RAMADA Jarvis has drawn up an eight-point guide to getting the most out of sales people.
The hotel chain used the pointers in an initiative called Gold Digger, which gave 182 employees the task of contacting past and present customers to win new business.
Within two weeks, the staff, including chefs, managers and receptionists, made 7,000 calls between them, creating £1 million-worth of new business.
The eight tips were:
- Keep it brief: use your ears twice as much as your mouth. The initial pitch should be simple and aim to get the listener interested;
- Elevator pitch: think what you want to say and stick to it. Ensure you have planned the conversation and know all the answers to potential questions;
- Get back on the bike: people will say no, but remember why it happened and learn from it;
- Don’t be too ‘salesy’ (like Del Boy): the hard sell does not work and the trick is to build up trust;
- Under pressure: don’t sound desperate, even if you have what seems like unachievable sales targets;
- Freestyle: be spontaneous and keep your wits about you to answer all questions confidently;
- Charisma: be yourself, listen and customers will come around;
- Set realistic targets: establish you are talking to the right contact. Do they still need the product and have they got the time to make an appointment to discuss their needs?
Ramada Jarvis commercial director Lawrence Alexander said: “The advantages of launching an initiative such as this one is that we are able to use our own resources to develop new business leads for the brand.
“Our employees also get a chance to try their hand at something a bit different.”