Special Event Sales Strategy | Is Your Influence Working For You?

Do you think that you are an influential person? Regardless of how you answer that question, one thing is absolutely true - you are or you have the potential to be a highly influential person and this in turn can affect your success in sales.

Influence comes into play during many stages of event booking and planning. If you have ever asked for and received a referral from a current client, then you know that you have had a positive influence on that person - enough so that they feel willing to share a referral with you. And as we know, booking referral business is infinitely easier than booking a "cold" lead.


Influence also comes into play when interacting with clientele during the initial phases of booking. You inevitably come to the part of the sale where decisions have to be made. You have to close the sale. Depending on the relationship you have build throughout the sales process, your positive influence can be the difference between closing the sale and watching it walk out the door.


So, what are the best ways to build and use your positive influence in order to move your sales forward? First, remember that influence works best with people you know and who know you. Constantly try to build your "circle of influence" or client base. This does not just mean loading names and emails into a database, but actually creating a connection which leads to building a relationship with a client. Go to your best clients and vendors you work with. Ask each one for just one more lead to another client or referral to another great vendor. You have just doubled your connections. Second, it is all in the way you ask or try to influence. Asking a client who already likes you for some help in building your client base is possible when a relationship exists. People like to help other people and usually have a hard time saying "no" to this type of request. Relationships first. . . business will follow!



By: Lynne LaFond DeLuca, Sr. Vice President

Hospitality Sales Strategies | Using Internet Prospecting to Drive Revenue

The hospitality industry has evolved and so have sales strategies.  The Internet has become a staple in the business world today - advertising, research, competitive analysis and prospecting. Locating appropriate prospecting groups via the Internet (and having prospects find you) can be challenging, to say the least. As with most marketing tactics, there are numerous ways to approach internet prospecting, and the right way is the one that works for you and your business or service. Experimentation is key – don't get "stuck" doing the same thing over and over if you are not getting the results you want – change it up and track your success!

Here are a few things you can do to start the process in determining how Internet prospecting will work

best for you:

Search key words on Google, Yahoo, etc. for leads you are looking for (local charities, financial companies, schools, businesses, whoever your target market is). This becomes your "call list" for daily prospecting. How you are communicating with these leads is critical! Read on for more on communication. . .

Search key words that prospects use to find you (weddings, catered events, business meetings, golf tournaments, reception, auctions, charity events, etc., and include the city in which you are located). This is what your prospects are seeing when they are searching for you – are you well represented? Can you find yourself? If you can't, the prospects can't either.

Lead Lists – many companies offer (sell) lead lists based on demographics, industry type, size of company, buying patterns, even if they host events throughout the year. Do your homework to ensure the company you choose specializes in the types of leads you are looking for, and that their databases are updated frequently otherwise the information will be outdated. Also, it is helpful when the leads come with phone numbers, not just email addresses, so that follow-up can be accomplished more effectively. Companies like WeddingLocation.com offer support of pre-qualified leads and lists of those who register trying to make contact with wedding locations world-wide.

The How, What and Why of Communication

Once you have identified a lead list and are ready to prospect, how are you communicating with your prospects? More often than not, the first communication is an e-blast to an entire prospecting group. Why do we love email so much? It's cheap, it's easy, it's fast and it reaches many people at once. Recipients are accustomed to getting information via email, so many people scan their emails quickly and delete more than they read. So, the rule of thumb for sending an email is this - be brief, be brilliant, be gone!
Proper follow-up consists of a phone call if you have the phone number, and 3-4 more emails about the same subject. You do not want to be a pest, but you cannot give up too easy, either. It sometimes takes a prospect 4-5 times of seeing something in order for it to sink in.

To increase your chance of getting more "opens":

1. Avoid "spammy" subject lines containing ALL CAPS, exclamation points, words like "special", "price", "deal" and "save".

2. Send on Tuesday or Wednesday. Avoid weekends.

3.  DON'T OVERSEND. 3-4 times for the same subject max!

4.  Stick to once per week at the most and preferably on the same day each week.

5.  Make the email "from" your business name, not your own name

6.  Think about your subject line – make it count!

7.  Provide VALUABLE CONTENT EVERY TIME

8.  Content – Keep it Professional!

You are not typing an email to a friend, so keep your content professional, short and to the point. Include a table of contents when necessary, and organize information logically. It's ok, and preferable, to link to a website for more information. And please - don't forget the UNSUBSCRIBE language!!

Track Your Success!

The calls and emails are now pouring in. . . how are you tracking the results? Don't drop the ball by not tracking which of your advertising/marketing ventures is yielding you the most success. You want to know what to repeat. And, what to NOT do again! Evaluate your results on a regular basis and compare print media versus internet marketing.

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