Tips for Recruiting Successful Hotel Sales Staff

Effective salespeople are the key factors for the success of hotel sales efforts, it is very important to select the right people for the sales job. One of the major issues that the hospitality industry faces is the high staff turnover rate. So it is better to hire the best salespersons and retrain them over a short period to reduce the business lost during the hiring and training period.

Every attempt to be made to retain sales staff who is performing very well. Finding a good replacement can take up to a month and another two to three months to get trained and then generate at least 60% of revenue compared to what was generated by the previous staff. As a result of this, the hotel can lose a significant amount of revenue.

Recruiting successful hotel sales staff can be a challenging task. The hotel industry is a fast-paced and competitive one, and it requires sales staff who are dynamic, driven and committed to achieving results.

Here are some tips to help you recruit the best possible hotel sales staff:

• Look for candidates with experience in the hotel industry. This could include sales staff who have worked in hotels before or individuals who have experience working in other areas of the industry, such as catering or events management.
• Look for candidates who are passionate about the hotel industry. Successful sales staff are those who are driven by a love for the hospitality industry and a desire to help guests have the best possible experience.
• Use social media and other online tools to reach out to potential candidates. LinkedIn and other professional networking sites can be an excellent way to connect with people who are looking for jobs in the hotel industry.
• Consider offering training and development opportunities to your sales staff. This could include sales training, leadership development, and other professional development opportunities that will help them to grow and succeed in their roles.
• Finally, make sure that you are offering competitive compensation packages to your sales staff. This could include a base salary, commission, and other incentives that will motivate them to perform at their best and achieve great results for your hotel.

To build an effective and successful sales team for their hotel, The Director of sales should look for below characteristics when recruiting:

1) Good communication skills:

Successful sales staff should always have good verbal and written communication skills. This will help them to give a clear presentation about the hotel service to the customer, and build a quick rapport with the client.

2) Professionalism:

Sales personnel should present a professional image to become successful in their job. He / She should be always well dressed and also well groomed. Sales staff should have key qualities like teamwork, self-motivation, reliability, enthusiasm and also intelligence.

3) Good analytic skills:

Sales personnel should be able to do a SWAT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) AnalysisAnalysis is the assessment of the flow of information and services of a specific property to determi... about their property and convert their findings to attract/benefit potential customers. He / She should be also proactive and utilize all the opportunities to sell additional products and services to meet guest needs.

4) Persistence and efficiency:

Good sales personnel should be an expert at managing their work schedule and time. They also will waste little time on unproductive or cold accounts. He / She will use a systematic and steady approach to selling. And also do regular follow-ups with their prospective customers and try to convert them to business.

5) Empathy and respect for others:

Good salespeople should be able to empathize with customers And understand the needs of the prospective customers. At the same time, they should also appreciate the work of their colleagues and respect them.

6) Self MotivationMotivation means investigating employee needs and desires and developing a framework for meeting the...:

Sales staff should always have a positive attitude, and be goal-oriented, well-organized, and confident. They are open-minded persons and search for elements of their lives that enable them to increase self-motivation and incentive daily. Eg: Reading motivational quotes or books etc.

7) Curiosity:

This is another important quality that sales personnel should always have. They should be always curious about the happening on the market or any organization that can in turn bring in business to their hotel.

8) Know How to use sales tools and reporting skills:

He / She should be able to operate the sales planning software, and hotel property management systems used at the hotel. Also, generate reports on required sales dimensions on time to time basis. E.g.: Prepare the daily sales report after updating the outcome of their meeting with the client etc.