial sales cycle that we were showing you keeping these mindful keeping these forward you know in your thoughts checking back and making sure that you're staying on target with these four key areas is very important I think as your team also it progresses together being able to work together and work as an individual on a qualifying but then talking to Tim team member and maybe talking about a budget does this fit this it's not is really important because I think it also affects you have to look at the entire maybe year that's ahead of you or that quarter that you're really trying to so maybe someone that you wouldn't consider before you would consider now based on what's happening at the hotel and then being very cognizant of really taking care of that customer can you fit that need during that time we can go ahead and skip to the next one relationship building is such an important you know conversation piece for me with all of the sales teams that I've worked with and and anyone who you know has has taught me about sales and and it's hard to understand what does that mean especially in today's world I think that when I connect for the client I talk to them about what's there what's their form of you know communication how is it best for me to foster and develop that relationship so that I can bring them in not only as a prospective client but as a long-term sustainable client that I can utilize not just for bookings but for referrals for feedback that's really really important you know really staying mindful of that really staying true to no matter who the customers no matter who you're talking to you're trying to build a relationship you're trying to build that positive outcome from them we can go to the next one and you know talking about building trust building trust within the sales process is such an important thing as you're going from the client telling you what is the need you know your qualifying that client you're talking about their needs you're talking about what your hotel can provide them you're personalizing things and you're very you know you're being sensitive to their budget you're being sensitive to their timeline all of those things and I think the best way that I've looked at it is how are you creating a win-win for both of you I think it's really important that it's okay to have a win it's okay to go into the sales and go into a pitch saying you know I want to win too you know I want to have you know a high revenue group I want to have something you know someone that's coming into the tile that's meeting my budget and then you also want to win for the client so keeping in mind how do you make that you know win win situation where you are being personal you are taking care of their needs you're exceeding those needs and then you also have to consider the entire team you know your sales team is not just the salespeople that are dead kated for sales it includes the general manager includes the front desk person includes the housekeeping and how they're taking care of the guests so it's also being being you know conscientious of if a customer is asking for something that may be a hardship on the housekeeping um you know how are you going to manage that how are you going to maybe help them or maybe be honest with a client say I'm not sure because you want to make sure you're setting yourself up for success and you're building that trust where they know you're going to come to them and give them that opportunity so we can throw the next slide so you know I think that we know we touched on the needs and requirements I'm going to kind of skip over the slide a little bit we can go on to the next one again you know what does that needs analysis I I think that as you guys kind of read through this on your own a little bit it's important it is important to you know pass those open-minded questions I think this is a try you fail you take notes you get feedback and you try again you're constantly trying to uncover and get with the client on what their actual needs are I think this is a skill that's built over time you know being you know doing your homework there's so much information out there no one should go into a meeting not knowing about the about the person or the company or or maybe even past hotels that they've stayed with they can skip to the next one and then you know how do you effectively meet and present for your client you know what is the you know did you talk about what was their communication style art did you get to the decision maker and if you're not with the decision maker are you providing materials that you know the decision maker will like are you are you setting that person who's then a is gonna then go and be your spokesperson to look like a rock star selling your hotel to that decision maker you know what are those videos what are the effective presentation decks that you've you know put together and and doesn't need to be a deck does it need to be you know a video so really understanding that and giving yourselves the opportunity again I think you know go for it make a video do some different ideas and and try it get feedback and then try it again I think being able to do on site tours obviously is critical and really enhances how the guest gets to experience your hotel and and really can make or break when you're dealing with a lot of rooms in one market or very similar hotels your relationship is going to make or break that particular presentation and whether that client trusts you and says okay I'm going to choose this hotel so you know spending some time getting the client feedback as to how they would like to be presented to is an okay question to ask I don't think that we should assume you know what's most effective for them next again we've talked about this I think that um you know understanding what their channel you know what is gonna benefit the hotel how you're benefiting them really being cognizant of staying on point to what you're talking to that customer about is really important and what that customer is looking at from you you know being very mindful of their time and and being very open you know not really saying much sometimes does the best is the best way to handle a meeting or a presentation and then of course always follow up next time this is always a really big one that a lot of people and I think that handling objections is learned it's a skill that's crafted over time and it's something that you know you can come up with obvious objections that your clients going to have and kind of what how are you going to you know be the authority of your property and and manage those objections I think it's you know important to to keep in mind that it's okay sometimes you know a client isn't a fit so be kind you know move on but if the objections it's okay to talk to the client and be very I think aggressive at this point a little bit and assertive in saying look I really want your business I think there's a lot of people out there that kind of hear an objection and they just end and then it kind of shuts them down but don't let that in the conversation even if it's a conversation of what you can learn and asking them so you know why you know why is you know why are you not comfortable with this particular rate you know if you know that that's a rate that's that solid that's going to put you up for success you know challenging them as well to provide you some feedback is helpful and maybe they're concerned about you know like a breakfast or something else that you haven't even and that's gonna open up that conversation for you to say oh well let's talk about that you know we can maybe you know coordinate FMB so I think being open to pushing back and really understanding and digging in and not letting the conversation ends is really important next slide so here's you know some very common Joseph I don't know if your if your you know providing or sharing this or people are just maybe doing a screenshot of it but I like this where it kind of sets out very common and you should always always have very strong responses to a timing issue to a budget issue you know in having some solutions that your hotel team has come up with to say this is how we're going to overcome that this is how we as a team we're going to manage that if you have a vent space working within that event space and and and being willing to say hey I you know you had this event space you know for this particular group maybe we can move them because we have this different you know having those opportunities to change the dialogue with the client is the most important thing when you come into you know common objectives next slide so the proposals again are kind of a scary place for some people um if you haven't gone through the other you know and really nailed the other sales processes beforehand I feel like when you get to the proposal and kind of rate agreement it should be again a confidence in handing it to your client knowing that you're winning for them and if you're not winning for them if you're hesitant then before even I'm doing the proposal rate agreement go back to your cells that go back to those conversations and make that your make sure that you're really nailing the proposal on the rate that you're confident in and then you know if you end up not getting the business that's okay take it back to the team what did you learn there's always something to learn and so but I think getting to the proposal and where you don't you should know how the proposals going to be you know presented are there you know is it kind of like an RFP process or someone else's but can you send a LinkedIn note to the person that you know is going to be receiving the proposal and just say hey you know are there exterior things that you can do around proposal and great agreement but one I think the biggest things is being confident about it next time so I'm not going to touch on the setting corporate rate deals I think corporate business for most individuals there's a lot of data out there and there's a lot and it's a pretty open book when it comes to what corporations are looking for I think that there is you know the perspective clients are coming in there they're there they're ready to tell you like this is what we need and this is how and so it's going to go back to specifically that relationship that you have with them you know how are you developing that what are some additional services and options that you can maybe give them that they haven't thought about um but you know meeting their core needs and meeting you know sometimes they're just like hey this is our you know this is our rape kind of spectrum you know can you fit that and if you can't and how are you making it up to them how are you you know providing them with additional services maybe savings on a local dining experience maybe coupons you know there's different things I know that's kind of a lame you know coupon thing but I think that there's different ways to to navigate the corporate rate and I think that that's kind of set out and kind of set in stone and there's not a lot of negotiation there next so again you know if you've done your homework if you follow that sales process even on a small business I think every time you can follow the sales process it gives you that confidence it has you know it gives you that ability to make sure that you've you know you've qualified you've talked about the needs you've looked at your timeline does this business fit in with what your projected is it going to help you meet your budget is it going to help you make your revenue goals and you know what's the future of the business so I think if you once you get to it this is where it's kind of like for me I feel like this is why we're all in sales because this is the best part of being you know in the moment and then closing the deal it's fantastic so I think that we can talk about if you guys have specific questions you know at the end we can kind of get a little bit more nitty-gritty but if you've done your homework and you've done it and you're confident about the proposal then I think you know closing the deal is is the very validating part and very rewarding part that will come next again you know being authentic I think is the most important thing people can you know tell when you're when you're iffy or you're not confident or you haven't really you know so again making sure that you're very confident in the fact that you've put together the best deal possible and that you have you know explained to the client you know a lot of people get into this urgency of creating that timeline you know so number three where you're you know oh you know I've got this discount I want to close this business and sometimes you have to go there um but but hopefully you know you've through your prospecting through you know really being clear and clarifying with your team's the business that you're going after that you're not just utilizing timelines and specific discounts but you're you know you're able to draw the draw the business and prospect for that particular you know customer that meets your needs yeah and and move you know move on from there but I think being authentic is the is kind of the best thing that you know that is on this particular slide and being real to who you are being real to what you are offering in the community and what you're providing next delivering on the experience escape and that I think I spoke about that a little bit earlier where you know it's not just you and your sales team it's the entire property it's the management company it's your brand it's everything that you know is providing that opportunity to give the experiences and you know again being authentic it is really important I had this one salesperson that I worked with and they were fantastic they really actually taught me so much in the sense of when they are delivering the experience you know they're there making sure that their customer is going to come back to them on a regular basis that they are going to now be that customer subject-matter expert of hotels and venues and local things to do you know for that particular and if you make a mistake you make a mistake you know how are you handling that it's giving you the opportunity to get in front of the client again but making sure that your art just so aren't just talking about the experience with your sales team but you're sharing that experience and expectation with your entire property and management next um I think that you know thank goodness for technology has really provided us an extremely easy way to regardless of whether you're a one-man show or you have an entire sales team staying in contact with people is so important you know reaching out to them and getting feedback I think is extremely critical I love written notes I think that that's a rarity I think it's important to kind of get in front of the client that way and being able to get feedback I think it is critical when even if you think that it went well you're like oh this is great like there's you know there was you know nothing wrong with that you don't want to just move on to your next thing make sure that you're going back and getting feedback for the whole team next um you know upselling reselling I think we all have that you know and we're mindful of that specifically asking I think is really important building the rapport with the client making sure that you've built that relationship and then sitting down and saying hey you know what other opportunities do we have to do business what other opportunities do we have for me to do business with in your industry because maybe there's you know sponsors then there's different you know sub companies some organizations that you could be working with and that would be you know an opportunity for you to get referrals or to understand if it was a good piece of business how do you get more of that next and then I just kind of talked about that a little bit you guys can really quickly kind of read through these benefits you know what are the benefits for your sales team what are the benefits for your clients I think you know having that opportunity to work with a consistent client I had this one salesperson and they he was fantastic and and he would he have such a great he would call it like you know you want to have a deep bench for your team right and and he had such great relationship with his clients that he'd call him be like hey you know I'm 10,000 short of my revenue goal so you know help me out you know throw me a bone what are you doing what do you have going on what do you know that's going on in the market we have those kind of relationships with his clients that was so fantastic so a lot of my team's I tell them you know have that authentic when win relationship with your clients have that as your goal and you will get benefits you'll get benefits on you know for you and they you know you get benefits for your client next line so I think we that you know if you can stay on an effective sales process if you can focus on enhancing your guests experiences if you can give them you know all of the needs that they then it will benefit you it's increased revenue I think it's much easier to run a full hotel than a hotel that's maybe you know at 30 40 % and it helps you build that you know forecasting revenue out where it gives you the confidence to to really start to look at the different options that you have the different opportunities enter to scale them you know what's the top prospect what's the middle and what's the tiered third and then as a team deciding what to go out you know go after that next so I think Joseph is going to take over at this point and it was really fun talking with you all today I hope that we have some questions yeah thank you so much Katie I'll miss anyone in the audience has any questions now you can type them into the question module on the GoToWebinar panel and then I'll be reading them out directly to Katie Katie I have one question for you from our audience when it comes to prospecting in the sales process do you suggest a broad approach like knowing or being more targeted such as going after a specific company or industry yes I think the prospecting can benefit you in many different ways I think the prospecting needs to be done on a daily basis you should be always looking for you know and and casting that broader net of trying to figure out what's happening in your market is really you know is very important but if you've been able to develop your your specific profile of the customer that you're going after then you know really targeted you know on that particular industry or that person or that group or that association is really important you know one aspect of prospecting it can also be just you know looking at your competitors and seeing what they're doing and the nuances that are happy in your community but I think that you know setting yourself up and you're the different tools that you have to plan out and target consistent messages to a particular individual association group or audience that you know will fill your hotel and put you on the right track of that revenue growth would be very targeting critical great um I have another question here when you work with hotel sales teams what are some common challenges you see across the board when it comes to implementing and managing it um I think that sometimes we skip some steps I think that's maybe some of the biggest challenges where you kind of maybe when you're going through the qualifying and needs you know maybe there was another person but you didn't realize was part of the actual deciding team you know on their side and that person had a need that just didn't get fit in you know that just didn't get included then all of a sudden you're at the you know closing the deal and they're like oh wait a minute so I think I think the challenge is is to really stay mindful and cognizant of the information that you're gathering and making sure that it that it's true to the goal of closing that particular business does that answer the question maybe what have one more question here do you have any tips in regards to reaching out to potential brokers Remington how do you stand out amongst what may be a sea of cold sales messages and that's from Sarah sure um you know I do I love LinkedIn I think it's fantastic I think that there's a lot of opportunity I think being honest is the best way to say you know I'm a director of sales or you know my sales manager or I'm a you know above property and I'm really interested in learning how we can win your business you know what can we what can we do what can we learn how can we start that conversation with you I think can really kind of set you apart from I'm saying you know hey we you know we want your business or whatever but but how can you learn how can we work together how can we open up this conversation in this dialogue and I think another you know Instagram these other social media outlets are so such a wealth of information where you can go out and and really jump into and participate in conversations I think that the Instagram stickers are incredible they give you this you know a really neat opportunity to kind of kind of put some images of yourself out there that show the guests kind of what the experiences are that you're going to have at your hotel and so I think not being afraid to jump into those conversations as well is important great thank you if anybody has any final questions you can type them into the question module now we'll give everybody just a little bit more time task and the final question and the other questions if you do have any questions you can always email us at marketing an event uncle com I'd like to thank Katie our awesome host today for going through some really great insights into the sales process for hotel um and I'd like to thank everyone for a time this webinar has been recorded and you will be getting a copy of the recording to your email shortly and if you're interested in a demo of event temple you can always email us at bob better than temple calm and he'll be happy to walk you through a demo of our platform I'd like to thank everyone today again for attending and we hope to see you in our next webinar thank you everyone