With the holiday season heating up and the economy cooling down, restaurants and hotels are battling over a dwindling market share of holiday parties.
The economy is challenging, and everyone understands the importance of private parties to the bottom line. Even when the holidays have passed, private parties remain a vital contributor to profitability.
Coyle Hospitality Group-a market leader in providing mystery shopping and quality measurement exclusively to the hospitality industry-conducted 100 assessments of 50 restaurants and 50 hotels in five major markets: New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and Miami. When the mystery shoppers called, they inquired about hosting a holiday party for a small-to-mid-size group. Sales staff were then rated on such categories as:
• Professionalism
• Prospecting
• Rapport building
• Advancing the sale
The data told a compelling story. The average score for all 100 calls was 66%, and the breakdown by market and by category was interesting as well.
The following table shows the least practiced sales behaviors.
Not surprisingly, performance covered the gamut. Some salespeople were adept at qualifying the lead, promoting their venue, and advancing the inquiry to a potential sale. Others did not fare so well, with 36% not returning a phone call within 24 hours, a handful not bothering to return the call at all, and one location saying that the sales contact does not take phone calls.
So what is the moral of this holiday tale? If someone calls your restaurant or hotel with the intention of planning a party, and you do not secure the sale, one of your competitors will. This fact will be just as true in January and June as it is now in December.
Because private parties offer improved efficiencies and margins compared to traditional a la carte sales, the coming weeks will certainly provide significant opportunities for those that are prepared.
A SalesQore assessment of your staff will give you a benchmark of where you stand today, and it will also show how your team compares to others in the industry. Perhaps most important, though, SalesQore is an excellent mystery shopping tool that reminds your sales staff to be ready to turn that next looker into a booker.
About SalesQore
SalesQore is Coyle Hospitality Group's cutting edge telephone-based mystery shopping program, designed exclusively for the hospitality industry. SalesQore is an effective tool that measures:
• Staff responsiveness
• Professionalism
• Prospecting/qualifying capabilities
• Ability to advance the sale
• Quality of your collateral material
• Your performance amongst your industry peers
To try SalesQore today, please visit www.coylehospitality.com/services/sales-mystery-shopping.asp.
About Coyle Hospitality Group
Since 1996, Coyle Hospitality Group (Coyle) is a market leader providing mystery shopping and brand quality measurement services exclusively to hotels, restaurants, spas, and cruise lines worldwide. With over 50,000 evaluations completed, Coyle is uniquely positioned to help hospitality operators benchmark performance and take action to improve the customer experience. Visit Coyle at www.coylehospitality.com or dial 1.800.891.9292.
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