Closing and Losing Sales | A Closer Look As We Prepare for 2013

As we delve into Summer with Fall right around the corner, it is a good time to take a look back  in order to look forward, plan appropriately and make good decisions regarding our sales efforts. Although we are seeing some positive movement in special event sales, we have to remain sharp with a clear sales strategy and be smart about our position moving forward.

A great start to this type of thinking is to take a two-pronged approach. First, look at all of the sales you closed (or booked) in 2012 (so far). See where they came from, the length of time it took to close, if it was a result of a current relationship or as a result of some type of advertising or pro-active promotion you generated. Keep great records of all sources of business and associated costs. Focus on the advertising and activities that produced the greatest results (magnify these efforts for best results) and improve upon or eliminate the ones that did not produce. Ensure that your advertising is targeting the correct market that you are looking to attract.

Next, take a look at all the business you did not close in 2012 - the ones that got away. Do you know exactly why someone chose a competitor over you? Keeping good, meticulous "lost business" records can teach you a lot going forward about how to close more business. Reasons varying from "better product", "product or service did not suit our needs", "felt more comfortable with the competitor's sales person", "better customer service", "better pricing" or "more professional sales person" can help you to spot trends, make adjustments to products, services and presentation styles. Knowing what your competition offers and does not offer affords you the opportunity to market yourself on how you stand out from the rest. Keep current tabs on your competition and your lost business and you will start to unlock the key to keeping and closing more business.

Most importantly, take the time to analyze all of the information you have collected. Use it to create future marketing programming, decisions on where to spend advertising dollars and decisions on how to invest your capital dollars (what should you be spending money on that will produce the best return on investment). Being proactive in this approach will ensure that you are actively managing your business, not just reacting to a changing market.


Article by: Lynne LaFond DeLuca, Sr. Vice President Beverly Clark Hospitality Training Program

Destination-Wedding Worthy | Are You a "Destination"

With the special events industry continuing to take some financial "knocks", we have heard (and rightly so) a lot of buzz about destination weddings being the "recession resistant" market to target. Absolutely correct!

We have been saying that brides today may be trying a skimp a little on their budgets (cutting the guest list being the first place they try to save). Where is the good news here? The fact is that they are all still hosting the event, and multiple wedding related events at that. That in itself is good news.

When talking about destination weddings, most people automatically think tropical or exotic locales – Mexico, Caribbean, Europe, Hawaii, etc. Destination weddings are defined as a wedding taking place outside of a 100 mile radius from the bride & groom's home town. The "destination" does not have to be a beach or island location – just "away". In a  Beverly Clark survey of our brides, for those stating that they were having a destination wedding (56%!), Florida, California, Arizona, New York and Georgia all made it into the top ten as to where the event would be held!

So, have you ever considered yourself a destination wedding venue? Here are a few things to think about when trying to break into this booming market:

Do the work. Take time to speak to industry destination wedding experts to determine if your location is destination wedding friendly, and what you could do to attract and book more events

Becoming known as a destination wedding hot spot is all in the knowledge of your sales team and the marketing of your property. Become keenly aware of all the local area cultural points of interest and things that would be attractive to out of town guests. Market your property as a destination by showcasing all that you have to offer as well as the surrounding area

Build relationships with event planners and travel agents who specialize in destination weddings and events – they will bring you the best events!

If brides contact you directly, also refer them to a great event planner (one that you have built a relationship with in #3, above) who can handle all aspects of the destination event that you cannot handle – guest travel, invitations, welcome amenities, event design and décor, activities, etc.

Market (advertise) your business on a wider scale – not just to local markets. Research to determine where your "pull" market is from and advertise to specific, targeted areas.

For wedding industry vendors outside of hotels, resorts, event venues, country clubs, wineries, etc., the same theory applies. Determine if your business or service "can travel" and if you actually want to! Then, do # 1 – 5 above as well as researching what the local vendors have to offer so you see what you are competing against and why you are better. Why would a bride pay to transport you to her event when she could book local? You MUST have a great answer to this question. Trust me, the brides will be asking the same thing.

Never thought of yourself as being in the destination wedding market before? Well, maybe it's time to re-think it!

Article By:  Lynne LaFond DeLuca, Sr. Vice President, Beverly Clark Hospitality Training

Blogs and Websites and Twitter, Oh My!

One of the great questions I receive was about using all the great blogs, websites as well as social media in our special event business. I was asked - “What are your favorites?” Well, here they are - I must say, there are SO many really amazing ones, but here’s just a few that I use for inspiration, just plain fun, and great business advice...


For wedding inspiration (brides are looking at these too):

www.stylemepretty.com

www.junebugweddings.com/blogs/what_junebug_loves/

www.greenweddingshoes.blogspot.com/

www.juliannesmith.wordpress.com

www.kissthegroom.com

www.ilovelolliblog.com



For Industry News/Information:

www.pinkinitiative.org

www.thinksplendid.com

www.pinkinitiative.org

www.thebusinessofbeingcreative.com


And, one important tidbit to remember about using social media (Twitter, FaceBook, etc.) Do not just self promote! Really use it as a way to build relationships, stay social, get inspired, share useful and interesting information and educate yourself! Tweet tweet...

By Lynne Lafond DeLuca

Making Your Service/Product About Value, Not the Price Tag

Price Wars – Making Your Sales Approach NOT About the Price!

In the hospitality/special events industry, we are not immune to price wars. As in any industry, they can kill your margins, not to mention making the "closing" process of your sale more difficult.

Focusing on a "value-based" selling strategy seems to be a good alternative, but before we talk about that, let's explore and evaluate the problem a little more closely. When costs increase, they do so across the board for you and all your competitors. Unless your cost structure is wildly inefficient (compared to your competition), one of the major problems is that competitors wait to raise prices until they see if everyone else is as well. They do not want to be the first one to raise prices, and then run the risk of losing business due to what appears to be price gouging. What happens, though, is that if you do not raise prices when all of your costs have increased, you are not being financially responsible with the profits of your business, and run the risk of putting yourself in an unhealthy financial position that can lead to reductions in staffing levels, services and experiences provided, and eventually bankruptcy. When necessary, taking reasonable increases at appropriate times of year is a step to ensuring the financial health of your business.

Clients understand this as well – everywhere they turn, costs are increasing around them, and you are no exception to that rule. While no one wants to "over pay", customers are always looking for the best value and cost without sacrificing everything that they want. In this type of economy, service standards and experiential touches can be the differential between closing the sale and losing the sale to your competition that is still operating under last year's prices.

In the sales process, the ideal goal would be to present your product and service in such a way that your customer realizes how much they want it without even knowing the price. If a customer has already made up their mind about you, your product, the reliability, and the overall experience, price almost becomes incidental. Especially in our industry, we have one chance and one chance only to get it right. You cannot have a "do-over" of an event if you make a mistake. You cannot just return the product for a new one as is the case with a tangible product. If your clients know that you realize this, and the importance of getting it right the first time, you have just elevated the trust factor in your relationship and made big points in getting to the final "close".

Price wars are only possible when the product, service and experiences from different competitors/vendors are so identical that the client doesn't care who provides them. So make yourself different. Make it all about service, host and guest experience and relationships. And, make sure that in your sales approach, you highlight the DIFFERENCES rather than how you are similar to your competition. This will allow you to stand out from the rest, and when comparing you with your competition, your client will remember YOU and how you made them feel. Price factor shrinks as clients decide that what they want is the differences that you provide. We all have something unique to offer. By taking the time to determine what that is, what your sales approach will be and how you will not focus on price but on quality of service and experience, you shield yourself and your business from the "price wars" that we all want to avoid.

By Lynne LaFond DeLuca, Sr. Vice President Beverly Clark Online Hospitality Training Program