Online Hospitality Training

Preparing for the Call and Effective Greeting Skills

Create a highly effective foundation for successful sales calls and proper handling of incoming inquiries. This course will give you a good foundation to get the sales call off to a great start and set the stage for a successful close.

This course addresses:

• The Greeting
• Researching your prospect in advance
• Preparing your questions
• Preparing for customer questions
• Preparing for objections
• Building a rapport building process
• Developing an effective Introduction
• Taking control of the call
• Responding to E-mail inquiries
• Time management and use of schedule
• Knowing the competition
• Understanding market conditions

Effective Qualifying Skills

Proper qualifying skills are critical in presenting and selling to the customer’s needs. This course is made up of 3 separate lessons and covers all the skills needed to effectively qualify the customer.

• The difference in Open and Closed ended questions and how to best utilize them when qualifying
• Must Needs, Want Needs, Market Segment Needs, Organization Needs and Contact’s Personal Needs and how to identify them when qualifying
• What questions to ask a customer plus the benefits and objectives of asking them
• The 80/20 rule and tips on what to do before moving on to the Presentation stage of the sales process

Effective Presentation Skills

In order to convince a customer to buy they need to be sold why they should choose your property over a competing facility. This course is made up of 3 separate lessons and covers all the skills of presenting the hotel to a prospective customer.

• How to use the information that was uncovered when qualifying
• You will learn about Features and Benefits, their differences, and how to use them
• Tips to create and implement an effective presentation
• How to create an effective Food and Beverage Presentation
• How and why to use a Trial Closes
• Dealing with early questions on pricing as well as the important topic of selling against the competition

Effective Closing Skills

Without strong Closing skills you may not effective in winning the sale. This course is made up of 3 separate lessons and covers all the skills required to closing the sale.

• How to determine when you should Close by looking for buy signals
• Breaking down the steps of a Close
• Learn about the different types of Closes, including: Assumptive, Either/Or, Simply Ask, and Closing on the Objection
• Ideas on what to do if your close does not work, and how to keep the sales process moving
• Important steps to take before ending the call
• Tips on how to close on inquiries received via the internet
• Important follow-up skills necessary to help finalize the sale
• What to do if the sale is lost

Overcoming Objections to Win the Sale

Developing the ability to successfully overcome objections is essential in order to avoid losing business. This course is made up of 3 separate lessons and covers all the skills necessary to respond effectively and overcome an objection.

• The different reasons that customers object and how this impacts the strategy chosen to overcome the concern
• The steps to respond to an objection and successfully resolve the concerns
• Nine different strategies to consider when responding to an objection
• How to maintain a win-win solution
• The importance of Price Integrity as well as how and why to maintain it
• How to deal with objections due to the competition’s pricing and also what to do before moving on to the Close

Effective Reservations Skills to Help Close the Sale

This very comprehensive course will help the reservations and front desk team to better deal with incoming reservation inquiries. It reviews the power of using a customer’s name, as well as the importance of your tone of voice and using complete sentences when qualifying the customer.

• How to minimize the potential negative impact of placing a customer on hold and on hold etiquette
• How market trends help when selling your hotel and the importance of knowing your competition
• Qualifying your customers and additional questions to ask to gain great insight for better selling
• How to effectively sell the hotel and the rates
• Different upselling techniques to increase revenues
• Tips on the important step of closing and what type of closing techniques you can use
• Resolving rate objections

Sales Leadership: Handling Group Inquiries for the GM and Front Desk

For hotels that do not have a sales staff it is important that the person who handles the inquiry have a fundamental knowledge of the sales process. This course is designed for hotels where the General Manager and the Front Desk Agents field phone calls from customers for group business or negotiated transient rate business.

• The fundamentals of the sales process
• Steps of the Sales Process are and how they interact with each other
• Learn the basics of effective Qualifying and what types of questions should be asked
• How to effectively present the hotel through features and benefits in order to outsell the competition
• How to convey price value before the client hears the pricing
• Important Closing skills in order to finalize the sale
• The importance of effective follow-up including proposals and contracts

Selling to the Eastern Wedding Market

Made up of 3 lessons this module will educate you on the special nuances of selling to an Indian wedding market including: Hindu, Sikh, and Muslim.

• Special terminology, customs, and the typical space requirement needs for this segment
• Special considerations to be aware of before committing space to an inquiry
• Specific customs and an overview of the beliefs of each of the individual religious sect
• The various traditions, ceremonies and associated requirements needed to book the business
• Issues to be aware of such as the use of fire, the Baraat, gender issues, and prayer rooms
• Specific tips related to food and beverage needs

Selling to the Jewish Market

This course consists of 3 lessons. You will learn about the customs and traditions for the Jewish wedding market including the details of the pre-ceremony celebrations and the different vocabulary and customs associated with the weddings.

• Insight to various aspects of the wedding including the ceremony procession, special set-up needs, seating arrangements and things to consider with the transition from the wedding to the reception
• Gain a strong understanding of bar mitzvahs and bat mitzvahs as well as the unique customs and etiquette associated with them
• Areas include details on the Shabbat, the Haftorah, the seudat mitzvah and their special space requirements
• You will also learn about the various customs relating to things such as the yarmulkes and the ceremonial cutting of the challah bread as well as the special candle lighting ceremony
• Understanding the definition of kosher food and the specific kosher laws regarding meat, poultry, fruit, and vegetables
• Important rules regarding the serving and eating of meat and dairy
• Guidelines in creating a kosher food service environment and items to be aware of when working with kosher caterers and outside food options
• Ideas on how to build more bar mitzvah and bat mitzvah business

Selling Against the Competition to Win the Sale

This 3 lesson course will give the sales team the necessary tools in to effectively sell against the competition.

• Being prepared, developing and implementing strategies
• Knowing your own product and the competitor product in great detail
• Knowing the ever changing market conditions in your area
• Tips to thoroughly understand the competition’s product and the market conditions
• Tips on how to create a strategy for each competitor, and how to implement those strategies in order to ensure that they are truly effective
• Ideas on different strategies to deploy into the sales team’s approach

Prospecting – Digging for Gold

This comprehensive 7 course lesson covers all the aspects of setting the stage for a successful prospecting effort; it’s implementing and tracking of results. This course will fully prepare a sales person to have great prospecting skills.

• Laying the groundwork for successful prospecting
• The Sales Cycle, the Sales Funnel and how to ensure the sales funnel works
• Common obstacles that a sales person faces when prospecting and how to best deal with them. These obstacles include: Call Reluctance, Getting through the Gatekeeper and Voicemail
• The importance of using well prepared scripted guidelines
• How to use an effective hook to capture the prospect’s attention
• Resources for a salesperson to prospect from, ideas on how to use the internet as a resource and insight on when to use and not use cold calls
• Tips on cold calling
• Learn how to establish and track goals and productivity

Using LinkedIn as a Sales Resource

This 3 lessons course is designed to educate your team on how get results on LinkedIn.

• Setting up an effective profile and the Do’s and Dont’s of creating your profile
• How to build good network resources in LinkedIn and how to build your connections
• The importance of the second and third degree connections
• How to use your network to generate leads and how to use when pursuing potential prospects
• How to use the Group function as a resource
• Using a Company Page and how to set it up

Time Management Skills – Strategies for Success

In this course you will learn how to have strong time management and organizational skills. You will gain insight on self-evaluation and establishing personal goals.

• Tips on the importance of both short term and long term goals
• A review of common time-wasters and how to avoid them
• How to control your email vs. letting it control you
• Use of a SMOD system (Sales Manage on Duty) and a ‘Selling in Process’ system
• How to create and utilize an effective schedule to gain positive results
• Organizational tips to maximize selling efforts, how to create a Plan of Action and utilize a To Do Lists
• Detailed steps on creating effective Call and Booking goals so you can meet and exceed your quotas

To learn more about theCampus or to arrange a demo

Contact Lisa Richards at 904.230.4568 or lisarichards@hospitalitysoftnet.com

About Us:

As an industry leader, Hospitality Softnet delivers proven sales, marketing and operational support services to hotels nationwide. With our focused hospitality expertise spanning over three decades, we understand the unique requirements of the industry. In fact, our entire staff is comprised of seasoned sales, marketing and customer service professionals with extensive expertise in all facets of the hospitality industry.

With a true commitment to excellence, we offer a multitude of Management, Operational and Sales Solutions. These include services such as: Sales Training,Quality Assurance Test Calls, Competitive Hotel Intelligence, Teleprospecting Services, and On-Site Assessment