Let's assume for a moment that every person in hospitality sales knows the importance of qualifying prospects, knows how to develop an effective opening, understands how belief in their product helps them to exude confidence, knows that to close the sale you must ask for the sale, and that service after the sale is as important as the sale itself. While we're at it, let's just assume that everyone has read those endless lists of "sales tips" written on how to become an effective salesperson. If we assume that colleges and universities are adequately training sales people, why is it that all new hires are not excellent sales people from the get-go? Further, with all the professional development opportunities available, shouldn't there be armies of effective sales people and no shortage of great candidates for those looking to hire? So, what is missing? What sets excellent sales people apart from the plebeian masses? READ MORE

Your former employees are a powerful market target. They all ready know the message and product. They "bought in" to what the organization was all about when they joined. They do not need lots of advertising messages and persuasive literature to familiarize them with the product or environment. They are "ripe" for the marketing mix and they should be top picks for special promotions and communications. Your employees could and should be one of your most valuable conduits for new business. So...how do you refine service levels to this powerful group? READ MORE

Survivor! The Bachelor and Bachelorette! The Millionaire! The Apprentice and good 'ol Average Joe! Who is for real these days and why has the issue of reality become so captivating for today's consumers? Why is "being real" or in some cases "not being real" so fascinating? How do real scenarios and events in today's world impact hospitality seeking guests? What reality do they want and are your employees prepared to give it to them? The service landscape has changed in the past few years and hospitality leaders must recognize why anticipating and defining expectations may be more important than ever. People, customers, guests want the real thing. Especially after events like September 11, they want to feel more secure, more safe and more reassured that their interests and concerns matter. They don't want to feel like their needs play second fiddle to corporate policies, complex chains of command or misinformed employees. They want a real connection. READ MORE

Ensuring that the sales team is highly motivated and productive is an ongoing process, regardless of the size or type of property. There are many ways to ensure success, one of which is incentive plans. But, to achieve the desired results, it is important to know that when it comes to incentive plans, one size does not fit all. Effective incentive plans take on many shapes and sizes, depending on the needs of the property and the business mix of the property. This article addresses key components to consider in customizing an effective plan which motivates and rewards the sales manager and/or sales team and at the same time, produces the optimal financial results for the property. READ MORE

Hotels across every segment of the industry today are faced with the challenge of delivering profits in an ever-changing environment of declining revenues and profitability. Independently owned and operated hotels have the added challenge of limited marketing resources. As a result, owners and managers of independent properties, now, more than ever, have to ensure that each marketing expense is justified and that it produces the best return on investment. Case in point: Direct Sales typically represents 40-50% of the entire marketing expense budget. As a result, with up to 50% of the marketing budget devoted to this one line item, it is critical to ensure that each sales person is effective and productive in achieving short term results and in laying the foundation for success in the long term. READ MORE

For hotel staff working on Christmas morning, either behind the front desk or in the housekeeping department, a rooms sales position may look like a pretty cushy job! Sales people don't have to work holidays or weekends and have the freedom to come and go as they please. But, in reality, a sales position is (or should be) challenging. They have the primary responsibility to generate room revenues for the property. Sales is responsible for building occupancy in low demand periods and by increasing average rates in peak times. But, in order to do this successfully, it is important that a sales person is at the top of his/her game. An effective sales person should be able to produce results despite market conditions and product drawbacks and to develop existing business by taking one meeting and turning it into four. READ MORE

Your sales team can target an increasing number of potential outlets to book business and fill your hotel nowadays. New sales opportunities, like online advertising and third-party e-channels, are as viable a source of business as traditional targets, like print advertising and corporate travel planners. However, this increasing number of potential outlets also means stretching your sales team's limited resources over a greater area. Trying to develop relationships in all of these target markets can be overwhelming, if not impossible, for any hotel sales effort. So it's time to take a creative look at how you can extend your sales and marketing team without increasing the number of people with "sales" on their business cards or making your sales budget balloon with added expenses. READ MORE

2009 saw U.S. RevPAR drop 16.7% to $53.71. Occupancy dropped to a national figure of 55.1% (down 8.7%) from 2008 levels. Average Daily Rate (ADR) dropped 8.8% nationally to $97.51. Certainly, the sky is falling. That is, unless, these are not the numbers that define your performance. Yes, they provide a barometer of sorts against which to gauge your own growth or erosion, but beyond that, what are you going to do with them? In an industry filled with almost endless metrics, which are the ones that should define success or be used as a valid measurement of performance? Here's a hint: not the ones above. Take control of what you can control and use only meaningful metrics to define, pursue and achieve the win. READ MORE

Change is inevitable, especially in the hospitality industry. With brands, ownership and management shifts taking place daily, especially with a lifting recession, the hotel landscape is sure to change. But what does this mean for the hospitality employees who are forced to participate in a "relaunch" without much notice or feedback? Well, it could mean a new energy or a revitalization of staff if the proper tools are put in place. By making current employees - from management to housekeeping - a part of the process, change can be more than inevitable. It can be welcomed. READ MORE

The word "branding" is dangerously overused. Many people use branding as a cure for all kinds of problems in all kinds of businesses. To lay claim to a deeper understanding of this elementary word, branding agencies all over the world have developed some cute variations of it, from "emotional branding" to "primal," "sensory," "musical," "internal," "external," "holistic," "vertical," "abstract," "nervous" and all the way to "invisible" branding. However, to see these distinctions, you will need special 3D spectacles. The list of branding types is almost like the three MIT wizards who took an academic conference for a ride by submitting a paper in all fake jargon: "Rooter: A Methodology for the Typical Unification of Access Points and Redundancy." Their paper was accepted. READ MORE

In this day and age of ensuring your identity is recognized by consumers, the question will inevitably be raised; do you or do you not need a brand? Are there values and a return on the investments or can you make it on your own? With the availability of information at everyone's fingertips and a plethora of choices available for consumers to buy a product, how can anyone ensure that the bases have all been covered? The larger question of critical importance today, however, is the relationship of brand value. In reality, consumers value branded companies. A walk through any major shopping area will prove this. Brands deliver major impact to a business as they will most often bring loyal customers with previous positive experiences. For independent hoteliers, this can make a huge difference to being successful or not when competing in a market place. READ MORE

Corporate identity and image design rules of the past are gone and so are the principles of old-fashioned mass marketing blitzes. What is now new is to aim for the targeted areas with powerful, unique global name identities and apply the latest of cyber-branding skills. The laws of e-commerce and Internet marketing are just the right steps in the right direction. Every hour there are new changes to our old ways of thinking about traditional marketing rules. While we are all very deep into e-commerce, we must be aware of whether we are either already very successful or still learning the processes. Here are some cutting-edge rules to ensure good returns on e-commerce and Internet marketing. READ MORE

In today's e-commerce age, where everyone is forced to type and to remember names with absolutely correct spellings, companies with big branding campaigns only hurt themselves with their old-fashioned, painted, colorful advice. They must all reconverge and regroup and realign their thinking to cope with today's name-driven economy. Contrary to branding beliefs, customers don't really care about, and are completely oblivious to, a corporation's image being tied to a very specific color. Meanwhile, trying to use a color for corporate identity can actually lead to trouble. For example, Orange Mobility, a British mobile phone company of France Telecom, is one of the largest telephone players in Europe. Just to make its point, as a gimmick, the company painted an entire town in England orange. Now, Orange Mobility, fully drenched in the color orange, is asking courts to disallow Easymobile, a new mobility service, the use of the color. READ MORE

There are thousands of very, very small companies out there who will develop a logo at no cost, a tagline at no cost, get you a free domain name and a free website at no cost. I guess the next big thing will be that they also write you a fat check...all for free. Who are these enterprises and how are they doing this? The Internet has removed the cumbersome overhead costs and linked very talented people to handle the real issues in real time without the fancy decorum and the super fulvous big time fanfare. Enter the street fighter, a savvy marketer with some teeth and a friendly smile. The freelance nations have far too many operators on the marketing and branding circuit that all are chipping away the armor of the giant branding companies who until now sold more on their posh addresses and furniture than raw talent. Million dollar logos with a matching spin to thousand of others, million dollar-slogans, confusing sentences as branding miracles. Suddenly, such services are now available for free as an incentive to get a new client for print and related packaging services. READ MORE

For any Hospitality corporation with plans to hit the markets with an IPO in 2005 or beyond, here are some key points. Just like how your latest technology and your other corporate assets are essential to develop great financials for a potential IPO, your corporate image and brand name recognition are equally important to get the word out in the marketplace. Both are critical for real success. Google's recent success with their IPO and the way their unique name played out is a clear case of a smart victory. Uniqueness and distinction makes a clear path of communication starting from your HQ all the way to the shareholders via the stock markets. A corporate brand with millions of dollars in advertising and promotional support is just a useless brand unless it has a unique position, and a clear name identity, strong enough to place the corporation aside from all the other copycats and look-alike, similarly named companies. READ MORE