Is It a Front Desk or Sales Position?

When a call reaches the front desk of an Inn, many times it is just thought of as a telephone call and a potential guest for the Inn. In reality, the front desk is a full powered sales position. This is nothing to shy away from. The sooner that this is acknowledged and embraced, the results will show in the bottom line.

Prior to owning and operating our own Inn on the coast of Maine, my background was mainly sales and marketing. There is a basic formula for sales, and here is the secret recipe:

1. Qualify the caller – This is basically asking open questions such as who, what, why, when, and how. What is bringing you to the area? Who will be traveling in your party? Do you have any special needs? When are you planning to join us? Is this a special occasion? Why are you coming to the area? How did you hear about us? Are you familiar with our Inn/area? You don’t need to ask the questions as they are briefly stated above, but you need to get to know your potential customer before you can start presenting accommodations to them.

2. Present based upon their needs - Once you have learned about your potential customers’ needs, you can them present to them a room to them that meets their needs. Are they coming for a funeral and they would like a quiet room? Are they on their honeymoon and want the best room you have? Are they visiting colleges with their son/daughter and need twin beds? Do they have trouble with stairs and potentially need a first floor room?

3. Pre-Close – After presenting the room to them, do a pre-close: Would you like us to reserve the room for you? If they say yes, proceed forward. If they said no, then proceed to the next step.

4. Handle the Objection – If they say no, you have to identify the objection. You discover that the rate you quoted is too high. You discovered that they can’t climb the stairs. You discovered that they don’t like Jacuzzis. What ever the objection is identify it and move to the next step.

5. Close – We do have another room at different rate (state rate), would that work for you? We have a lovely first floor room with a deck, should we do that room instead? I completely understand the noise from the jets. We have a suite with a soaking tub, would that be best for you? If you receive another objection, return to step four and keep backing up until you can get a close.

It’s been many years since I’ve been out of the corporate world, but the “steps to successful sales” has been implanted into my brain, and I just have never forgotten them. I hope that this helpful in making your Front Desk into a successful Sales Department!