Chapter 15: Professional Sales

1.

Success or failure within the hospitality industry ultimately rests on the ability
to sell.

2.

Personal selling is the most expensive contact and communication tool used
by the company.

3.

As companies move toward a stronger market orientation, their sales forces

need to become more market focused and customer oriented.

4.

The newer view is that salespeople should know how to analyze sales data,
measure market potential, gather market intelligence, develop marketing
strategies and plans, and become proficient at the use of sales tactics.

5.

Objectives ensure that corporate goals are met. Goals may include revenue,
market share, improving corporate image, and many others.

6.

By establishing specific values for business that has already been booked,
hotel managers can encourage salespeople to increase the productivity of
existing resources. If salespeople have clearly established goals and
objectives for a second chance to increase their rewards, they may work
harder to achieve goals.

7.

Structure of a hotel sales department depends on the culture of the

organization, size of the property, nature of the market, and type of hotel.

8.

Territories are easy to administer, their sales potential is easy to estimate,

they reduce total travel time, and they provide a sufficient and equitable
workload and sales potential for each sales representative.

9.

Companies often specialize their sales forces along market segment lines.

10. The obvious advantage of market specialization is that each sales force can
become knowledgeable about specific market segments.
11. The importance of marketing intermediaries, such as wholesalers, tour
operators, travel agencies and junket reps, to the hospitality industry has
created sales force structures to serve marketing channels.
12. The location, size, and type of hospitality company greatly affect the relative
importance of travel intermediaries. This in turn affects whether a company
designs its sales force structure by travel intermediary.
13. Some hotels and resorts have a sales force structured by product, market
segment or channel and customer. This is often a reaction to internal and

market forces rather than the result of strategic thinking.

14. Size of a sales force is determined by market changes, competition, corporate
strategy and policies.
15. Team selling has proved to be an effective and powerful tactic to reach and
retain key customers. Its opportunities and limitations are only beginning to
be realized in the hospitality industry.
16. Hospitality companies traditionally design departments along functional lines.
17. Todays sales managers may have two types of salespeople within their
departments: an inside sales force and a field sales force.
18. In addition to traditional objectives, like increased occupancy, other nonquantifiable objectives are sometimes established for teams. These generally
deal with enhancing image and goodwill or using the team as a human
resource training pool.
19. The goal of personal selling was traditionally viewed as a specific contract
with a customer.
20. Relationship marketing is based on the premise that important accounts need
focused and continuous attention.
21. At the heart of a successful sales force operation is the selection of effective
sales representatives.
22. A study of superachievers found that super sales performers exhibit the
following traits: risk taking, powerful sense of mission, problem-solving bent,
care for the customer, and careful planning.
23. One of the shortest lists concluded that the effective salesperson has two
basic qualities: empathy, the ability to feel as the customer does; and ego
drive, a strong personal need to make the sale.
24. Sales successes within the hospitality industry depends on development of
excellent long-run relationships with clients or accounts.
25. The 80/20 rule prevails within the hospitality industry. This concept says that
a majority of a firms business comes from a minority of its customers. .
26. Many accounts represent infrequent purchases or low-yield business. These
accounts cannot bear the cost of personalized sales calls or expensive
promotions.

27. The salesperson now tells the product story to the buyer, following the AIDA
formula of gaining attention, holding interest, arousing desire, and obtaining
action.
28. The two parties need to reach agreement on the price and other terms of
sale. Salespersons need to win the order without making deep concessions
that will hurt profitability.
29. Sales quotas are often set higher than the sales forecast in order to stretch
sales managers and salespeople to perform their best level.
30. The high-quota school sets quotas higher than most sales representatives will
achieve but are attainable.
31. The modest-quota school sets quotas that a majority of the sales force can
achieve.
32. The variable-quota school thinks individual differences among sales
representatives warrant
high quotas for some and modest quotas for others.
33. Those who are paid mostly on commission generally receive less supervision.
Those who are salaried and must cover definite accounts are likely to receive
substantial supervision.