Yellow Dog Consulting

Sales & Marketing Consulting for solo-preneurs.

3 Things You Can Learn From an Attentive Hotel Staff About Sales

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Palm Trees & Sunshine DO exist in November! Who Knew?
Palm Trees & Sunshine DO exist in November! Who Knew?

This past weekend my husband, dad & I went to San Diego for some warm weather & beer tasting. It was a GREAT weekend! As the weekend went on I realized that the hotel staff was awesome! Hotels are a great example of customer service and can teach you a lot about sales. Here are 3 things you can learn from an attentive hotel staff about sales:

1. Be Friendly & Ask. Every time we left the hotel the valet staff asked if we needed directions or knew where we were going. Sometimes we had it planned out, but other times, we needed their help. But they asked EVERY time.

2. Help Other Departments. A Concierge noticed I was standing over by the bar area looking to get my water bottle filled up. He came right over to the bar and asked if I needed help. It was SO simple, but made a big difference instead of me waiting around and giving up. Or “that’s not my job, sorry.” I wish I could punch people in the face when it’s “not my job description.” Empower your team to be cross trained and help out when needed, not when it’s convenient.

3. Remember Me. This one can be tricky, but on Monday morning as we were checking out, I chatted with a gal at the cafe area and she asked how the Zoo was. We ended up NOT going to the zoo, but she remembered from Saturday that I had mentioned we were thinking about going to the zoo. I have to admit I didn’t even remember her (I usually remember a face!), but it was so great that she remembered and asked. Make notes about the personal things (how was your daughter’s volleyball game? what was your son for Halloween?), it makes a HUGE difference!

Sales 101: Leaving a Voicemail

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Yes I rant about voicemail a bit. However, it seems to me that if you want someone’s money, or time, or whatever, that you would leave them a voicemail they can understand.
I got a voicemail today from someone “Hi Elizabeth, this is (jumbled name) from (no clue what they said company) calling again…” Yeah, I didn’t reply the first time because I DIDN’T UNDERSTAND YOU.
It seems so simple: If you leave a voicemail, start with your name and phone number. THEN repeat your name and phone number at the end, or even right after. Speak Slowly, like you’re talking to your grandma.
The other option? I delete the voicemail and don’t call you back.

Prospect Nurturing

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IMG_3373A couple of months ago a referral partner said he had a new client for me. I love when this happens, we all do. We met with the prospective client together and had a great meeting. The prospect asked great questions and we hit it off. SWEET. I had just finished working with a client so had room in my schedule, this was perfect. I followed up, sent the information for my contract and then the hesitation began. We stayed in touch but the prospect wanted to talk to a potential mentor/coach for the work we’d be doing together.

I pinged the prospect a couple weeks later as had been discussed. Come to find out the mentor was willing to help with the work we had discussed, but the prospect really liked me, which is AWESOME. It’s nice to be liked, it’s better when they like you enough to hire you and give you their money though!

So, I followed up as I do, thanking them for the opportunity and made a suggestion based on a comment in the email. And then…I got a response “I really like you, would you be willing to meet with me monthly to advise me on some strategy for this project?” And just like that I went from losing a client to gaining a client.

I will never exhaust of telling you the importance of follow up. But also: be gracious when you think you lost a client, you never know how it may circle back in your favor.