Telephone Coaching Call. Qualifying. Presented By

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1 Telephone Coaching Call Qualifying Presented By 1

2 Copyrighted 2012 Hospitality Softnet, Inc. These materials cannot be reproduced in any fashion or reprinted without written permission from Hospitality Softnet, Inc. They cannot be distributed to anyone other than qualified participants of this Coaching Call. 2

3 Module: Qualifying Use of Open and Closed Ended questions Learning as much as possible about your customer, their wants, and their needs Don t be just an order taker Quote: Curious people ask questions, determined people find answers." Unknown By effectively qualifying your account, you are laying the groundwork for a successful sales call. Taking time at this stage of the call is very important and helps make the difference between being an order taker and a sales person. For Example: Ms. Brown, thank you for calling us. What I d like to do first is ask you a few questions so I can get a good understanding of what it is you are looking for. Would that be all right? On our mystery shopping test calls, we observe a tremendous amount of use of closed ended questions. Individuals who use a questioning technique that is a good mix of both closed and open-ended questions stand out as excellent qualifiers. Developing your skills to naturally use a lot of open-ended questions is helpful for the following reasons: It helps minimize the customer feeling they are being interrogated. It helps draw out as much information as possible from the customer. It helps make sure you aren t doing more talking than your customer. This helps build rapport and shows interest. 3

4 Open Ended Question: An open ended question is one that requires more than a one word answer and encourages your customer to expand upon their answer. What are you looking for when choosing your meeting site? What is the purpose of your meeting? What did you like best about the last facility you used? Who else is involved in choosing a hotel? What type of meeting needs does your company have? Where do your attendees come from? What type of banquets does your organization host each year? What type of budget are you working with? What are your priorities when you are choosing a meeting site? What kind of A.V. needs do you have? Closed Ended Question: A closed ended question is one that requires only a one word answer and limits the customer s response. How many meetings do you hold each year? How many people are in your meeting? How many people will attend the reception? Will you need any A.V. for this meeting? Are you considering any other facilities for this meeting? Would you like any coffee breaks? Will you be making the decision on this meeting? When will you be making the decision on this group? 4

5 Types of Customer Needs. As you ask your questions, you will learn more about the needs of your customer. In this process you will uncover Must Needs and Want Needs. What is a Must Need? A Must Need is an absolute requirement that has to be accommodated What is a Want Need? Want Need is a need that could be satisfied by an alternative, or in some cases even not accommodated at all. The Must Needs have to be met in order to book the business, whereas the Want Needs can either be met, or substituted with other features and benefits offered by the hotel. An example of a Must Need is the number of guestrooms needed or the size function room required. Market Segment Needs It is important to ask enough questions to uncover all of your prospect s needs, rather than just determining space requirements. If you don t, you will have difficulty closing because you may not have addressed an important need. There are some needs all customers have. However, there are also needs which are specific to a particular market segment. Keep this in mind and as you qualify, there may be some specific questions you want to pose because of the type of group coming in. TABLE: Market Segment Need Examples: Corporate Group Student Athletic Group Wedding Group High speed internet Business Center Quiet meeting room Audio Visual Equipment and services Rooms with work desk Food & Beverage Services Double/Double Rooms All rooms close together Having pay per view movies turned off Having long distance service turned off Security Affordable meals Dance Floor Cake Table Centerpieces Gift Table Colored linens/more upscale table settings Ability to have welcome gifts put into rooms Suite for Bride/Groom Room to change 5

6 Organizational Needs There are also Organizational Needs for the group who is hosting the event. It is important to be aware of their needs as well. If you are aware of these needs, you are in an even better position to provide an effective presentation to address what is important to the customer. This will help you convince the client you are the best option for their event. TABLE: Organizational Need Examples: Organizational Needs To make money from the event. To make the event a success to help build attendance for future events. To motivate the attendees. To impress the attendees. Contact s Personal Needs In the questioning stage it is also helpful to learn about your contact s Personal Needs so you can be of assistance wherever possible. TABLE: Contact s Personal Need Examples: Personal Needs Never booked an event like this and needs assistance and guidance. Is responsible for evening or outside activities and needs assistance. Boss or VIP is attending and needs to be sure all goes smoothly so they look good to these individuals. Is not familiar with the city and has to coordinate transportation and needs help. Why Uncover Market Segment, Organization, and Contact Needs? If you keep in mind these various types of needs when qualifying your accounts you will increase your chances of closing on the business. This is because the client will feel more comfortable working with you. Also, you are displaying a very professional and service oriented demeanor. You can use this knowledge when you present the hotel. If you are able to address these needs when selling to this client, you will likely increase your chances of booking the business. 6

7 When Qualifying Space Requirements You want to uncover more than just how many guestrooms are needed and/or how many people are attending the catered function. Other specific details that are important to know include: What are the times of the event? Are there any extensive audio visual requirement needs? What type of food and beverage functions will be required? What style of set-up is the group interested in having? Will it be singles or doubles for the guestrooms? These details can impact the type of function room required or the type of guestrooms needed. For example, you may assume the customer wants to end the meeting at 5:00 PM and plan on re-selling that room for an evening function. However, your customer may be assuming they can stay as late as they want. So, this type of detail is important to uncover when qualifying. Being an Order Taker is when you limit your qualifying to uncovering only the basic needs necessary to check space availability. To excel as a sales person, uncover other information as well. 1. Uncover their buy factors This lays the groundwork to enable you to provide an interesting and enticing presentation of the hotel, tailored to the caller s needs. 2. Uncover their familiarity with your hotel. If you know how familiar the client is with your facility, it will help you decide how much of a presentation is necessary. 3. Ask about their Budget. If you uncover this information you can possibly find out early on in the conversation if the client is going to be price sensitive. This way you can be proactive in responding to this potential issue by taking more time to present and sell before quoting pricing. 4. Ask about the purpose of the event. It will help you provide a more effective presentation because you can point out features and benefits that would be important for that particular type of event. 5. Ask if the dates are flexible. If the client is flexible, you may be able to convince them to shift the event to dates where you need more business. Also, if the original dates aren t available, you can quickly check alternate dates without having to get back to the caller or place them on hold again. 7

8 6. Ask about the Decision Date and Decision-Maker. You can better determine how to follow through with the inquiry to lead into a successful close. 7. Uncover the History of the event You can better determine how much space to hold, and if the group has a higher than normal chance of canceling. This may impact how you sell to the group and how you construct your contractual arrangements. 8. Determining the type of organization or what their department does in the co. This is a great way to build rapport. It also provides you with valuable information and insight on your customer to be able to sell to them more effectively. 9. Inquire about potential future needs This is an efficient means of prospecting for additional business. This information also may impact how you sell and negotiate with this customer. 10. Determine how your customers heard of your hotel This information can be beneficial when creating and evaluating your marketing strategies. Why Ask These Questions and When Should You Ask Them? Why should you ask all of these questions and when? Some should be asked during the initial stages of the call, as you need this knowledge to present effectively. Some can be incorporated into the call at some point when appropriate. For example, the decision making process could be determined before ending the call. Incorporate the questions into your qualification process so you can use the information as you progress through the call. This knowledge will truly help you present more effectively and deal with objections more easily. The end result is you will outsell your competition and will be amongst the best sales people in your marketplace. 8

9 Developing the Skills of Using Open and Closed Ended Questions 1. Write out a script guideline of how you want to qualify your accounts. Next to each question indicate if it is open ended or closed ended. You may need different scripts for different types of customers. 2. Review and work with the script guideline to make it a good mix of both open and closed ended questions. 3. Once complete, memorize the script guideline and practice using it until it becomes natural to use. Develop a conversational style of questioning so you come across as warm and friendly, versus automated or interrogating. 4. Post the script near your desk, or incorporate it into your Inquiry Sheet. Use cheat sheets and resources when selling over the phone to ensure you do a GREAT job. Before Moving on to the Next Step of the Selling Process Before moving on in the next step of the selling process take a brief moment to recap the needs uncovered. You can use a trial closing question to ensure you have addressed everything and that there are no other issues that need to be discussed before checking availability and pricing. For example: Janet, let me review what you have shared with me. (then review needs). Is there anything else that you will need for this meeting? 80/20 Rule. When you are in the Questioning Step, it is important to follow the 80/20 rule. This rule you talk 20% of the time, and you listen 80% of the time. In order to achieve this objective, it is important to use Open Ended Questions often to encourage your client to speak freely. As a result, you will gain as much information as possible from your client. 9

10 SAMPLE SCRIPT OF QUALIFYING It is difficult to script how an inquiry is handled because of the many variances that can occur in the course of the call. However, the following is just one example of dealing with an inquiry for a piece of business. It is important to keep in mind that there are many different ways to ask the same question. What is important is to use a mix of both open and close ended questions. In addition, each sales person has their own selling style. Based upon this and how the conversation is flowing there are different ways to respond or handle an inquiry. Good Morning. This is Lisa Michaels, how may I help you? C: I d like to get some pricing and information on your hotel for a meeting. Great. May I ask who I m speaking with? What organization are you with, Ms. Davis? Oh, I m not familiar with that company. What kind of company is Delta Systems? What kind of event are you planning, Ms. Davis? -or- What is the purpose of this meeting? Well, we d love to work with you on this sales meeting. What I d like to do is ask you some questions so I can get a good idea of what it is you are looking for. Then I can check space and provide you with some pricing. Would that be all right? What dates are you looking at for the meeting? Are these dates firm, or are you flexible with them? Ms. Davis, in regards to the function space... tell me about your meeting needs. What style of set-up do you prefer for the meeting? What kind of audio visual needs will you have? What will the times be for the meetings? Tell me about your food and beverage needs such as lunches and dinner requirements? Ms. Davis, have you held this meeting before, or is this the first time? Will you be needing any overnight rooms with this event? I think I have everything I need to check space for you. Do you mind holding a moment? Ms. Davis, we do have the space open for you. What kind of price range do you want to stay within for your guest rooms? (Or another option is: Is there a budget you are working within for your guest rooms?...or... What type of room rates have you paid in the past for this kind of meeting?) We d love to work with you on this meeting. Are you familiar with our hotel?... Oh, how did you hear of us? 10

11 Sample Qualifying Script: Page 2 Is this the only meeting you plan in the area, or do you have a need for hotel facilities at other times during the year? Ms. Davis, can you tell me what is important to you when looking at our hotel for this meeting? Will you be considering any other hotels for this event? (Then move on to the Presentation phase of the call) Well, I think I have a good idea of what you are looking for. Let me tell you about the space that we have available... 11

12 Date: Date Entered in Computer: INQUIRY WORKSHEET Organization Name: Contact: Address: Phone Number: Fax Number: Purpose of Event: Billing: Advance Deposit Required Yes No Due: Overnight Needs: Tax Exempt? Yes No Certificate on File? Yes No Days of Meeting: # People Attending: Time of Meeting: Style Seating: Lunch /Dinner Needs: Coffee Breaks: Room Used for Meal: Room Used for Meeting: A.V. Needs: Method of Payment: COMPETITION BUY FACTORS: BUDGET: DECISION MAKING PROCESS, DECISION MAKER & DATE: HISTORY: 12

13 By the way.. Other hotel needs during the year? Who else books hotel needs? How did you hear of us? COMMENTS TRACE: 13

14 CALL REPORT Potential: A B C D NN Sales Person: Date Organization Name: Contact: Phone: Fax: Address: Source: (circle one) Inquiry Solicitation Referral Other Cities Interested In: Annual Transient Roomnight Needs/Year: Details for Transient Needs: # Group Room Block Needs/Year: Size of Blocks & Purpose: Budget Expectations for Rates: # Meetings Held /Year: Size of Meetings: # Catering Functions Held/Year: Size & Type of Function: 14

15 Page 2: Call Report Competition: Priorities when choosing a hotel: Market Segment Needs: Organizational Needs: Who Else Handles Booking These Needs: Who is the Decision Maker for These Needs: What Events/Needs Do You Currently Have Upcoming That We Can Be of Service: Decision Date for Current Needs: COMMENTS: 15

16 Module: Setting Up the Question Use of 3 level questioning Setting up your questions Quote: The question is the most important skill a salesperson should master..the importance of asking one properly lies somewhere between sale and no sale. Jeffrey Gitomer Not only are there specific questions that we need to incorporate into our qualification process, but there are different techniques you can employ to probe and learn about your customer. The Three-Level Strategy of Questioning is a combination of the following: Step One: Step Two: Step Three: Make a statement that is factual and true Make an observation using your experience and that conveys credibility. Ask an open ended question that will incorporate the first two steps For Example: Step One: The hotel you choose for your meeting needs can make the difference in having a successful meeting or an unsuccessful meeting. Second Stage: We know that hosting a meeting can be a huge investment for a company and that there are a lot of options available. Sometimes when choosing a hotel people might just select a property based upon price comparisons between proposals. However, sometimes a savings in price can come at the expense of having a poor meeting experience and the dollars spent on the meeting won t reap their highest benefit. Step Three: Can you share with me what is most important to your company when selecting a property for your meeting needs and what the selection is based upon? 16

17 How To Make This Process as Powerful as Possible Adapt the concept to what makes sense for your type of qualification. Ask the questions in a way that makes your customer really think. Make your qualification style so different, that you are clearly separating yourself from the competition. Plan your questions, and then practice them at least 5 or more times to tweak them so they work well for you. Keep in mind, it will take about 25 attempts before you feel totally comfortable with this technique and can begin to see results from this style of qualifying! Take some time and develop your own Three-Step Qualifying Questions! Step One: Step Two: Step Three: 17

18 Step One: Step Two: Step Three: Step One: Step Two: Step Three: 18

19 Module: Close the Sale in 5 Questions Using Power Questions Identify the prospects problems Use questions that identify information, needs, and concerns Quote: This is not a hard sell; its heart sell. Good questions get to the heart of the problem/need very quickly without the buyer feeling like he or she is being pushed. Jeffrey Gitomer Closing the Sale in 5 Questions is another technique that is outlined in more detail in the Sales Bible, by Jeffrey Gitomer. The following provides an overview of this technique. The 5 Question style of qualifying will not only help you qualify, but it will help you identify the customer s true needs and try to lead to closing the sale as quickly as possible. This technique really makes your customer think and give you thoughtful answers. Aspects of This Technique: There are 5 primary questions considered Power Questions You may ask some defining questions within a Power Question as a follow-up or to tie down the customer s response. You may use the classic style of If I would you. Questioning style. This helps make a customer commit to something. The goal is for your customer to be talking a lot, not you! 19

20 Samples of Power Questions: What do you look for..? What have you found..? How do you propose..? What has been your experience..? How have you successfully used..? How do you determine..? Why is that a deciding factor..? What makes you choose..? What do you like about..? What is one thing you would improve about..? What would you change about..? Are there other factors..? What does your competitor do about..? How do your customers react to..? 20

21 Sample of a 5 Question Approach 1. Salesperson: Mr. Prospect, how do you select a hotel for your travel (or meeting or catering) needs? Prospect Says: Cost is a factor and the location. 2. Defining questions a. Salesperson: In regards to cost, what is it that you look for in terms of cost? b. Salesperson: In regards to the location, what are your requirements in regards to location? 3. Salesperson: Is cost and location the most important factors when choosing a hotel? Is there anything else? 4. Salesperson: If we are able to work within your overall budget would we be a candidate for your next meeting? 5. Salesperson: Great, when is the next meeting you are planning? How To Use This Technique Successfully You need to carefully think out your questions and write them down in advance. You need 15 to 25 questions that uncover needs, buy factors, and objections. Develop 15 to 25 more that lead your customer to a commitment as a result of the information you discovered. You need to practice, practice, practice! It will take about 30 days of practicing this technique religiously before you will realize results! 21

22 Module: 30 Second Personal Commercial Use of Power Statements Use of Power Questions It s not just what you say, but how you say it! Quote: Your commercial is an opportunity to provide information that creates interest and response from people you network with. Jeffrey Gitomer The 30 second Personal Commercial is a way for you to quickly provide information to create interest from your customer and entice them to speak or meet with you. The Process: Introduce who you are Introduce your company name Be creative on explaining what you do Utilize some Power Question/s Utilize a Power Statement on how you can help the customer Conclude with a statement on why your customer should act now! 22

23 For Example: STEP #1: Introduction of your Name and Company to Contact Good morning, Mr. Rayson. This is Debra Johnson with the Hilton Downtown. STEP #2: Opening Statement of What You Do Designed to Capture Interest The reason I m calling today is we are celebrating the completion of our $6 million dollar renovation and are offering fantastic meeting package for the upcoming quarter. In speaking with Janet she explained you would be the person to speak with regarding any hotel needs your company would have. STEP #3: Power Question #1 Do you have any needs for hotel facilities whether it be for meetings or for hotel accommodations throughout the year? STEP #4: Power Statement / How You Can Help We are a full service hotel that is conveniently located in the heart of downtown. We have completely renovated all of our guest rooms and meeting space. On top of that, we have made a number of fantastic enhancements to our services. So I know that we could do a great job for you in accommodating your hotel needs and providing a first class hotel experience for your guests. STEP #5: (OPTIONAL STEP) Request to Continue Do you have a quick moment that I could speak with you in regards to our special promotion/your hotel needs/etc.? If no: Not a problem. Would it be all right if I call you back at a time that is more convenient? determine when that time is. 23

24 STEP #4: Additional Power Questions if Client Agrees to Speak at This Time Power Question #2 If Yes: Terrific. Do you have a feel of how often people come into town during the course of the month and how many rooms you typically need? Qualifying Question #3 Who are you using currently for your hotel needs? Qualifying Question #4 Can you share with me what type of meeting needs you have during the year? Qualifying Question #5 If there are meeting needs What is the size of your meetings and do you usually have overnight hotel needs along with the meetings? STEP #5: Statement to ask for appointment if local contact. Or, if out of town determine if this is a good time to continue speaking or can a phone appointment be set to further discuss needs Mr. Rayson, I really appreciate you taking time to speak with me and I know I caught you today without having a phone appointment. Would you be available for me to stop by and bring some information on our hotel and share with you how we can be of service and to learn a little more about your needs? Or Mr. Rayson, I really appreciate you taking time to speak with me and I know I caught you today without having an appointment. Do you have time now for me to share with you in a little more detail about our hotel and learn a little more about your needs, or would you prefer I call back at a more convenient time? If time now.be prepared to fully qualify If wants you to call back, go to next step: STEP #6: End the call and incorporate is there anything coming up currently that you can help with Thank you so much for your time, Mr. Rayson. I will (insert next step). By the way, do you or any departments within your organization have anything coming up in the near future that will require hotel facilities that I should follow-up on? Thank you and have a terrific afternoon! 24

25 Using This Technique Effectively You can sell a customer on how you can help them without first knowing what their needs are! Qualifying is critical! The Power Question is a very, very important part of this technique. It will not only help you learn about the customer s needs, it will set up your power response! Your Power Statement should be non-traditional. It should be creative. It should be a vivid, benefit-filled picture of not only what you are, but what you do that will benefit your customer. It should distinctly separate you from your competition. Once you write your 30 second commercial, use it for a while and see how it works and then tweak it to something you feel good about. Practice, Practice, Practice! You will need to do it at least 25 times in real life situations before you have one that you feel great about and that works great! 25

26 Now Develop Your 30 Second Personal Commercial! STEP #1: Introduction of your Name and Company to Contact STEP #2: Opening Statement of What You Do Designed to Capture Interest STEP #3: Power Question STEP #4: Power Statement / How You Can Help STEP #5: (OPTIONAL STEP) Request to Continue If no: 26

27 STEP #4: Additional Power Questions Power Question #2 Qualifying Question #3 Qualifying Question #4 Qualifying Question #5 STEP #5: Statement to ask for appointment if local contact. Or, if out of town determine if this is a good time to continue speaking or can a phone appointment be set to further discuss needs LOCAL: Or out of town client STEP #6: End the call and incorporate is there anything coming up currently that you can help with 27

28 There are a variety of different scenarios where you will be qualifying your customers. They include: Inquiry Calls Teleprospecting Cold Calls Face to Face Appointment Calls You will use different questioning script guidelines for each of these types of interactions because the situations are different and the customer s time and perspective is different. We recommend you create script guidelines for whatever situations you typically handle for your hotel. Keeping in mind you should have different guidelines for different types of customers (i.e. market segments). Check-List Of Questions To Ensure You Included in Your Guideline Buy Factors / Hot Buttons Purpose of Event and/or Travel Market Segment Needs Organizational Needs Contact s Personal Needs Competition Budget History Decision Making Process Other potential needs Meeting and Catering Needs Overnight Needs Use the information you uncovered during your pre-call research of the account 28

29 Greeting/Introduction OE or CE Question 29

30 OE or CE Question 30

31 OE or CE Question 31

32 OE or CE Question 32

33 OE or CE Question 33

34 To Summarize Set the stage for your qualification by using a lead-in statement. Take control of the conversation and use a good mix of both open and closed ended questions to fully qualify the account s needs and wants. Uncover more than just the basic space requirements so you can proceed through the sales process more effectively. Use the information uncovered to help tailor an interesting and effective presentation. Let the customer talk. Listen 80% of the time, and talk 20% of the time. When you ve finished your questions, summarize your understanding of their needs before going on to your presentation. For dealing with inquiries, develop an Inquiry Form to help remind you of the questions you want to ask. Develop the form to follow the order you would like to ask the questions to make the form user-friendly. Be aware of how you ask the questions, both in tone of voice and in using a good mix of both open and closed ended questions. This way you avoid sounding automated and the customer won t feel interrogated or perceive you as going through a check-list of questions. Consider use of different qualifying techniques to help separate yourself from the competition and to take your qualifying to the next level! 34