It’s high time to think about reactive sales training if your venue sales team is running on guesswork, outdated scripts and crossed fingers. And here’s why…
It’s perfectly usual to have a combination of the following experience levels in your sales team mix:
- Experienced salespeople who’ve come from other hotels and venues, and know how to talk to clients
- Experienced salespeople from other sectors, without any hospitality know-how
- Inexperienced salespeople you employed because you hope their great attitude and enthusiastic personality will ultimately compensate for their lack of conversance
In any event, you assume they’ll just get on with it. But, hang on, not so fast!
It’s a risky strategy to rely on experience or good vibes alone, without structured, sector specific, reactive sales training. Guest expectations are sky high, competition is fierce, and leads don’t grow on trees, after all.
So, here’s a timely reminder what cutting corners on reactive sales training might be costing your business. Spoiler alert: it’s more than a few missed targets.
1. Lost Conversions = Lost Revenue
Even the best leads fall flat when handled without confidence, clarity, and consistency. But truthfully, reactive sales teams often lack the know-how to ask the right questions, handle objections, or push bookings over the line.
Reality check:
- Lower conversion rates = higher cost per lead
- Even a seemingly insignificant drop in sales conversation rates in hospitality can cost hundreds of thousands a year
2. High Turnover Drains Your Budget
People leave when they feel unsupported, underprepared, or overwhelmed. And it’s no small bill to replace them.
As a result, the cost of not offering venue sales training mounts up in terms of recruiting and onboarding costs for new team members.
So remember, burnout is real. And it’s also preventable, with proper support and event sales training to equip staff to do their jobs and flourish.
3. Tech Investments Unrealised
Have you got a fancy CRM or marketing automation platform gathering digital dust?
It’s difficult, even impossible, for your team to use these tools to their full potential without relevant reactive sales training. And it shows in your pipeline.
Talk about wasted potential. After all, these tools are there to boost productivity. But only if your team knows how to use them.
4. Sloppy Sales and Slipping Retention
Sales starts with nurturing a relationship, besides landing a booking. But poor communication, lack of follow-up, and missed touchpoints all contribute to client churn.
It’s not rocket science. Keep your existing clients happy, and they’ll come back. Imagine what even a small boost in retention could increase your profits by.
5. No Upselling Means No Extra Revenue
Chances are your team’s leaving easy wins on the table without any hospitality sales training to spot upsell and cross-sell opportunities.
Do the maths. If each team member upsells just £10K a year, that’s £100K you’re missing out on annually across a 10-strong team.
6. Marketing Budgets Wasted
Are you spending money on ads, email campaigns, and flashy venue brochures?
Why bother if sales can’t convert the hard-earned leads these things help generate? It’s high time to repair your leaky funnel to avoid an ROI nightmare.
“Reactive Sales Training is Too Expensive”… Is It Though?
The real expense is when you’re losing bookings, burning out staff, underusing tech, and missing revenue left, right and centre.
At Selling Savvy, we’ll help you fix it, with proven, industry-led, and customisable sales training for hotels and venues, equipping your team to sell, sell, sell, day in, day out.
Get in touch for reactive sales training to help your team stop winging it and start winning more business.
