Chapter 7 Selling to the Meetings Markets

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Chapter 7 Selling to the Meetings Markets
Convention Management and ServiceSeventh
Edition (478CSB)
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Competencies forSelling to the Meetings Markets

• Explain the steps in making a personal sales
  call.
• Explain how to conduct telephone selling
  effectively in meeting and convention sales.
• Describe the convention and meeting sales
  techniques of sales blitz selling, trade show
  selling, selling with convention bureaus, site
  inspection selling, and familiarization tours.

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The Six Steps of a Sales Call

• Pre-call Planning
• Opening the Sales Call
• Getting Prospect Involvement
• Presenting Your Property
• Handling Objections
• Closing and Follow-up

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Pre-call Planning

• Know Your Property
• Property fact book
• Know Your Competition
• Emphasize the strengths of your property,
  especially in areas where the competition is weak

(continued)
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Pre-call Planning
(continued)

• Know Your Prospect
• Cold calls fact-finding calls
• Use sales prospect cards to summarize what you
  know
• Tailor your presentation to the planners needs
  and desires
• Assemble a Sales Kit
• Include all information the prospect will need
  about your property and services

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Opening the Sales Call

• Build Rapport
• State your purpose
• Give the main reason(s) the prospect should
  consider your property
• Bridge Statement
• Ask for permission to continue with the
  presentation

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Getting Prospect Involvement

• Purpose
• Involve the prospect to understand his or her
  needs
• Ask all questions before you give your
  presentation
• Tailor your presentation according to what you
  learned about the prospect
• Use both types of questions
• Close-ended questions
• Open-ended questions

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Presenting Your Property

• Be a Problem Solver
• Sell benefits, not features
• Use visual aids to help the planner envision the
  hotel
• Tailor your presentation to the prospects needs

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Handling Objections

• Plan your answers to the most common objections
• Price objections
• Point out all thats included in the price
• Product objections
• Turn negative aspects into positive ones
• Example An older property may have a more
  experienced staff
• Lack-of-interest objections
• Point out how your propertys benefits are
  comparable to or better than the competitions

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Closing and Follow-Up

• Guidelines
• Prospects expect to be asked for a sale
• Follow up whether you made the sale or not
• Trial Close
• Used to elicit responses during presentation
• Build excitement about your property
• Major Close
• Ask for sale directly
• Leave immediately after your presentation

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Telephone Sales Techniques

• Requires proficiency telephone can be impersonal
• Have your presentation and backup information
  ready
• Prevent interruptions
• Speak slowly and distinctly
• Be cheerful yet professional

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Screening Prospects

• Qualify prospects before making an appointment
• Use tip sheets to analyze information about
  planners before you call for an appointment
• Enter information from an interview onto a call
  report

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Setting Appointments for Personal Sales Calls by
Phone

• Intermediaries (Receptionists)
• Build rapport with them
• Get through them to the decision maker
• Three Steps in Setting Appointments by Phone
• Open the call
• Present (dont try to sell)
• Set the appointment

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Telemarketing

• Tips
• Use scripts that draw attention
• Staff must be well-trained
• Telemarketing needs clear goals
• Two Kinds of Telemarketing
• Qualifying prospects
• Market research

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Sales Blitz Selling

• Definition
• Contacting potential clients in a concentrated
  area over a brief period of time
• Used for both reaching and qualifying new
  prospects
• Characteristics
• Purpose Demonstrate the hotels ability to host
  meetings
• 75 to 90 calls over a three-day period
• Sales letters sent in advance to create warm
  calls
• Use city directories to select target area
• External staff may be used
• Sales blitz survey sheets

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Trade Show Selling

• Advantages
• Deal directly with prospects who buy
• Low costAverage of 185 per client
• Share space with local convention and visitors
  bureau
• Disadvantages
• Initial cost of transportation, setup, and
  display
• Competitors present, targeting same markets
• Attendees may have no interest in your property

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Trade Show Selling
(continued)

• Trade Show Selling Techniques
• Create action plan before show identify
  prospects, set sales and follow-up strategies
• Target the businesses with the most potential
• Solicit before and after show
• Qualify prospects quickly

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Selling with Convention and Visitors Bureaus

• Characteristics
• Often referred to as CVBs
• Extension of hotels sales staff
• Organized/funded in various ways
• Convention lead forms
• Housing bureau
• Many CVBs are members of IACVB
• Sales Tools They May Share with Properties
• Encyclopedia of Associations
• Directory of Corporate Meeting Planners

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Site Inspections and Familiarization Tours

• Site Inspections
• For individual prospects
• Choose busy times
• Take time to conduct tour
• Show only areas of interest
• Train staff as tour guides
• Familiarization Tours (Fam Tours)
• For groups of prospects
• Qualify prospects in advance
• Tell prospects what is included, the duration,
  and who is invited
• Try to close sale before prospect leaves