HOTELS

Bart Berkey

I Lost 10 Pounds!
September 22, 2008

Many of you may have heard about the South Beach diet. It's a strict regimen limiting fruits, sugars and carbohydrates. The first two weeks are extremely rigid with the philosophy that once your body rids itself of many excess sugars, the cravings for these types of food diminishes. You must understand, I look forward to eating my bowl of cereal each morning and my wife's homemade chocolate chip banana bread is not to be missed.  For two weeks I exercised self discipline and followed the diet precisely and I easily lost 10 pounds.

Now comes vacation at the beach. One slice of Grotto's Pizza and a small serving of Thrasher's French Fries shouldn't affect me too much. The place that we were staying didn't have a scale so I didn't follow the routine of weighing myself every morning. When we arrived home after vacation I didn't step on the scale for two days until I could get back into the routine of eating salads and fresh vegetables daily. Finally, when I did step on, I was exactly the same weight that I was before vacation! I had conquered the diet and still had fun eating some special treats.

A month later, I thought I could exercise the same process. Someone brought in donuts for a birthday celebration (and how can you say no to a fresh Krispy Kreme on a raining morning?). One of my blogs entitled, "Morning Meetings and Egg McMuffins"displayed colleagues corrupting my belly even more. I was confident that I could continue to eat this way, like I did at the beach, and could step on the scale and be at the same reduced weight. WRONG!

I worked so hard for two weeks to restrict my diet and now the pounds were creeping back on. Sure there are flaws with each diet, but it taught me a valuable lesson. I need to be constantly thinking about what I eat. I can treat myself on special occasions, but need to remember the basics of healthy eating.

Now the hotel correlation: I have seen many successful sales people work tremendously hard to secure a top account. They do the research, entertain the board members, communicate their wants, analyze their pattern, anticipate their needs and finally receive the signed contract. They work hard for the first two weeks (as I did while cleansing) then they "go on vacation." They don't say "thank you" once the contract arrives. They are no where to be found when the function is in house.

Sales fundamentals must be followed religiously throughout the entire process… and the process doesn't end when the contract is signed (at least not today and not in the hospitality business). I attended the HSMAI Sales Strategy Conference last week and listened to a panel of customers discuss their top "pet peeves" about working with hoteliers: 

1. "Hotels need to know me and my organization. How can you help me accomplish my goals and make me look good?"

2. "Be sure to follow our process. Don't be afraid to pick up the phone and ask a question when we send an electronic RFP. Don't go over my head and sell to my CEO when I am your main contact."

3. "Even a perfect meeting will leave a bad impression if the bill arrives and it is incorrect. You sell me, convince me, but then don't take the time to make sure my last impression is a positive one. Take the time, as a sales person, to review the bill and ensure it is correct. It will keep me coming back."

Do your customers feel that you "are on vacation" once they sign the contract? Are you a pizza person who is afraid to step on the scale or a salad person that isn't afraid to be measured by your client?

Posted by Bart Berkey on September 22, 2008 | Comments (0)