The Student Blitz - An excellent technique for building sales and training the next generation.
We all know what a sales blitz is: a group of people fanning out after sales leads, making as many calls as possible in a limited area within a short span of time. With the growth of hospitality programs across the world in the last generation, the industry was introduced to an effective, low-cost type of sales blitz known as "the student blitz".
Energetic college blitzers can cover a lot of ground generating sales leads by face-to-face contact. The students fill out fact or prospect survey sheets that the hotel's full-time sales staff should follow up on later. The blitzers can also "scatter" around promotional flyers on a hotel's food and beverage offerings.
Howard Feiertag, my friend and co-author of Lessons in the Field: A Common Sense Approach to Effective Hotel Sales has shared with me examples of such blitzes a number of years ago in major cities sponsored by major national chains stirring hundreds of firm sales leads made by as few as 10 motivated students.
He has statistics on immediate results totaling more than $200,000 of potential business for properties! This does not mean actual business as the student blitzers identified specific prospects and real business leads, but the foundation was set. Howard, who has been a member of the faculty at Virginia Tech since 1989, shared with me as recently as last month that the students in certain sales classes continue to participate in organized sales blitzes, working with area hotels and management groups.
How do you find a marvelous resource? It is not totally free, but can be very cost effective. One variation to student blitz programs is to engage the services of an outside source, for a fee, to handle the entire operation. This takes the administrative burden of doing a blitz away from the hotel's sales staff, thereby allowing them to continue their usual daily sales activities without taking time away from selling.
These are frequently hospitality or marketing professors at universities in your general marketplace. The professor will recruit a number of interested students for the project who may receive academic credit or fulfill a work experience requirement. Real world interaction is essential to students.
In addition to development of the leads, the amount of goodwill and promotion benefit for the hotel is virtually immeasurable. From the students' viewpoints, the experience gained by making the calls and the exposure to hotel operations could only benefit the students in their future studies and career paths.
From the universities' perspective, there is "real world" connection and relevance to the marketplace, as well as the potential for obtaining business contacts and potential guest speakers.
How can this work? There are several ways, and I will share two approaches:
1. The first is for a management group, brand or hotel group to contact a hospitality program and initiate a plan:- The sponsoring hotel group or chain involved provides the students five double rooms for three nights, as well as meals, incentive awards and mileage reimbursement.
- An unexpected plus connected with using student blitzers is that a student can, in many instances, get in doors where an experienced salesperson may not be able to.
- A smiling, semi-nervous student can disarm secretaries and executives by appealing to parental instincts or by convincing subjects that the cause of education is at stake. This is not meant to sound misleading or dishonest; the truth is that these hotel or marketing majors are learning valuable lessons about what it takes to be successful in real life business.
- Usually, a group of 10 people can make 1,000 calls within three days. It's important that time isn't wasted by indiscriminate running around. Calls must be planned, routes marked out, assignments made, information sheets developed, collateral material selected, briefings given and participants rehearsed. Out of 1,000 calls, typically 200-300 result in some type of sales lead. Although students are doing the legwork, it's important to have full-time sales staff follow-up. If well planned and implemented, a student blitz can keep your sales team working with clients in the hotel while highly motivated students identify sales leads for guest rooms, group and social business.
2. The second is for a University with an established hospitality program to work with various hotel companies or brands in an organized fashion that maximizes productivity, interaction b between students and industry sales professionals and gives the students "real world" experiences.- After an earlier article I wrote on the topic of blitzes, I was contacted by Gregory L. DeShields, who is the Senior Director for Corporate Relations @ the Temple University - School of Tourism and Hospitality Management. Greg is also an adjunct faculty member and for the past eight years has taught a comprehensive class on Hospitality Operations. The class syllabus is quite detailed and says the class "focuses on an integration and application of planning, implementation, operation, maintenance of accommodations, including hotels, motels, and resorts. The physical aspects, capital investments, layout, and design will be included with the operational component."
- Greg, who is an experienced hotel manager with assignments at a number of major properties, explained when we talked that 10% of the student's final grade in the class is based on their efforts and attitude in a University-Industry collaboration that includes a Student Sales Blitz.
- The spring 2011 was a joint effort with The Hyatt Regency Baltimore , which provided an Orientation/Information dinner class and accomodations. Sales Managers from The Hyatt Regency reviewed the Sales Blitz Goals and Objectives, expectations and distribute information packets. On the following day, Hyatt Regency Sales Representatives established Temple Sales Teams to conduct direct sales calls visiting various assigned establishments to solicit business. Students performed sales calls and gained an intimate knowledge of the sales process and realistic sales initiatives.
Like a good number of us in the hospitality field, we all hope that graduates of hospitality programs will be well prepared and aware of the challenges facing us. I was very impressed that this course on Hospitality Operations not only addressed capital investments, R&M and design, but it also incorporated the Sales Blitz into the classroom curriculum to demonstrate accountability of performance and to provide students an intimate introduction to significant elements of Sales & Marketing.
Greg had a number of previous success stories on other hospitality companies this course has worked with and I want readers to understand the tremendous potential of this kind of collaboration between the hospitality academic programs and businesses. I will include them and some additional insights in an upcoming HOSPITALITY CONVERSATIONS™.
Hospitality Tip of the Week™ (for both students and professionals)
"Learn your business, love your business, develop a service attitude for your customers and associates and you will build your business!" Zig ZiglarKEYS TO SUCCESS is the umbrella title for my 2011 programs, hospitality services and columns. This year's writings focus on a variety of topics for hotel owners, managers and professionals including both my "HOW TO" articles, HOSPITALITY CONVERSATIONS™, Lessons from the Field™, Hotel Common Sense™ and Principles for Success
Feel free to share an idea for a column at john.hogan@hospitalityeducators.com anytime or contact me regarding consulting, customized workshops, speaking engagements … And remember – we all need a regular dose of common sense.
John Hogan is a successful hospitality executive, educator, author and consultant and is a frequent keynote speaker and seminar leader at many hospitality industry events. He is Co-Founder of a consortium of successful corporate and academic professionals delivering focused and affordable counsel in solving specific challenges facing hospitality today. www.HospitalityEducators.com CONTACT
Dr. John Hogan, CHE CHA CMHS
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