What Makes a Hotel Salesperson Truly Great?

[00:00:00] Hi there, and welcome back to the Best Job You Never Heard Of. I'm Grace, and today's topic is near and dear to my heart because I've seen it all, and the good, the bad, and the unforgettable. We're talking about what makes a hotel salesperson truly great. Not just good, not just hitting their numbers. I mean, someone who's respected, trusted, and consistently successful over the long term.

Let's break it down. First and foremost, great salespeople have integrity. They don't make promises they can't keep, they don't play games with pricing, and they don't disappear after the contract is signed. They earn their reputation. [00:01:00] Integrity builds trust, and trust leads to repeat business. That's the truth.

If a client knows they can count on you, come hell or high water, they'll book with you again and again, and they'll refer others too The best salespeople don't dominate the conversation. They ask great questions. What's most important to you in a hotel? What didn't work at your last event? What would a perfect experience look like to you?

And then they listen, not just to what's being said, but to the tone, the emotion, the unspoken concerns. They know how to read the room, because when you really [00:02:00] listen, you can tailor your proposal perfectly. That's how you win the business And, you know, I mean, you can't sell what you don't know. Great salespeople know every meeting room size and capacity, yeah, by heart.

What setups work best for each space, the strengths and limitations of the property, how their hotel compares to the competition. This is so important. They also keep up with renovations, rate changes, guest feedback, and, you know, confidence comes from knowledge, and your clients can feel that confidence if you have it, but you [00:03:00] gotta put in the work.

Hotel sales, it's a people business. Hotels are a people business, and great salespeople genuinely like people. They remember birthdays, special occasions. They ask about someone's family. They follow up just to say hi, not always to sell. They build relationships that go beyond transactions. They are the ones who get hugs at check-in, at invites to weddings.

I wanna tell you about just something that I did on a whim Levi's was a much sought-after group in [00:04:00] the desert resort, Palm Springs desert resorts where I lived and worked and have for 30 years almost, over 30 years. And everybody was competing hot and heavy for this December, first week of December group.

December's pretty slow for hotels when it comes to groups. And this lady who was the meeting planner for the group, she's very experienced, knew our hotel, had programs there before, before I worked there, worked with other people And I went to call on her. I was in San Francisco and I went to her office.

I invited her for lunch. And when the lunch was over, I gave her a copy of a book. [00:05:00] I honest to God cannot remember what book it was. But it was a novel, you know, a novel that I'd read that I liked, and I said, "Deborah, I thought you might like it." Guys, it was a paperback book.

And, you know, within a couple of weeks, I got that group. And it was so important to our hotel. I can remember, I can see it in my mind right now, standing in the sales office and seeing the general manager of the hotel running around the corner into the sales office to congratulate me It's things like that indelible memories that you will never forget, that I will never [00:06:00] forget, because that wasn't about winning

That was about connecting with someone successfully. And

That's what it's all about. That's what it's really about So, having said that, the reality is things do go wrong sometimes. A guest room will have a leak. A meeting room gets double-booked. Let's not even talk about that. It happens way too often. A VIP wants a vegan menu an hour before the dinner. Yikes.

Great salespeople, great salespeople don't panic. They stay calm [00:07:00] and they solve the problem. Now, a lot of times, the things that I just mentioned, that will be the convention services manager's issue. They're the front lines. But I'll tell you the truth, and you need to know this, because you're the one that brought this person and their group to your hotel, and you're the one that has the relationship with them.

You may very well be the person they turn to. And that's okay, 'cause everything is figureoutable, and that's, that's just the truth. When you're a sales manager in that situation, you call in favors, y- you have a conversation with the chef. We can move mountains when we need to, and we can do it with grace [00:08:00] Clients don't expect perfection exactly they want it, but they know if this is a seasoned meeting planner, they're gonna know.

Things happen, but they expect you to care and to handle things fast and professionally when things go wrong

If you wanna kill a sale, backing up to the sales process, yeah, go dark after the site visit. Get busy I'm being ironic here. Great salespeople follow up promptly, professionally, personally. They check in, they send notes, they bring paperback books. Maybe spring for the hardback, right? They remind, and they [00:09:00] do it without being pushy.

They're friendly. They care. They wanna help Consistency is what wins the day Let's be honest, some people dread working with salespeople. I mean, we all have met salespeople who we hope we never see again. But the great salespeople make it fun. They're warm and witty and quick on their feet. They bring energy, positive energy into every room.

And I don't wanna mislead you. You don't have to be witty. You don't have to be, the most sparkling personality in the hotel. You just have to care You have [00:10:00] to have a positive attitude that makes people feel good around you. You know, that goes a really long way. Being great at hotel sales is not about being the loudest, the flashiest, the wittiest, the cleverest, or even the most experienced.

It's about being reliable, genuine, people-focused. If you care and if you're curious and interested and always learning, uh, you're, you're already on your way to success Next time, I'm gonna share some of my personal favorite stories from my own hotel sales career. What went right, what went hilariously frighteningly wrong, and what I'll never forget.

I'm [00:11:00] Grace, and this has been The Best Job You Never Heard Of. I know you're gonna be just great