Master group sales & eventsFor hoteliers selling to groups, understanding the ins and outs of the human mind can be of great benefit. It's not about manipulation; it's about understanding human behavior in a business that is, at its core, a people business.

The objective is to dial into your clients' wants and needs, and then delivering. Think of it as highly attuned Persona Matching: you know your target clients so well that you can predict behavior, influence decisions, cut through the noise and address underlying needs better than the competition. So how can you leverage the psychology of selling to become a true group sales pro? These are the seven skills that will help you close more groups and events at your hotel.

1. Be more observant

2. Ask more questions

With proper deduction skills, you'll avoid the trap of making false assumptions about a particular group or event. Sure, there's a lot to learn from the size of a group, type of the group, and who is planning the event. Yet there's also the risk of making assumptions that lead you astray. When you're asking enough questions, you eliminate assumptions and illuminate the unmet needs.

Questions also give you a path to overcoming objections. You don't just have to guess your prospects' concernsyou can ask them directly! Whether it's in your initial call or via a follow-up email, just ask so you can tackle those concerns head-on while also learning more about your prospect. Then, you can say this to them:

"You told me you were concerned about price, so I crafted three custom packages to offer you the most variety. I think you'll find one that meets your needs at a great price."

When you answer the internal conversations prospects are already having, you appear proactive and trustworthy two qualities that are especially desirable for those organizing events.

3. Listen to the answers

By staying attuned to your clients, you'll be able to connect the dots between what your property offers, what the client needs, and what you can do to make the client's event a success. To be a better listener, do three things:

4. Read body language

5. Use social proof

So, give them the nudge they need to say yes by convincing them that your hotel is the ideal host for their event. Whether at the initial RFP stage, the property walk-around, or at the final contract stage, success lies in emphasizing how your hotel meets their needs. You should provide all the information they need to give them the confidence to say yes.

This confidence is built along the prospect's journey, with each touchpoint an opportunity to position your hotel favorably in the prospect's evaluation. The key is to back up all claims with proof points, so that you can provide social proof that your hotel is as good as you say it is.

For each specific event type (wedding, off-site, etc), update your website, marketing materials, and proposal templates to feature satisfied customers. Put their photos alongside descriptive testimonials that highlight how exceptional their experience was.

Customize your proposal to include only the most relevant testimonials, choosing event types, personalities, and brands that resonate with the prospect's own needs and situation. The right social proof, coupled with compelling copy that highlights your property's bonafides, is the path to conversion.

6. Know your prospect

Remember that people don't always say what they mean or know exactly what they want. When a potential client says one thing, and exhibits behavior that suggest otherwise, it's wise to listen to that intuition. That doesn't mean ignore what they say; it means providing an additional option that may align more with what they actually want but can't verbalize.

Consider a common event type for group sales at hotels: Weddings. You should have a very different approach between building out of a proposal for a couple versus an experienced wedding planner. The couple is likely experiencing wedding planning for the first time and is personally invested in every detail. For them, there's a lot of fear and uncertainty as they plan such a major milestone event. Whereas the event planner has plenty of experience and is likely going to be much more practical and focused on delivering for the clients.

In other words, the planner may focus more on the logical benefits while a couple focuses more on the emotional benefits. It won't always be the case, but the example illustrates the importance of tailoring your approach to your audience. Your hotel's sales process should accommodate these differences and use your knowledge of the audience to strengthen your offering.

7. Tell stories that connect emotion and need

Maya Angelou once said, "People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did but people will never forget how you made them feel." When you focus on emotion or how people feel you're able to tap into a deep well of human connection.

This is especially relevant for group sales, which often involve emotional decisions: the couple getting married, the corporation celebrating a milestone, the family coming together for a reunion. Each of these event types has needs and emotion associated with it; a group sales pro leans right into those to deliver a winning proposal.

Stories are the most effective path to tie the emotion to the need. Stories should show how the prospect feels when fulfilling their needs: the couple that gets a knockout wedding under budget, the corporate events planner that wows executives with an over-the-top event, the cousin that brings together 5 generations for the first (and likely) only time. Tell that story with the prospect as the main character, and you build the scaffolding to close more deals.

Your final checklist for the group sales pro

Want to find the right solution to help you close more business? Read more about the Cendyn Sales Cloud.

Cendyn is the leading innovative cloud software and services provider for the hospitality industry. With a focus on integrated hotel CRM, hotel sales, and revenue strategy technology platforms, Cendyn drives sales, marketing and revenue performance for tens of thousands of hotels across the globe. The Cendyn Hospitality Cloud offers a complete set of software services for the industry, aligning marketing, sales and revenue teams to optimize their strategies and drive performance and loyalty across their business units. With offices in Boca Raton, Atlanta, Boston, San Diego, London, Munich, Singapore, Sydney, Bangkok and Tokyo, Cendyn proudly serves clients in 143 countries, delivering over 1.5 billion data-driven, personalized communications on behalf of their customers every year. For more information on Cendyn, visit http://www.cendyn.com.

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7 Skills To Help You Close More Business At Your Hotel - Hospitality Net