Many venue and hotel sales teams are too comfortable with simply responding to enquiries, essentially acting as order takers. Of course, quick responses and dealing with requests are important. But, they’re just a tiny cog in the wheel for maximising sales potential. Enter proactive selling.
This is the game-changer to uplevel your team from passive responders into confident closers. But first, let’s clarify what proactive sales means.
Understand the Key Differences Between Reactive Versus Proactive Hotel Sales
Reactive hotel sales kick off when a potential client makes an enquiry. It’s essential to swiftly respond. But, here’s the bombshell. This reactive style often puts your team at the mercy of the client’s decision-making process – and truthfully, they’re likely to be shopping around with several of your competitors.
On the other hand, proactive sales put your team in the driver’s seat. It’s the difference between waiting for business to land in your inbox and getting out there, anticipating needs, building relationships, and securing new opportunities before competitors even know they exist!
But how can you make that shift, without team members feeling like they’re being forced into pushy, spammy, stalking sales against their will?
3 Effective Ways to Transform Your Team into Proactive Sellers
It’s important to make your people feel like you’re doing something for them, rather than to them. So, reassure them you’re not going to suddenly demand 100 cold calls a day! Instead:
- Establish a proactive sales routine – Make proactive sales a habit, not an afterthought. Set aside an allocated time every day for prospecting, whether it’s reaching out to past clients, nurturing leads, or researching potential opportunities in the market.
- Encourage personal and professional growth – Factor training and upskilling into their personal learning and development paths. This might include industry-specific certifications, workshops, or additional training like Selling Savvy’s Proactivity for Reactive Sales Teams . As a result, they’ll be more motivated to proactively pursue success when they feel supported in their growth.
- Promote a collaborative environment – Share insights, strategies, and successes during regular check-ins, goal-setting and brainstorming sessions. This helps ensure everyone is on the same page and moving toward common goals.
What are the Key Differences Proactive Hotel Sales Makes?
Proactive venues and hotel sales are so powerful for helping to:
- Stay ahead of the competition – Your team are well placed to secure business without needing to fight for it when they reach out before an enquiry even arises.
- Build stronger client relationships – Anticipating clients’ needs cultivates trust and positions your hotel or venue as a true partner, not just another supplier.
- Increase profitability – Proactive hotel sales efforts equip your team to make the best sales, without discounting services in haste for the sake of winning the business at any price.
Ready to get proactive? We thought so.
At Selling Savvy, we know what it takes to transform your venue or hotel sales team from reactive to proactive. Our industry-specific training is designed to ready them with the tools and confidence they need to stop being order takers and start being true sales professionals.
Get in touch today to learn more about our training courses, or drop us a message with any questions. Isn’t it time to boost your team’s performance and profits?
