The hospitality industry has been hit hard over the past year, impacting both the organizations and individuals that help our industry thrive. It is time to look forward and not backward. One way to do this is by focusing on growing your business and sales calls.

I have always followed the simple philosophy that successful businesses have as, part of their culture: you grow your business or you watch as your competition does. It can be written even more simply, grow or die. The following points I often share with my team regarding making sales calls to grow your business.

Here are some statistics on how many ‘touches’ it takes to close a new account:

• 2% close on the 1st call or touch
• 3% close on the 2nd call or touch
• 4% close on the 3rd call or touch (ironically, this is where most follow-up processes stop)
• 10% close on the 4th call
• 80% close ON OR AFTER the 5th call

We can look at these stats another way as shared by Bart Berkey, motivational storyteller, and author. He calls it the ‘truth about soliciting business’:

• 48% of all salespeople make one call and quit
• 25% of all salespeople call twice and quit
• 17% of all salespeople call three times and quit
• 80% of all sales are made after the fifth call
• 10% of all salespeople keep calling
• 80% of all sales are made by 10% of all the people

In addition to understanding why we must be persistent, we also must understand and overcome objections…and the dreaded ‘no’.

What “no” means

• I’m too busy
• I don’t trust you
• This isn’t on my ‘to do’ list
• My boss won’t let me
• I’m not the person to make this decision
• I don’t have the resources to do this now
• Your product or service does not meet my need

What “no” doesn’t mean

• I hate the proposal
• I hate you

We must have a product or service that matches the potential customer’s need and they must agree that it meets their need, or their answer will always be no. However, keep in mind that they are saying ‘no’ to what we are offering, not us personally.

If you want to have a long and successful career, you need to become effective at sales calls. You have to master the skill of reaching out professionally and demonstrating value to the person and their organization. Please do not take a ‘no’ as the final answer, never stop following up with valuable information and take the actions needed to be in the 10% that make 80% of all the sales.

Whether you are running your own business or in charge of your own territory, it is time to put this crisis behind us and begin to grow again. Are you ready to start today?

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougbaarman/

Blog: https://hospitalitylifestyles.com/