Even in this digital age it never ceases to surprise me at how little time we spend training our M&E teams at the end of the phone. These teams are responsible for upwards of 60% of the property’s revenue, either directly or indirectly, but they are often under-trained, under-resourced and sometimes underappreciated! What better opportunity to convert an enquiry when you have the client at the end of a phone?

Below are our basic tips to remind you how to engage with the customer and convert that enquiry into sales.

First Impressions

Before writing the course, we make sure to carry out a series of mystery shop calls to gauge the level of experience in the team. From 3-star to 5-star properties, the basic ability to answer the phone within 3 rings and can very often be a challenge.

Below are examples of instantly creating a poor first-impression:

> Not answering the phones

> Have the phone on a loop and/or diverting it

> Recording a message but no-one calls back

Although easily amendable, these vital first impressions are often negative and can set the tone for the rest of the guest’s experience and must be nipped in the bud immediately.

Build Rapport

People buy people. This sales cliché is often true. Try showing genuine interest in your client, show empathy and/or excitement and mirror their behaviour. Remember, it takes on average 2 months to build a habit, so if at first you are finding it difficult, keep trying!

An easy way to build rapport is by asking open questions and really listening to the responses. The more questions you ask and the harder you listen the more you will uncover those vital needs that enable you to convert a booking. You will also not miss vital buying signals if you are listening and concentrating on what your client is saying.

Find your unique selling points!

Through our training courses, we often find that the team are not aware of who their competitors are and know little about them. USPs are powerful bits of information, if you know what they are.

Call Structure

Sometimes it’s the basics that can trip you up. Make sure the team have a structure to their call. After 30 years in the industry, I still like to have my prompt sheet to make sure I maximise all opportunities once I have a client on the phone. This is also helpful when closing the sale. So often I will listen to a call that on the surface is good but then the close is non-existent. The client leaves without making any kind of commitment and another more proactive sales team at another venue will be able to convert the business. When in doubt, get that prompt sheet out!

Show-round

And finally, the showround. I was horrified recently when one of my venues advised me that they don’t offer to take the coat of their clients as they don’t want them to sit down as takes too much time out of their day. Showrounds are the biggest opportunity to convert an enquiry. They should be as near to perfect as possible with a structure, good preparation, involvement of other members of the team and the ability to close.

If you have found this helpful and are interested in more information on any of our training courses, please contact us today.

Until next time,

Vicky Nesbitt

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