When it comes to optimising sales and getting the most out of your marketing and sales activities and team productivity, think about it in terms of these 3 key factors.
Factor 1 – Leads – how many leads are you and the business getting weekly? Is this being tracked for individuals, as a team or for the business?
Factor 2 – Prospects – how many leads are you and the team turning into prospects? This is about conversion of the lead – again is this being tracked and measured?
Factor 3 – Customers – how many prospects are being converted into customers, passengers, travellers or guests? Is this a one-off sales conversion or are you converting prospects into loyal customers that return time and time again? Are records kept, data measured, analysed and used by the sales team, by the operational team etc.
Often when I get into discussions with clients at the start of our journey together, the tourism business owner, senior leaders, or sales and marketing staff will say to me:
“We want more sales, yes the marketing that’s out there, may not be enticing enough interest..! We’re not really sure, what’s working, there are not enough sales. The phone isn’t ringing as much now. Our international still hasn’t come back. Domestic is softer too. Peaks good, but the troughs are low, lower than we’d like. Oh yes, and there definitely aren’t enough sales conversations going on.”
And heaven forbid if you’re leaving everything to technology and hoping distribution channels alone, an image or two, a 100 word description and a book now button, will get bums on seats, beds filled up or tourists visiting!!
Some tourism operators say “We’ve got plenty of interest, yet the sales conversations staff are having, aren’t converting them to customers (think passengers, guests, travellers, visitors etc) Some might say, we know our staff are the issue, we haven’t got enough, all newbies, or it’s mostly myself and a couple of others having to do all the work. The quality of these conversations has gone down hill because we’re in a hurry and short-staffed. We don’t take the time, ask the questions, prompt or probe like I wish we could”.
The tracking, measuring and communicating needs work.
I love working with passionate tourism operators, sales and marketing tourism and hospitality professionals to help improve the system, train the people and get the outcomes required for the business.
Sometimes it can be simplification of the offerings, sometimes tweaking of copy to better suit ideal target market, maybe it’s about scripting, language and helping the sales team to be confident, articulate and outcome driven.
It’s NEVER about leaving it to hope and prayers that the economy might change, miracles will happen and we’ll just have to ride it out.
No, leave nothing to chance.
Put yourself, the team and the business in the best possible position to succeed.
Whether it’s a sales and marketing team of 3, 13 or 33. Improvements can always be made.
P.S Whenever you’re ready… here are 4 ways I can help you develop your tourism business leadership capabilities and achieve consistent business growth:
- Grab a free copy of our E-Book – How to Attract, Train and Retain Your Tourism Talent
It’s the core principles for success in attracting new tourism talent, training new and existing staff, then retention strategies to ensure you keep the keepers — Click Here
- Join the Tourism Business Leader’s Facebook group and connect with like-minded leaders focused on building highly effective teams
It’s our Facebook community where smart leaders get to learn more about creativity, leadership and performance for tourism business success. — Click Here
- Create Your Tourism Pro-Team and Drive Consistent Growth
Helping tourism business leaders develop their skills to improve engagement, accountability and performance of the team and business. If you’d like to work with me so you can stop being reactive, have the difficult conversations and drive performance to get the results you want and know the business need and can achieve then… message PRO to me here and I’ll get you all the details.
- Let’s get the Whole Team Together
Would you like a different perspective and someone else at the front of the room or on zoom/teams to lead regular and consistent team building, accountability, and engaging learning experiences, that drive results and outcomes for individuals, teams, and the business? If you feel a little challenged with everything going on, maybe sounding like a cracked record saying things repeatedly, or actually not 100% how to motivate and drive the team, given the current nature of business, it may be useful for us to chat. Message TEAM to me here… and tell me a little about the business, your team, and what you’d like to work on together.
