Today’s Meeting Planner: New Generation of Hospitality Sales Professionals Lesson #8

David M. Brudney, ISHC, a nationally recognized spokesman for hotels and a veteran with four decades of experience, is the principal of David Brudney & Assoc. of Carlsbad, CA |
By David M. Brudney, ISHC, October 2007 (eighth in a series)
This new generation of hospitality Sales professionals
must deal with a much more sophisticated, knowledgeable and demanding meeting
planner. Never has it been more critical for Sales directors and
managers to know their "stuff" and share their knowledge; to master the
art of people connecting and to respond quickly and accurately at all times.
Today’s planners represent a $120-plus billion
meeting planning industry - - that’s larger than the medical manufacturing
and pharmaceutical industry. There are now more than a million off-site
meetings a year in the U.S.; less than 10 percent are for groups using
500 rooms or more; 70 percent of those meetings are for groups of 30-35
people or less.
These new planners are multi-taskers, many of
whom have been forced into the meeting planning business due to corporate
mergers, acquisitions, downsizing and outsourcing. Some former procurement
managers now find themselves booking meetings.
Hospitality Sales pros should keep in mind that
procurement specialists are schooled in booking volume business travel
contract rooms, where price is always king. These procurement specialists
are making decisions now in a new - - for them - - paradigm: booking meetings
based on value and not necessarily by price.
Time: the planners new currency
Time is now the meeting planners most critical
and most protected possession. Their new currency is no longer dollars
and cents, it’s now hours and minutes.
Hence, there is no longer time in the interaction
between meeting planner and hospitality Sales pros. No "forgiving"
of phones not answered or calls not returned. No patience with rookies
that have not done their homework; that have no knowledge to share and
do not listen. Meeting planners need to be shown that they are valued
- - who they are and what they do - - by Sales directors and managers.
And that needs to be done right away.
A Meeting News survey indicates that 6-out-of-10
meeting planners’ venue decisions are based solely on information, photos
and specs found on the Internet.
Meeting planners new resource:
a social media network
These planners have some exciting new resources.
Web 2.0 - - and what Cindy Estes Green calls the "social media Tsunami"
- - enables planners to find valuable information, trusted testimonials
and recommendations. Blogs, Wikis and Folksonomies have created new
"knowledge sharing" opportunities for meeting planners never available
before on such a wide, global scale.
One such social media is meeting planner guru
Joan Eisenstodt’s MiForum with more than 8,000 participants. I was
invited to participate on MiForum earlier this year and was blown away
by the content, the knowledge sharing, the level of dialogue between participating
planners, hospitality Sales pros and convention/conference service managers.
Discussions ranged from tips for negotiating total meeting costs to which
venue would work best, to finding the right speaker.
Blogs such as Eisenstodt’s help demonstrate that
planners rely much more today on social media knowledge sharing amongst
peers before making decisions and less and less on hospitality industry
websites, PDF files and advertising/P.R. - - much the same as today’s consumers
rely on new user generated content sites such as Trip Advisor (24 million
travelers access; 10 million consumer generated reviews monthly) and Facebook
(37 million users most popular for its "Where I’ve Been" feature).
Meeting planners using new
"meeting success" measurement sticks
Sophisticated planners are using new measurement
sticks today. No longer are successful meetings measured merely by
attendance, evaluation surveys and general feedback. Today there’s
a whole new performance metric of "R’s": R.O.O.: return on objective,
R.O.C.: return on content, R.O.E.: return on experience, according to exhibit
and event management services consultant Candy Adams, the "Booth Mom".
It would behoove all Sales directors and managers
today to think in terms of how their respective hotel, resort or conference
center might enhance a prospective meeting’s objective, content and experience.
Tips for interacting with
Planners
Referencing meeting planner interviews I have
conducted along with recent surveys produced by Meeting News and PKF/Convention
South, here are a few tips for when Sales directors and managers interact
with meeting planners:
Planners will continue to work exclusively
with third parties, e.g., HelmsBriscoe and Conference Direct, rather
than deal with inexperienced, slow to respond hospitality Sales directors
and managers - - all the more reason to establish your credibility quickly.
Answer your own phone (quickly).
Return phone calls & e-mails (quickly)
- - if not within the hour, forget it. You’ve probably lost the business
already!
Demonstrate a sincere appreciation of planners’
value and time restraints.
Listen carefully - - avoid planner having
to repeat information.
Focus on planners’ needs along with planners’
wants.
Remember, planners seek out decision makers
- - if you aren’t one or if you can’t be, assure the planner that you have
access to one and can get back to them quickly.
Sure, there will be "amateurs" and "first time"
meeting planners with whom to interact. They will need more patience,
guidance and good bedside manners. Knowledge sharing will be even
more valued by these inexperienced planners.
But the meetings most likely not to cancel,
most likely not to be underfunded - - most likely to book the most
room nights at the highest possible rates - - are now being done by this
new breed of sophisticated, knowledgeable and demanding meeting planners.
Those hospitality Sales pros that recognize and
accept this fact - - and gear up for it - - will be the ones that come
away with the most quality business booked. If done correctly, these
planners should become loyal and book time and time again. And they
will tell other meeting planners about you and your property, and they
will do that through Blogs, on the phone and in person.
© Copyright 2007
About David Brudney & Associates
David M. Brudney has become a charter member of Laguna Strategic Advisors and was a founding member of the International Society of Hospitality Consultants. Brudney is a veteran sales-and-marketing professional concluding his fifth decade of service to the hospitality industry. Brudney advises lodging owners, lenders, asset managers and operators about hotel sales and marketing best practices and standards of care, and conducts reviews of sales-and-marketing operations throughout the world. Brudney is a professional speaker, teacher, mentor and sales trainer. Previously, Brudney held sales and marketing positions with Hyatt, Westin and Marriott.
Contact: David M. Brudney, Principal
David Brudney & Associates
Carlsbad, CA 92009
Phone: 760-994-9266
Email David Brudney
Web Site: www.DavidBrudney.com
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