Offering 18 years of sales and customer service experience in the hotel industry and 10 years of Hotel Internet Marketing, Sales Research and Development. Innovative strategies for sales professionals

Innovative Hotel Internet Marketing Sales Strategies for Closing the Sale!

The Internet offers many cost effective (even free) resources and tools to forward virtually unlimited sales information to capture prospective business! Web sites are good marketing tools but they do not provide hotel and event planning sales professionals with the resources and education needed to streamline the service sales process to each sales and inquiry call. Distribution and presentation of your virtual sales material instantly and professionally - while providing personal attention to the guest - can make the difference between the sale and lost business.

Studies have shown that 85% of those who respond first to an inquiry with complete sales information and provide personal attention to the guest will win the business. Complete sales and catering information should be presented within the first few seconds of an inquiry or sales call. One of the first things a Sales or Catering Sales Managers should be asking when receiving an inquiry or sales call is; are you sitting in front of a computer, if the guest is, then this gives the sales professional a visual option for the guest to review as they follow along with your virtual presentation of services. Once the call is completed there should be no need to access e-mails, send attachments, word documents, web links, powerpoints and PDF brochures or resort to faxes and snail-mail to complete the inquiry or sales call (other then a follow up).

HotelEPacket.com’s web tools now allow service sales professionals to organize not only all sales and facility materials, but also the process for delivering this information to clients. These tools deliver sales information in a format that updates across the inventory enterprise - regardless of when a client receives it. Changes and updates are completed within 24 hour of receipt by our office once your Sales E-Packet is developed. “Service sales professionals need to take a look at their sales materials and examine how they sell in the virtual world,” says Louis Godin, owner of HotelEPacket.com. “Changes to downloaded resources, such as .doc and .pdf for example, are not reflected on files already delivered to clients, and less inventory can save hotel sales professionals time and money.”

The service sales industry has always been the leader in "going above and beyond" when when it comes to customer service sales. Today's full services hotels, limited service hotels, event planning sales and service sales web sites have been built to reflect the web designer's technical goals and restrictions instead of the goals and needs of the service sales professional. Traditional web sites do not provide the tools and knowledge your sales staff members need to close the sale with one phone call, while providing traditional 'sales 101' standards virtually?

Consumers are still looking for personal attention and outstanding customer service in the service sales process.

REVIEWING TRADITIONAL 'SALES 101':
- Provide Professional and organized information - Build rapport with the guest - Educate your guest (helps build rapport) - 'KIS' (Keep it Simple) - Have knowledgeable and friendly staff - Provide user friendly information - Client like to see name/information displayed - Communicate quick and accurate information - Provide information specific to each guest needs - Provide special personal attention to each guest - UP SELL AND CROSS SELL YOUR PROPERTY AND SERVICES - PROVIDE YOUR SALES STAFF WITH THE TOOLS NEEDED TO DO THERE JOB

The hotel sales industry must start analyzing its cost effective virtual options, organize its virtual sales procedures, train its sales staff and begin distributing and presenting sales information to include traditional sales standards to ensure an increase in profits and a decrease in annual marketing budgets. Further consideration, from a business perspective, must be given to the millions dollars of misdirected revenues in production and postage each year.

SALES 101 ALSO TELLS US to find ways to stand out and sell above and beyond your competitors - How can you stand out above your competitors when you are doing the same thing as everyone else with your virtual sales material? The service industry must look at its sales material and begin presenting virtual sale information by traditional sales standards, while providing personal attention to each client. Provide not only a sales tool to your sales staff, but giving them the virtual tools to up sell and cross sell your property and services. Studies have shown that 85% of those who respond first to an inquiry with complete sales information and provide personal attention to the guest will win the business. HotelEPacket.com now offers the service sales industry a way to think outside the box when it comes to web sites through virtual presentation of services. Web sites are good marketing tools, but marketing does not close the sale.

Businesses of all sizes are recognizing that being first on any major search engines costs money. Good search engines ranking is not something that just happens, and the Internet is filled with fraud. The hotel sales and catering industry must look at other options to make web sites a viable sales tool, such as virtual presentation of services offered. "Web sites are good," says Louis Godin, owner of HotelEPacket.com and WebEventPlanner.com, "but full service hotels, limited service hotels, event planning and service sales professional have lost track of the fundamentals of selling. Personal attention has been lacking in the sales process through most web sites. Sales 101, tells us the importance of things such as building rapport, education, client name/information displayed, communicating information quickly, and providing special personal attention above and beyond everyone else." Sales professional must begin presenting sales information by traditional sales standards whereby web sites are virtual sales presentation tools to be viewed by the guest under the guidance of a service sales professional. HotelEPacket.com’s web tools for sales professionals now enable on-the-spot virtual property site inspection and presentations to each inquiry and sales call.

In today's competitive sales environment, time is money. Distribution and presentation of your sales material quickly and professionally - while providing personal attention to the client - can make the difference between the sale and lost business.

Virtual tools and training to sell above and beyond competitors.	Send virtually unlimited 'Real Time' sales prospecting information cost-effectively.	Conduct Virtual Cold and Sales Calls - 'In Real Time'.	Conduct a Virtual Sales and Marketing Blitz.
Budget and Time Saving Tools. Paperless sales packets.	Providing sales professionals with the virtual tools and training to do there job virtually.	Streamline the sales process virtually and eliminate postage and handling.	Send and present professional and organized sales information.
Organizing ALL sales material virtually - while setting virtual sales policies and procedures.	Distribution and presentation of virtual sales material instantly and professionally.	Up Sell and Cross Sell virtually. Sponsor a virtual trade show in your area.	Training and Internet tools to streamline your sales process.
Incorporating 'Sales 101' to the Virtual Sales Process.	Educating and building rapport with the guest.	Provide sales information specific to each guest needs.	Provide special personal attention to each guest with your virtual presentation.
Saving Our Environment "paperless".	Conduct a sales or inquiry call paperless and cost-effectively.	Closing the sale paperless and cost-effectively.	'KIS' (Keeping it Simple)