A General Sales Blitz GUIDE
A Sales Blitz is a concentrated sales effort designed not only to demonstrate
appreciation to past clientele, but also to generate new sources of business. The
following 12 points are provided to help your team plan, organize and follow-up
such a day.
1. Establish a client list from sales history files of individuals and firms that have
generated business for the hotel in the currently and past year. The list should
also include names of local elected officials and members of the local
newspaper and television media. Take particular care not to duplicate more
than two names from any one firm. The maximum names should be 250
names, in a strobe document for easy duplication of mail labels, name tags
and thank you notes. Map out your territory.
2. Select a date: Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. Also consider the time of
year and avoid your hotel's peak season or the December holiday season.
3. Optional IF a Guest Appreciation is planned following blitz. Print engraved
invitations, inviting the mail list to a reception. Mail the invitations
approximately 2 to 3 weeks before the Business Appreciation Day. On the
invitation there should be a "regrets only" telephone number (possibly to the
sales or General Manager's office.
4. The general manager should ask department managers, supervisors and key
employees to represent the hotel on Business Appreciation Day. Make 2person teams--care should be taken to team an extroverted personality with an
introverted personality. No care should be taken as to matching specific
departments. This is a fun and innovative part of the Business Appreciation
Day having department managers and other team members represent the
hotel as sales ambassadors.
5. The sales blitz team should assimilate sales packets so that each team has
sufficient collateral for sales calls each day of the blitz. The packets should
include a rack card or brochure, banquet menus, meeting room diagrams,
guestroom rates, flyers with any promotions that you are running, rewards
program brochure and any other information on the F&B department or general
information concerning the hotel. The packets will be distributed by the sales
teams on each calls.
6. Typically the blitz will occur on key business days during the week ranging
from 1-3 days depending upon the hotel’s need. Kick off the day with a
breakfast in a small meeting room as an opportunity for the teams to gather.
Give each team 15-25 calls that they are to make each day. Also include sales
call report forms. By 9 a.m. the "sales" teams should be on the road to start
making their calls. There will be a combination of pre-set appointments,
maintenance calls and cold calls. For current clients the teams will be thanking
them for their business at your hotel, meeting with various departments to
ensure that the hotel knows which departments do book (saturation), re-inviting
them to the Guest Appreciation Celebration (if applicable) and inquiring about
immediate or future needs that the hotel could provide.
When the calls are being made, two points to stress:
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Try to obtain two business cards from the meeting planner of
the firm you are calling on - for later use.
Obtain the correct name and title of the individual who books
your hotel's guest rooms for out-of-town visitors. These names
will eventually be used to develop a list for membership in a club
that promotes a special relationship with your hotel. (If hotel
offers)
7. At noon the sales teams must not return to the hotel or they will become
involved in the day-to-day business of the hotel. Meet at a special lunch
spot or your competitors' hotel for lunch. Over lunch, each team should
give a verbal report of how the morning sales calls progressed. It is quite
interesting to see that those teams that were extremely apprehensive at
breakfast now display the confidence of veteran sales people.
After lunch, the teams should continue making the balance of their calls,
while encouraging those who are more adept to make the cold calls and
invite the cold-call people to that evening's reception.
After all teams have completed their calls, they should return to the hotel by
4:00 p.m. Guest rooms should be set aside for the team members to use
for changing clothes and freshening themselves for the evening’s dinner
plans together.
8.
By the end of the blitz , the sales blitz team should provide the sales dept.
blitz qualify sheets
Or a specific report with business cards attached and qualifying details per
call. The DOS is to review the sales report forms. The calls should be
ranked:
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C - A Possible Interest, (cold leads)
B- Tentative business (medium leads)
A- Definite business (hot leads)
9. The next step immediately following the blitz is for the sales department to
start following up. Following up on the leads immediately starting with the
hot leads, medium and then cold. Every single lead should be followed up
on within a week. Thank you notes should be mailed to every single
contact.
10. From the follow up, appointments and site tours should be scheduled with
the key decision-makers and bookers if possible to further qualify the
prospective account.
Option: Guest Appreciation / Post blitz celebration
Business Appreciation Day Reception begins. The reception can be held in a
meeting room, poolside or in the hotel lobby area. If your hotel does not have a
food & beverage department, then have the reception catered by a very
professional firm. This is the hotel's day to thank the business community for their
support. The sales team members should attend this function and circulate
throughout the room thanking people for their business. You will receive many
comments from your clients stating that they have had hotel sales people call upon
them for years; but have never had anyone thanked them in this way for their
business.
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Have a guest book at the reception along with name tags for all invited
guest, and continue to collect business cards from those clientele missed
earlier in the day.
Be sure to have meeting rooms set up for display. Have guest rooms of
various styles set aside for tours. This is the time to show off the hotel.
Even if it was recently done at a grand opening party, do it again to
reinforce the awareness of the hotel.
Two additional opportunities with this event:
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Use the collected business cards as a thank you gift. Purchase a
luggage-tag machine and make the business cards into luggage tags.
Mail them out within 7-10 days after the Business Appreciation Day,
again thanking your clients for their business and giving them a
personal token to remind them of your hotel.
With your list of names of local contacts who make reservations for outof-town guests, establish a special club, which recognizes and
encourages their continuing recommendations and referrals for your
hotel. Such clubs can have many names, but their mission is a
necessary function of most hotels’ marketing programs.
In Review: How much does it cost to invest in thanking your clientele? Your basic costs
will include printing and postage for the invitations, hourly wages of the sales team
members, transportation costs for those who drove their personal cars and their breakfast
& lunch. Also, the total wholesale cost of the food, beverage, flowers and decorations for
the reception. An extra cost would be for the luggage tags or other suitable souvenirs and
their mailing.
Approximately two months after the Business Appreciation Day, the sales department
should total, on a definite and tentative basis, all business booked that can be directly
attributed to this sales effort. When the cost of the Business Appreciation Day is divided
against its booked sales and Acquisition of Sales cost should be 15 to 20 percent.
Other information:
Typically, Business Travel Sales Managers have the highest number of Personal,
Entertainment and Telemarketing sales call goals out of all markets. For new account
development and to strengthen your property’s presence in the travel market place, sales
calls to Business Travel Accounts are critical.
Keep in mind, it’s not the number of calls that counts, it’s:
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Who you call on
What you accomplish during the call
How often to make calls
Follow Up!
Here’s a guide to help you work smarter, not harder:
Who To Call:
Locally, you need to know who the travel contacts are for each account that you are
working with. Travel contacts can be:
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Travel Managers
Administrative Assistants
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Travel Agents
Directors of Purchasing
Travelers
Human Resources
CFO’s
Presidents
You also need to determine what the main feeder cities/offices are for each account you
are working with and to determine whom the travel contacts are in those areas. There are
several ways to determine what the feeder cities are:
1. Inquire with the Travel Agency that services the account
2. Use their top 100 Travel Agency Commission Report
3. Begin a reservation organization tracking report. Use the daily arrivals report
generated through your Front Office and track where your business is coming
from.
It is important to solicit the account on many different levels. Your main contact may be
the Travel Manager, but do not focus solely on this person. Remember it is critical to call
on the highest level possible for each account. Not only do you need to call on the Travel
Manager for and account, but also to call on his/her boss. If your competition is calling
on a higher level than you are, your days are numbered with that account!
Sales Call Process (Continued)
For Corporate Negotiated Accounts, even though the main Travel Contact would be the
worldwide Travel Manager, it may not be your best contact. A better travel contact would
be directly at the point of sales - the local company contacts or the Travel Agency. Agents
speak directly with the traveler, and in some cases effect where travelers stay.
Developing a relationship with the national contact may assist you in leveraging your hotel
in the Directory, but may not steer more marketshare to your hotel. The best method to
affect travel to your property is to go to the point of sale.
What to Accomplish:
Remember that you represent the brand and the hotel, and the image you project will
affect the customer’s image of you property as well as Hilton Hotels in general. The best
way to present a professional and credible image is to be well prepared for a sales call. It
is always best to have an agenda set for the purpose of your call, and to explain to your
customer in advance what you plan to accomplish. This way your customer can have any
necessary information ready for you in advance.
What you want to accomplish on a call is normally defined by what type of call it is. There
are several types of calls:
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Introduction Call (for new accounts, new contacts within existing account)
Maintenance Call (for existing accounts)
If you think you have thoroughly solicited an account, keep in mind the following topics
that you may not have considered discussing:
1. What other cities do the travelers of this company travel to? What other types
of needs does this account have that your hotel can accommodate?
 Permanent rooms/suites, Relocation, Meeting/Catering needs, Promote
restaurant/lounge, business focused services
3. To Bring or not to bring: There is a common misconception among Business
Travel Sales Managers that part of maintaining an account means delivering
cookies to them once a quarter. While cookies are appreciated now and then,
there is a world of collateral available to you that might be more beneficial to
bring to your client.
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Business Cards, Hilton HHonors Applications
Travel Directory, Hotel Brochures, Newsletter, Presentation
Portfolio
4. Follow-up
Customer Focus Selling teaches us that most salespeople are not good at
following up. Here’s a great opportunity for you to set yourself apart from
your competition: Good Follow-up!
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If you say you’ll send information - do it!
If you say you’ll phone on a certain day - do it!
Corporate Account Penetration
There are a number of contacts that should be solicited to properly penetrate an account
on various levels; not merely the Travel Manager. The more contacts uncovered within an
account, the better the communication to the company and the more business
opportunities you may uncover. The following are some individuals to focus on and
opportunities you can possibly seek:
Travel Manager:
1. If this is a national account, call the Hilton National Account Manager first to obtain:
 Information regarding competition, city volume, appropriate contacts, office
locations (know this information before calling main contacts and note that a lot
of this information arrives annually with the RFP…file it!)
2. Knowledge of whether this customer prefers to work primarily through national sales.
Remember that once your hotel is preferred for a national account, we will be working
on a number of marketing initiatives to capture additional business for your hotel and
there are other contacts you can solicit for a “grass roots” approach.
3. If the customer produces a newsletter, submit ideas to highlight your property.
4. Before final hotel directory selections are made or after your hotel is selected, provide
an incentive for a customer to direct more business to your hotel, i.e.
 Prior to selection, convey that the rate might be more competitive if the delete
direct competitors and/or the number of preferred hotels in your city
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Once selected, advise that the rate submitted could decrease, or the next
year’s rate increase could be less if their business increased to an established
threshold.
5. Invite the Travel Manager for a site inspection next time they travel to your area.
6. If this is not a national account, where National Sales has already created a Market
plan, develop one to increase business at your hotel. Ideally, develop it jointly with the
customer or at least share it with the Travel Manager, so they know the efforts you are
making on their behalf. Ask for additional suggestions and opportunities.
Local “Travel Manager”
1. Send a creative letter regarding your acceptance and set an appointment for a site
inspection.
2. Learn this person’s role in:
 Hotel selections for the company’s program
 Influencing business to local hotels
3. Invite them to participate in advisory boards
 If you want the travelers’ perspective, see if they can recommend travelers that
typically stay at the competition.
4. Obtain information about which company divisions, locations and travelers typically
visit the local office near your hotel.
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Build upon your contact networking by determining if there is a local contact at
these feeder city offices
5. Send quarterly or monthly tracking letters.
 Include hotel updates on renovations, special packages, etc. A newsletter is a
great opportunity to highlight these features.
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Travel Agencies - Local & Remote
1. Solicit local agencies to see if they handle inbound business
2. Learn which agencies are the largest locations for a particular account and which
book the most business to your area via:
 Run Hotel Key Marketing Reports
 National Sales
 Calling/writing to agency contacts
3. During agency visits, gain insight about:
 Traveler preferences
 Traveler decision-making influences
 Traveler feedback on past stays
 Agents ease of booking your hotel/competition
 Agents knowledge about your property
 Your hotel/competing hotels GDS & proprietary database listing - check
accuracy/biasing
 How reservations are made i.e.-what rates are reviewed before booking, what
constitutes exceptions to hotel policy (if applicable)
4. Speak with account leaders and ask if any available collateral would be helpful for
their staff:
 Hotel brochures/worldwide directories
 Business Cards of hotel contacts
 HHonors materials
 Hotel newsletters & Collateral
 Hotel fact sheets
 Hotel directions/special rate insert cards
5. Join other hotels in your area, which are preferred to create visibility of all Hiltons in
the area.
 If budget constraints are an issue, consider having one individual from a
cluster making calls on your behalf
6. Educate agents on issues that will help them sell your hotel i.e.:
 Proximity to local offices or customers of the preferred account; these can be
listed in the GDS
7. Possibly host an event which you can invite both travel agency contacts and the
corporate customers that book for, so they can meet one another; often times they
speak on the phone but never met personally.
8. Consider inviting a contact from a top producing agency in the area and/or source
markets for an advisory board.
9. Consider extending qualified FAMS and Travel Agent Appreciation rates to the right
agencies to create familiarity with what your property has to offer.
Travelers
1. Meet as many individual travelers as possible during their stay at your property
 Focus on HHonors members and frequent travelers
 Survey travelers to determine more about their hotel selection
decisions, company policies, hotel feedback, competition, and other
travelers with potential for your hotel, etc.…
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2. Consider offering special HHonors promotions during times of lower occupancy
especially if this is an important traveler incentive
3. Communicate with them through welcome letters/key packet flyers
 Thank them for staying with you
 Communicate excitement regarding your preferred status, and outline
benefits
4. Executives staying with you
 Find out if they can influence business to your hotel
 Make their stay more personalized-offer complimentary cocktail coupon or
simple amenity in their room
 Schedule opportunity to meet
Other Individuals within a Company
1. Human Resources
 Find out if they handle relocation to your area, plan holiday parties, can
promote leisure packages etc.
 Offer special “Discounted” packages for their employees if you can promote
through HR Department (flyers in pay checks etc.)
2. Purchasing/Financial
 Find out if they are involved in the implementation of travel policy for division
3. Administrative Assistants
 Find out if they actually influence where their bosses stay or are they “order
takers”
 Determine what influence they have with inbound travelers
4. Meeting Contacts
 Find those that have held successful meetings at Hilton Hotels, ask them to
try your hotel for their next small meeting need
 Once meeting is concluded, ask for recommendations to other meeting
planners within company, and for referrals to the Hotel in the future
 Ask for their help in surfacing other transient company contacts
 Find out if the meeting attendees typically have a need for transient rooms
5. Sales and Marketing Representatives
 Does your hotel offer/use the product a target customer manufactures vs.
what your competition offers? Find out if the company’s sales/marketing staff
can influence local business
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Here are some questions/local contacts to ask about:
Available dates:
_______________________________________________________
Where/How should you ship your materials to HRW?
__________________________
________________________________________________________________
______
What time can you set up? _____________ Pre-Shipped boxes delivered:
___________
How Many Agents Total: _________________
Break down your presentation into 3-hour increments, and determine # agents in
each block--(will help plan catering & prizes). _____________
____________
_________
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Local Caterers:_____________________________ Phone:
____________________
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_______________________________________
______________________
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Local Helium Supplier:
_________________________________________________
Address: ___________________________________ Phone:
___________________
Will they deliver? _________ Cost for Tank usage: _______________
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Remember to ask for Display Table/Chair set-up prior to your arrival (as
needed)
Other things to remember when preparing for your HRW Presentation:
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Ship adequate supplies of hotel rack cards (Or a customized hotel Fact Sheet
written for the agents. Key items to include: detailed map, descriptive
information on hotel, benefits of your hotel vs. local competition, stress any
features that make your hotel unique) to distribute to all agents at HRW.
Clearly label all packages shipped to HRW for your usage. Ship to the
attention of your contact at HRW, but include a HOLD FOR note: with your
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hotel name and presentation date clearly listed on each box so they are easily
located for you. (Remember, HRW has hotels presenting daily, and you want
your boxes ready for your arrival.)
Print enough copies of your Hotel Questionnaire for all agents to participate.
Pack Fed-Ex labels for returning unused brochures/give-a-way items from
HRW to your hotel.
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