As opposed to organisations such as automotive dealerships, real estate agents and retail outlets, hotels are in the business of selling experiences rather than physical possessions. For this reason, members of staff tasked with taking reservations and booking rooms face a number of different and unique challenges. However, this doesn’t mean to say that they can’t benefit from training and tuition in much the same way as other sales-oriented professions. In fact, providing employees in the hospitality industry with opportunities to increase their skills and expertise when it comes to selling can actually be highly advantageous. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done, as numerous hotels do not know where to start with training, especially from a sales perspective. It is relatively easy to teach employees about standard hotel practices and procedures, but what about giving reception staff or sales teams the tools and resources to increase the number of bookings and reservations? Well, to address this all too common problem, here is a look at the importance of hotel sales training and how you can implement prosperous programs, which educate staff about essential aspects of selling.   Why is hotel sales training important? At a basic level, you could argue that sales training is important to secure more customers, maintain a strong turnover and improve profit margins. However, this can be said for any business, regardless of its sector or size. As far as hotels are concerned, sales training is crucial for the following reasons.   To understand the product First and foremost, sales staff need to know about the ins and outs of the hotel if they want to convince potential customers to make a booking. This might sound like an obvious step and something you would do as soon as a new employee is recruited, but understanding the product with detailed comprehension is always greatly appreciated by the customer. From whether the sun rises or sets out of the window to the gluten-free options in the hotel restaurant, every tiny aspect will need to learnt about.   To understand the competition There is a strong possibility your hotel will be competing with a fair few alternative accommodation options in the local area. Chances are that prospects down the phone will also know about these other choices and have previously looked into the possibility of booking there too. If sales staff can recognise and recall the weaknesses of other hotels nearby and inform the customer about these drawbacks, you are bound to receive more bookings.   To understand the customer Just like any other commodity, hotels are built and designed to serve a specific market segment or certain consumers. Therefore, it is imperative that your staff know what kind of customer they will be talking to and targeting, which can be covered in training. Failure to do so could mean a lot of valuable time and effort is wasted. There will be little to no point telling a travelling businessman about the hotel’s spa facilities when all he is interested in are strong transport links and a hearty morning breakfast.   How to improve hotel sales through training Now that you know why hotel sales is important, we will start to look at the ways in which you can secure more reservations and bookings through training. Again, these might already be apparent but no stone can be left unturned when attempting to increase prosperity in an industry like hospitality.   Learn how to identify customer requirements Even if you are targeting a specific niche, it is still advisable to develop a list of buyer personas, which can be learnt about at training. This will include demographics such as age, gender, location, job and interests. That way, sales staff will be able to identify customer requirements and be in a better position to provide the best service possible. If you cannot unearth much information about certain personas, sales staff should be encouraged to ask questions about the customer’s preferences directly. These can be noted down and kept hold of for future reference as well.   Teach staff about phone etiquette Talking down the phone will come as second nature for some people, but others may find this form of communication a little bit trickier to master. However, maintaining a professional tone of voice while remaining kind and courteous is essential when selling hotel rooms. Remember that customers probably have a number of different accommodation options available and will not appreciate a hard sell. At the same time, questions and queries must be treated with patience not irritation.   Emphasise customer service The sales process isn’t just limited to phone calls, as guest interactions with receptionists, housekeepers, waitresses and bar staff can also impact on future bookings. If they are not treated well, the chance of securing repeat business is reduced and the customer may even spread negative reviews about their experience.  So, you should think about extending any sales training to the entire workforce. After all, employees that are seen on a daily basis are representatives of the hotel and can be as much of a marketing tool as an advertisement.   Strike the right balance between personal and financial skills The vast majority of hotel staff that achieve the most bookings tend to be genuinely interested in speaking to people and serving the customer. But while this might be their primary motivation for the role, they also need to recognise the importance of ROI and appreciate the need to make money. Even though your first concern should be the customer, sales training will also need to address the financial responsibilities of employees too. This might involve negotiation skills or greater comprehension of market conditions.   Keep your feet on the ground with realistic expectations With success for certain hotels dependent on so many variables such as the weather or economy, sales training shouldn’t be considered a sure fire way to guarantee success. Instead, keep your feet on the ground and approach this process with realistic expectations.  But even if you only witness a slight upturn in fortunes, you can rest assured this process will have favourable future repercussions. Through sales training, your workforce will posses more skills and greater proficiency, customers will be more likely to stay again and pass on positive remarks to others, while the hotel’s cash flow will benefit from more turnover and a higher profit in the long-term too. Share this post with your own audience

It is understandable why any business would want to puts its workforce through training. From increasing their product knowledge and business acumen to becoming better communicators and problem solvers, the potential plus points of training are vast. However, one of the biggest problems with upskilling employees is the poor return on investment from both a financial and effort perspective. Training can be an extremely expensive exercise, where members of staff don’t actually remember much information. A great deal of money is wasted and personnel are left none the wiser. Therefore, finding the right training service for employees has become imperative. A lot of the time, the themes and topics being covered don’t always match up with each individual’s job role. Sending every member of staff on a single coaching course might be the easiest option, but this doesn’t exactly guarantee positive results.  On top of that, a considerable number of teaching and tutoring takes place in uninspiring environments and is structured badly. This results in negative and nonchalant attitudes, which will only have one outcome. But if a business can take a step back, ask itself a few questions about the reasons for training and implement a tailor-made approach, favourable outcomes will come to fruition.   Things to consider with training   What are the objectives of training? Or, what do you want your staff to learn? First of all, try to identify gaps in your workforces’ knowledge or find out what areas they struggle with most. From there, you can establish what is required from training and the learning outcomes expected. Not only does this enable you to focus your attention on the training options that could deliver the best returns, it also ensures no time, effort, money or resources will be wasted.   Who will be receiving training? Sales staff will have very different personalities to call-centre representatives, so it is important to understand individual personalities and how they might respond to your choice of training program. In addition to their preferred learning style, you will also need to think about how certain members of staff accept and retain information. Younger employees will no doubt enjoy e-learning more than classroom-based teaching, whereas the older generation might prefer traditional methods such as on-the-job.   How many people will receive training? Only having a handful of employees makes training much easier, as it can be personalised to unique requirements. Having said that, this also makes things more expensive, as bespoke solutions could be required. Challenges exist for big workplaces too, as each and every employee will be different. Group training courses might be advantageous from a budget point of view, but this outlay might not yield the desired effect of training.   What is your budget? Budget constraints is a key issue for countless companies wanting to send staff on training courses, which means this could affect the type of teaching or tuition available. However, the phrase "speculate to accumulate" speaks volumes here. A lot will depend on your initial objectives and the employees receiving training, but if you manage to choose the right solution, your spend should pale into insignificance to the results generated. But while these questions can help you identify appropriate themes and topics as well as the staff members deserving of training, you will still need to choose the right teaching techniques and learning environments.   Choosing the right setting and strategy Even if you choose the right techniques and environments for training, employees might struggle to transfer their new knowledge into the real world. For this reason, it is crucial to establish a safe and comfortable setting, where employees are given freedom to make mistakes without criticism while receiving praise for the positive steps they take. Some may say that this isn’t conducive for workplace scenarios, as customers won’t be as forgiving or have as much patience. However, training is all about gradual learning rather than the immediate results required at work.  So, along with skills training, employees must benefit from teaching techniques and learning environments that evoke an emotional response and bring about a behavioural change. It is easy for people to underestimate the psychological challenges they will experience when faced with something new. The same goes for in-the-moment reactions, which don’t come up in training. Training must understand the emotions staff will experience when going from comfortable learning environments to difficult workplace settings. This can be achieved through role-playing and simulations, but may call for a completely different approach altogether. For example, spaced repetition learning, which can be implemented through desktop and mobile applications, enables employees to learn in the comfort of their own home or in the actual workplace. This makes the transition much easier and less stressful. What’s more, members of staff won’t be under as much pressure as a classroom environment and can constantly receive approval from completing modules.   Example of finding the right training service You might not have heard of Apple University, as it is the tech giant’s super secretive internal training program, but this is an example of a company getting their upskilling strategy right. For starters, training does not last a day or week; it goes on year-round at company headquarters in Cupertino. Employees are familiar and comfortable with the environment, but can easily transfer learning to their individual job roles. To increase the chances of a straightforward shift, it looks at real-life case studies, like the decision to make iTunes and the iPod compatible with Windows. By covering familiar topics and themes, staff feel more engaged and involved with training. Apple University also goes beyond simple skills training and looks to alter the way employees think about what is required of them. This involves looking at abstract drawings of Picasso and comparing Apple products to that of its rivals. Again, this is likely to bring about a behavioural change but also correlates to the real world. Apple knows what it wants from the workforce and has established a training program that makes this possible. But rather than exclusively concentrating on the fundamental principles of teaching, it also envelops emotional responses, which help staff apply new knowledge but also grow in their respective positions. This is one example of how to find the right training service for your employees. Share this post with your own audience

For those who haven’t heard of the term before, consultative selling is when a salesperson acts as a consultant to prospects, asking questions about their wants and needs, then using this information to select the best product or service possible. This mutually beneficial approach enables the salesperson to increase their chances of converting, because they will know exactly what the prospect requires. At the same time, customers will feel respected and valued, which could result in brand loyalty and further sales. Since Mack Hanan first wrote about this technique in the book Consultative Selling in the 1970s, it has been widely adopted by a number of businesses. However, this doesn’t mean to say execution is easy, as any organisation will face a few implementation hurdles to overcome. First of all, prospects will need to be thoroughly qualified before the salesperson enters into a consultation, as they may not have a genuine interest in making a purchase. Secondly, the business needs to be sure that it actually possesses the right product or service, which will also require in-depth research. Finally, but perhaps most significantly, consultative selling throws up countless challenges when it comes to training members of staff. A lot of the time, sales teams won’t respond well to the teaching methods being used and may struggle to find solutions for the prospect. Consequently, it is imperative you know how to teach consultative selling effectively.   Why consultative selling doesn’t always work   Inept staff As opposed to persuading or pressurising a prospect into buying, consultative selling requires a much more measured and reasoned approach, which is backed up by product knowledge and inherent wisdom. Unfortunately, some staff simply do not have the right type of personality for consultative selling. If so, organisations will need to profile members of staff and identify the most promising candidates before delving into a consultative selling training program.   Lack of commitment When teaching staff about consultative selling, you are not asking them to adopt a new and novel technique, you are asking them to embrace a completely different way of thinking. For some salespeople, this is too much of a commitment or simply too difficult. Consultative selling needs to be a two-way street, where the organisation and employee are on the same page. Both parties must recognise that a change in behaviour and attitude is required, which might not be warmly welcomed by everyone.   Information overload Overwhelming sales staff with a profusion of information about consultative selling simply won’t work. This is not an effective way of getting training to stick and won’t do anything for putting consultative principles into practice either. For employees to understand how consultative selling works, training will need to be almost spoon-fed over a prolonged period of time. This teaching should also be interactive and engaging, which reflects the conversations staff will have with prospects during a real-life consultation.   Poor communication Although sales staff should be asking their prospect plenty of questions, this needs to be reciprocated. Consultative selling is all about conversation, which requires strong and suitable communication. The same goes for the senior staff and sales managers that should be reinforcing, developing, and improving consultative skills during the training process. Employees want to receive recognition, praise, and encouragement, which should be coming from the top-tier. While avoiding these pitfalls is essential for consultative selling success, organisations wanting to adopt this technique will also need to be proactive in their implementation approach. With this in mind, here is how to make it work.   How to make consultative selling work   Make sure staff are experts in their field Despite the fact sales staff will already posses a decent amount of knowledge about the business’s product portfolio, they should also be experts in their field too. This means knowing about current trends, competitor products, and customer concerns. There is a good chance that prospects will be comparing your offering to others in the market, but if your staff can demonstrate proficiency about the alternatives, your customers are more likely to buy from you.   Build strong relationships with the customer When searching for a particular product or specific service, customers will be appreciative of some assistance and relevant knowledge. However, they will only accept help from a trusted and reliable source, which means forming strong and assured relationships. If your employees can prove your organisation can meet the customer’s needs, a positive relationship should blossom. Again, communication is the key, but your members of staff must also demonstrate enthusiasm, honesty, and transparency.   Adopting the right training techniques Seeing as your workforce would prefer to be on the sales floor rather than in a classroom, there is no point pursuing traditional training techniques. These will be perceived as boring by sales staff and won’t lead long-lasting retention of key consultative principles. Therefore, take training to your employees and make it engaging. For example, spaced repetition learning can be carried on desktop and mobile during periods of inactivity, but involves tactics such as gamification, which keeps staff motivated through competition with fellow colleagues.   Understand the customer’s needs Sounds obvious and is clearly the fundamental foundation of consultative selling, but this point cannot be stressed enough. Sales teams must put the customer first and understand their distinctive desires in order to make this approach work. This can be achieved by teaching employees about competitor products and industry trends, building strong relationships with the customer, and adopting the right training techniques, such as spaced repetition.   Learn, teach, sell Another way of looking at consultative selling is to think of it in three stages - learn, teach, sell. Initially, your workforce must learn something about the prospect to be in a position to help out and identify their needs. Then, sales staff must teach the customer about the various options available, which may well include competitor products or services. But in the end, employees must try and sell the organisation’s offering, which should be much easier if customers have been educated and enlightened by an effective consultation. Share this post with your own audience

Regardless of an organisation’s size or sector, customers need to keep coming through the door in order for it to survive and thrive. Consequently, patrons and purchasers need to be respected and held in high regard at all times, which can only come about if your members of staff interact with them in the right way. But in today’s economy, where changing market conditions mean various businesses are prioritising money over people, it is easy to forget about the importance of customer service. However, failing to address this pre-requisite for prosperity can have terrible consequences for reputations as well as finances. Having said that, simply satisfying a basic customer service level is no longer enough. Consumers are becoming an increasingly active bunch when it comes to buying products and services, which is largely down to the Internet. With a profusion of choice in front of them, the ability to research reviews and get in contact with even the biggest of brands directly through mediums like social media, everyday customers require more attention than ever before. For many enterprises, meeting these wants and needs is a daunting prospect. But thankfully, it is a distinct possibility if you can implement a customer-orientated culture and bring about a change in behaviour through appropriate, effective, and relevant training.   Implement a customer-orientated culture If you really want to take your customer service to a new level, the whole organisation needs to echo this sentiment. By implementing a customer orientated culture, everyone from senior executives to call centre representatives will be singing from the same song sheet, doing whatever they can to improve the whole buying experience. In many respects, existing objectives such as increasing turnover should be thrown out of the window and replaced with customer-focused goals like boosting retention rates. All practices and procedures must be carried out with the customer’s desires in mind. Each and every employee must be taught to recognise how their actions influence the customer as well as the overall value of the business. Once this has been covered, financial targets can come back into play and be established once again. At first, redefining what the organisation is all about will sound difficult or even somewhat impossible. But once you know you have to go from a company that sells a certain product to a company that provides the customer with a certain service, it will become easier to achieve.   Bring about a change in behaviour Once a customer-orientated culture has been established, your members of staff should know how their actions and words affect buying decisions. However, this doesn’t mean to say the hard work is over, as you will still need to bring about a change in their behaviour towards the customer. First and foremost, employees will need to learn how to practice empathy, as this can elicit trust, mitigate stressful situations, and lead to a more enjoy experience for the customer. One way of teaching this is through role-playing activities, which simulate previous examples or potential encounters. Secondly, staff will need to speak with customers at their level and in a tone they understand. When describing products or services, this means avoiding the use of any incomprehensible industry jargon that will go straight over the customer’s head. Even if they have knowledge of your offering, slang words or phrases could be confusing and diminish the chances of a sale. Finally, customer service representatives must be given complete control over all interactions, which means instilling the concept of personal accountability and initiative. If employees take full responsibility for their actions, they will be much more likely to go the extra mile and thus become incredibly valuable assets.   Conducting the right training It is all well and good choosing to adopt these two changes, but if their primary principles are not taught and executed properly, your workforce won’t be able to take customer service to the level you aspire. Therefore, the need for engaging and effective training is paramount. Traditional methods of training, which involves a teacher standing at the front of a classroom simply telling staff what they should be doing, is not the best way to go about upskilling staff. In addition to the boredom that will inevitably set in, this won’t help retention levels either and can be a waste of time, effort, money, and resources. As mentioned previously, role-playing activities can live long in the memory and will help employees deal with customers in the right way. Another option is on-the-job training, which can also incorporate the spaced repetition learning technique. This "little and often" type of training improves long-term memory retention but can also integrate with daily roles and responsibilities through the use of desktop software and mobile applications. Spaced repetition is known to engage individuals psychologically, but can also speak to their emotional sides too when practised in the workplace.   Enduring customer service tips to abide by Even though company culture and employee behaviour can go a long way in taking customer service to a new level, a lot can be said for tried and trusted techniques, which should never be overlooked or forgotten about. Furnish your staff with knowledge - Whenever a customer gets in contact with a service representative, they expect their question or problem to be answered or solved by a knowledgeable individual. This means furnishing your staff with wisdom about the company and its products or services. Professionalism, proficiency, and politeness - If members of staff want to exude professionalism, they will need to be confident and competent communicators. This concerns product proficiency too, but it also comes down to politeness. Employees should be well mannered and emotionally balanced when dealing with customers, no matter how irate they may be. Constantly monitoring service - Even if you think the organisation has reached the next level of customer service, there is always bound to be room for improvement. Therefore, constantly monitor and review your customer service, listen in on phone calls and shadow face-to-face interactions. Not only does this identify problem areas, it also keeps your workforce on their toes. Taking your customer service to a new level might require huge organisational upheaval, but by implementing this change, the whole business will benefit. Not just when it comes to reputations either, as happy customers become loyal customers that contribute to a healthy turnover and profitable margins.  Share this post with your own audience

It is fair to say that some organisations have a negative opinion of sales training. In addition the money it costs, not all members of staff will be able to remember and apply newly acquired knowledge. However, this is only the case if the wrong type of sales training has been adopted. By choosing the right teaching techniques and learning approaches, both the business and workforce can enjoy countless benefits. Businesses can choose what knowledge will be taught and target specific skills to meet current objectives or future goals. Along with increasing conversions, this can also bring about better customer service and productivity improvements too. Sales training also demonstrates that the business values the workforce, which can improve loyalty, staff retention, and greater recruitment savings in the long run. As far as sales staff are concerned, they will acquire new skills that build their self-esteem but also contribute to the business as a whole. Training can also boost their chances of receiving a promotion with better prospects and more commission. All the while, motivation and enjoyment levels are kept high, as they will feel respected and valued. In spite of these advantages, sales training comes at a premium, which numerous companies are reluctant to shell out on. But owing to the fact we have furnished you with the reasons why training makes perfect sense, it seems apt to give you some free resources to benefit from as well. After all, what’s better than a freebie, especially when it has to do with sales training?   Top three free sales training materials HubSpot Resource Library Despite the fact HubSpot is primarily concerned with developing software for inbound marketing purposes, it also wants to help "businesses attract, engage, and delight customers" by delivering experiences that are "relevant, helpful, and personalised." To this end, it has made a number of incredibly useful materials available from its Resources Library. Topics range from e-commerce and education to pricing strategies and proposal design, which means a great deal of businesses can find something to suit its industry or intentions. What’s more, content mediums include eBooks, user guides, webinars, and workshops to cater for every company’s consumption preferences. Although most materials are related to marketing, there are lots of sales training resources to capitalise on too, which can help improve lifecycle engagement, integrate CRM more effectively and close those all-important deals.   Lesson.ly University Lesson.ly designs simple and straightforward training software, which gives businesses the power to on-board employees or improve the skillset of customer service representatives through custom-built lessons and courses. Even though you need to pay for this privilege, Lesson.ly has also made a number of materials available for free on its University resource centre. In addition to helpful sales advice, businesses can also learn about more specific subjects as well. Sample lessons include "Negotiate Like a Pro: The Four Levers of a Sale," "Awesome Customer Service 101," "Marketing Checklist for Internal Training," and "Employee Harassment Guidelines & Agreement."   The Sales Training Consultancy Having worked with "a large number of clients from a wide range of industries, delivering professional, high quality sales training courses," the Sales Training Consultancy is well positioned to offer up worthwhile advice. Some businesses might be tempted to sign-up to its in-house sales training programmes, open sales courses or sales coaching, but in many respects there is no need, as a huge amount of content is available for free. Furthermore, you don’t even need to hand over personal information for the 40+ downloadable guides, which cover subjects like account management, creating rapport, dealing with objections, and sales planning among others.   Top five tips for sales success Even though these resources are bound to improve the competence and confidence of your staff in specific areas of selling, here are some prevalent and prevailing tips that any business or employee can put to good use.   Proactive prospecting, which includes follow ups There is no real secret to sales success, because a lot of the time it simply involves picking up the phone and getting busy with calls. So, make sure your workforce is being proactive with prospecting but also following up on old prospects too. Some members of staff will be reluctant to do this, which is understandable. But if you bring in a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system or software, managing clients and customers becomes much easier. Businesses on a budget don’t need to splash out on expensive solutions either, as a simple Excel document can perform the same purpose. Just make sure you can schedule follows up efficiently and track conversion history with prospects.   Explain to prospects why they should be buying Before committing to a purchase, prospects will want to know about the plus points of the product or service in question. However, sales staff will need to go beyond saying "because its great quality," or "guaranteed to work," as this doesn’t mean anything. Ambiguous or equivocal responses won’t go down well with prospective customers. They want to know the specific reasons why your offering is better than the alternatives. Therefore, sales staff will need to know in-depth details about the organisation’s products and services, which can include relatable facts and figures.   Harness the power of case studies Case studies are an incredibly effective and influential way of closing a sale, which can be used to convince undecided prospects that your products and services are proving to be useful and valuable for other people. If prospects have demonstrated a genuine interest in what you have on offer, they will struggle to find reasons to say no in light of actual evidence. This is especially true with recent stories of success, so start collating case studies for upcoming calls and appointments.   Stand firm and don’t give in to unfair demands Buyers are entitled to ask for a discount, as this is a fundamental part of the purchasing process. But your sales staff should not panic in this kind of situation and will need to stand firm in the face of tough negotiations. There is every chance buyers will threaten to walk away from a sale if an agreement on price can’t be met. However, to avoid this scenario from occurring in the first place, sellers should concentrate on factors that money can’t buy.   Establish realistic goals and reward these achievements By establishing some realistic goals, your sales team will work together and be motivated to succeed. These don’t have to be long-term objectives either and can focus on more immediate end of the month targets. Upon completion, reward your workforce with a group activity or monetary bonus. This is guaranteed to get your team excited and motivated, which will no doubt bring in more sales. Share this post with your own audience

Elearning has grown by leaps and bounds and shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, analysts have estimated that is has grown by 21 percent in the last year and accounts for over $50 billion in revenue. With that said, any in-the-know training specialist knows all too well about SCORM compliance and the role it plays in elearning. 

Proponents of blended e learning rave about how this particular training method contributes immensely to learner satisfaction and overall success in training. Why? Because it ensures that not only are learners engaged more and driving their individual learning experience to some degree, but it also supports different learning styles, which is so important to learning retention. As a result, blended e learning is becoming more and more the standard with L&D managers for very good reason.

(As published on April 17, 2015 in eLearning Industry) There seems to be a dichotomy in the training world, a love hate relationship if you will. On the one hand, we’ve seen a massive upswing in mobile training and BYOD where working anytime, anywhere is encouraged.

(Previously published on April 20 in Training Industry magazine). Sony, Home Depot, JPMorgan Chase, eBay and Target. Do you know what they all have in common? Each one of these businesses have been added to a list that nobody wants to be on, Worst Data Breaches of All Time.

Another day, another standard operating procedure to create and implement, right?  Rules, protocols, regulations, statutes — no matter which way you say it, an SOP is crucial in order to stay compliant or face steep consequences. The good news is that creating an SOP doesn’t have to fall on any one person’s shoulders but rather utilizing a team can actually strengthen your efforts. And, doing it in SharePoint is the icing on the cake!