ShareHow are YOU tackling your training to make it more effective and more usable?
Inspired by this article from Harvard Business Review, HSMAI’s Sales Advisory Board offered three quick recommendations for how to increase the effectiveness of your hotel sales training.
- For branded hotels, it’s easy to let sales training fall to the back burner in light of other training required by the brands. Don’t let this happen! Look for opportunities to provide “quick tips” training that keep your sales team fresh and current while ensuring that they still have time selling.
- Take time regularly to refresh your sales tools and materials. Good content will keep the sales team engaged and on top of their game.
- Build in accountability for all training exercises – consider a mentoring program that matches a sales person with a mentor for a one-hour call each month. They can use their time together to review, discuss, and troubleshoot the training in action. And know that the mentors will benefit as well – often learning significantly from their mentees. This approach adds value on both sides of the equation.
With the costs of sales rising and rates not following in suit, it is often hard to convince management to invest in sales training. This will push you to think more strategically to make the most of the time and resources you do have to develop your sales team’s knowledge and skills.
Need additional training resources? Check out HSMAI’s Sales2Win online training programs, with courses on Account Management and Select Service Selling.
About the Author
Maureen O’Hanlon is a 25-year veteran of the travel and hospitality industry. As a partner with the Prism Partnership, she leads marketing initiatives large and small. Her primary areas of expertise are loyalty programs, sales and reservation training, customer relationship management, digital marketing, sales and marketing audits, and destination marketing.
Prior to joining Prism, Maureen served with Prime Hospitality as SVP of Sales and Marketing overseeing all marketing, advertising and communications efforts in addition to the National Sales efforts and reservations department. She also served for 16 years at Carlson Companies in a variety of roles including EVP of Marketing and Sales for Radisson Hotels and SVP of the Loyalty Division for Carlson Marketing Group.
Maureen is a past chair of HSMAI’s Americas Board of Directors as well as a past President of the HSMAI New York Chapter. She has received numerous industry honors including being recognized as one of the 25 most influential industry executives by Tour and Travel News.
About HSMAI’s Sales Advisory Board
HSMAI’s Sales Advisory Board leverages insights, emerging trends, and industry innovations to fuel sales for hotels. Members include:
- CHAIR: Ed Skapinok, Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Hostmark Hospitality Group
- C. Becker, Principal, Titan Group of New York, LLC
- Brian Burton, CHSE,CRME, Vice President Revenue Strategy & Optimization, White Lodging
- Michelle Crosby, CMP, National Sales Manager, Allied PRA Dallas/Fort Worth
- Katie Davin, CHSE, Associate Professor, Johnson & Wales University-Providence
- Lisa Giaimo, VP of Sales & Marketing, OTO Development LLC
- Linda Gulrajani, CRME, Vice President, Revenue Strategy & Distribution, Marcus Hotels & Resorts
- Kaaren Hamilton, CMP, CMM, VP, Global Sales, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group
- Melissa Kouvelas, Senior Manager, Worldwide Sales, Best Western Hotels & Resorts
- Joel Pyser, Senior Vice President, Sales, Newmarket, an Amadeus Company
- Larry Silman, Director of Strategic Sales, Americas, IDeaS – A SAS COMPANY
- Ronald Taylor, Vice President of Sales and Development, WCG Hotels
- Jim Vandevender, Chief Marketing Officer, The Knowland Group
- Christine Wight, Director of Resort & Conference Sales, Angel Fire Resort
- Tony Yeung, Principal, ZS Associates