The Hilton empire is continuing to stretch across the county with a Hilton in Dunedin due to open in 2010. The hotel chain is confident that it will boost tourism figures to Dunedin by 10-15% (ODT, March 29, 2008) and there will be job opportunities within the hotel. Watch this space!
Archive for March, 2008
This is where you find out what your client needs and wants. How you address this can be the difference between success and failure of a sale. Just as the client has assumed an impression of you from your initial meeting now is the time to reinforce this (hopefully) and use your skills to ply the required information, and usually a little more, from them.
Lets look at some of the ways you can determine customers needs.
Crusing the Antarctica seems like an ideal activity but which cruise would you choose for your client and why?
Just flicking through the annual Time Style and Design Magazine and found this interesting article… seems weary travelers faced with layovers at London’s Heathrow or Gatwick airports have a new alternative to hours in an airport lounge. Yotel, a capsule hotel located inside the ariport’s terminal offers passengers a relaxing respite. Think private cabin equipped with a bed, wi-fi (?), room service, a bathroom and a flat screen TV. Guests can check in for as little as four hours for just $49.
Sounds like luxury….
Well done to you all today for your great efforts on the reservation charts. I am sure that you would agree that these give you much more information than a density chart, but as you will soon see, not as much information as a computerised system. However, they are ideal if you were a smaller operation that did not need all the functions of a software programme or you could not afford something like Fidelio/Opera.
On Wednesday 2 April, you will have a short test. The test will be on some of the terminology that we have used in the reservation process such as guaranteed and non guaranteed bookings, upgrades, suites, overbooking, abbreviations used on reservation charts, rack rate, waitlist.
Welcoming a client begins the sales and service process. Initial impressions can be lasting ones not only for you as the salesperson but for the organisation you represent.
If a hotel’s front-desk person is attentive, gracious and kind, you’ll conclude that this hotel really cares. If you greet a tour group you will be guiding your posture, eye contact, smile and upbeat attitude will set the stage for a positive experience for all. If you as a client are greeted on the phone with energy and enthusiasm you will respond in kind.
Not all welcoming begins with personal contact. Non personal welcomes can work just as well. Judge for yourself
Selling and marketing work hand in hand when it comes to avenues such as non-personal selling. For example, billboards, brochures, websites, tv and radio. Potential clients can book, buy, investigate without any personal human contact. However lets not forget the group of people that often work behind the scenes in putting all those forms of promotion together.
Next week we will start to unfold all the techniques of selling when we enter the “Sales Cycle”. In the meantime work through this activity and then in the future apply the same analysis to intersites you may be entering.
All these internet provider issues remind us that there is life outside of the internet and that we need to remember this. Today we had a look at the different types of selling that can carried out in particular transactional and consultative and we also completed the sales and service IQ test with most of you gaining a really good score. Good work.
Try completing The Salesperson Activity – it can be done in many different forms. Hopefully you won’t all decide to do a slideshow. Remember the Madagascar Activity is due in Lynn’s mail box or you can email it to her.
Next Tuesday you will be looking at selling within a business and non-personal selling.
