Work as pleasure. How to sell services: step-by-step instructions

Many sellers have to sell non-material goods, in other words, services. Services cannot be seen, touched or felt. Perhaps this is why many buyers underestimate the service and consider the price to be too high. In addition, it is not easy for the seller, who did not always even see the result of the service being sold. How to sell services?

Why sell services?

Very often, sellers are forced to sell services along with the main product. Moreover, many companies pay more for sales of services than for sales of goods. Not all sellers understand what this involves and management does not always convey to employees why they should sell services.

The fact is that a service is a high-margin product, that is, the profit from the sale of a service is much higher than from the sale of a product. For example, the markup on an air conditioner may be zero; during the season, the air conditioner may even be sold at a minus price. But from installing an air conditioner, the company will receive high profits, which will pay for everything.

Specifics of selling services

As everyone knows, people can be divided according to their priority method of obtaining information into: . Some people receive all the necessary information through vision, some through hearing, and some by touching an object. Naturally, we are talking about a more convenient way for a particular person to obtain information, the one that he will choose if this choice is given to him. A full-fledged person can use all three methods, but there is always a more convenient one.

The problem with selling services is that we have practically nothing to offer for visual and kinesthetic learners. It is clear that the seller can talk a lot and beautifully about the product, but it is very difficult to show or let you touch the product, which is not physically there. In addition, the seller must believe in the product he is selling. But, if he sells a product that he himself cannot touch and test in action.

Service is a much more personal thing, sometimes even delicate. Accordingly, when do you think about how to sell services? You must, first of all, be guided by the specifics of selling services. And she literally says the following:

The service must be of high quality, otherwise it will not be possible to sell it for a long time. If the service is of poor quality, the market will soon find out about it and stop buying this service, and the population will form a negative opinion towards your company. A striking example is the Eldorado company, which sold PDS for many years (this is an additional guarantee), the service was of poor quality, and in the end the company developed a negative attitude towards the brand, and the service had to be redone.
Better quality. The new service will not sell itself; the seller must be a highly qualified specialist. This is especially true for B2B and in general.
Work with an audience of visual and kinesthetic learners. Create product visualization: brochures, leaflets, posters, give sellers folders with the presentation. Make your product tangible. If you look at the manufacturers of antiviruses and other software, you will see that in stores they put out boxes that don’t even contain a disk, just a license key for the program itself that is downloaded from the Internet. But the client buys a box, he can pick it up and understand why he is sometimes paying quite a lot of money.
Provide security guarantees for the client. The provision of many services involves personal contact between the client and your employees. Clients are not only afraid of being deceived, but also want to maintain confidentiality. Therefore, it is very important to explain to the client that from you he will receive an individual approach and complete safety.

Selling services by phone

(this type of sales is also called) - this is one of the most difficult types of sales of services. Now there are quite a lot of companies working in this area, selling: banking services (loans, deposits), forex and various investments, installing meters, connecting to Internet providers and much more. But how to effectively sell services over the phone?

Here are the main points to consider when organizing sales of services over the phone:

Due to high competition, good ones are needed, especially in .
Sellers must not only own, but also have a good knowledge of the product they offer, as well as competitors.
Pay special attention to such sales stages as and, since active sales imply a low percentage of those who agree immediately.
. Paraverbal communication is the language of voice intonations; a telephone sales operator must be proficient in this art.
Provide the required number of calls per unit of time. The bottom line is that telephone sales are always low and in order to achieve good results you need to make a lot of calls.

In general, you need to understand that no matter what service you offer, if there is no demand for it, you just need to find a client. And often this can only be done by trial and error, although do not forget that you need to look at how competitors work.

How to sell services, taking customers away from competitors

Business does not tolerate the weak, and if today you have many clients, then you should not rest on your laurels. Remember that your customers will always be happily taken away by a competitor at any opportunity. When selling services, it is very important to be able to take clients away from competitors. Many service markets have long been divided and there is almost no so-called free market left, so luring customers is sometimes the only way to increase sales of services.

We organize a promotion specifically for a competitor

Any competitor has both pros and cons. It is on the shortcomings of a competitor that it is worth building a targeted marketing policy. The simplest thing is to give more to customers who came from a competitor than to everyone else. So, when you switch to a competitor, Internet providers compensate the balance, offer free connection and setup, and give you a month to try.

Dumping

Dumping is a reduction in value below market value. Price dumping tactics are used to force out small and weak market players. But dumping can also serve as a good promotion campaign. True, you should be wary of those clients who come to you only for the price. Because they tend to quickly disappear when more inexpensive options appear.

Black PR

Black PR tactics are used not only in politics, but also in business. Smearing a competitor in front of customers is something that can bring a lot of profit. Here's a small example of bad PR:

“One well-known PR specialist received an order to reduce the level of prestige of a Moscow restaurant-club, which has an impeccable reputation among the capital’s elite. Naturally, at the entrance to the club there was face control and several hefty bouncers. What the visitor arrived in was also of great importance. The owner of the Zhiguli could simply not be allowed there. What did he do? One Saturday, when the main visitors had gathered at the club, his people, dressed as VIPs, arrived in luxury cars to the club, then went inside. At the height of the evening, they went to the toilet and changed into homeless people. In addition, in their bags there was perfume with a special characteristic aroma of a person who had not washed for six months. The smell was specially generated for this promotion. Having drenched themselves from head to toe, they walked into the hall and sat down in their seats. People began to shy away from them. Oddly enough, the security did not immediately figure out what to do, because these people were already inside and had ordered dinner, and some were already eating dinner. And none of them violated public order. In any case, when they realized something, it was already too late; the bulk of the elite public had left the restaurant. Their administrators fussed around these “homeless people” and asked how they got into the club, etc. They were then politely kicked out. One security guard tried to hit such a homeless man, but two newspaper reporters immediately appeared and photographed this moment. The next day, photographs of homeless people in the premises of this club appeared in the newspapers, and it was said that the audience in expensive restaurants sometimes looked unconventional. There was also an interview with one of the “homeless people,” who claimed that he received a large amount of alms and decided to relax in a restaurant. In the following days, to maintain the image, a special person brought aromatic balls to this club, capable of emitting an unpleasant odor for a long time. They hid in various places of the club and constantly reminded visitors about the arrival of homeless people. When the administration introduced a system of thoroughly monitoring visitors for these balls, it was already too late - the club acquired a dubious reputation among the “party” and it moved to another place. This is certainly not the most beautiful example, but it shows the method in action."

Taking advantage of competitors' mistakes

Competitors often make mistakes and you need to be able to benefit from them. So, for example, in telecommunications, when any provider experiences interruptions or the entire network goes down, competitors do not sleep and whip up panic through the media.

The next important aspect of telephone conversations is the ability to concisely and clearly inform the client the purpose of your call and quickly interest him in cooperation.

Alas, quite often, immediately after the presentation, sellers start a hackneyed and tired song: “We want to offer you...” and then a tedious listing of the characteristics of the product or service.

Of course, the first desire that arises in the client is to refuse and hang up as quickly as possible. This is understandable. None of us likes it when people want something from him very much. Moreover, if this desire comes from a stranger whom he has never even seen. And even more so when in order to satisfy this desire you need to pay a nth amount of hard-earned money. Remember your school physics course?

The action force is equal to the reaction force. © Newton's Third Law

So it is here. The more you persuade the client, the more he resists, even if your offer is actually incredibly profitable for him and can reduce costs and/or increase profits by one hundred and forty-eight percent.

How to be?

They say you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Therefore, it is extremely important to interest the interlocutor with your very first phrase, so that he wants to listen to you further, consider your detailed commercial offer, or meet (depending on the purpose for which you are calling).

And in order to gain the client’s attention and interest, you should remember a few simple things:

Firstly, give up this “garbage” phrase “We want to offer you...”. This is the same as the “favorite” and rather annoying question of sales consultants: “What can I tell you?” The answer immediately suggests itself: “I don’t need anything.” After all, such a “frontal” remark puts your interlocutor “against the wall” and forces him to make a decision “here and now” when he is not yet ready.

The formulation “We would like to find out the possibility of cooperation...” sounds much “softer” and more effective. Agree, talking about possibilities does not oblige you to anything yet, and therefore causes much less tension.

For example:

- We know that your pharmacy is located near the maternity hospital. And we just sell products that are in demand in such places, for example, pacifiers, bottles, baby powder, etc. We are not working with you yet, so we decided to clarify how interested you would be in working with us.

Secondly, don’t tell the client anything – NOTHING! – about the characteristics of your goods or services. Most people are simply not able to immediately perceive by ear so many details and details that are new to them. Remember that it is you, not your customer, who interacts with your product/service every day. And what is familiar and obvious to you may be incomprehensible and tiresome to the client. At the same time, it is much easier for your interlocutor to refuse than to make efforts to comprehend the flow of (unsolicited!) information that has fallen upon him.

Instead, be prepared to immediately - in the first sentence following the introduction - name the MAIN benefit of cooperation with you.

- The sage says that there is only one rule in the world: a tiny question on which our luck depends. The more often this question is asked, the stronger we will become. Do you understand what this question is, Mr. Green? What does this give me? © From the film “Revolver”

Think about what is the main “headache” of your potential client that you can eliminate if he purchases your product or uses your services? What is the maximum benefit he can get if he agrees to cooperate? Increasing sales, saving money, reducing staff turnover, reducing risks, expanding business, eliminating equipment failures, increasing productivity, putting things in order, reducing costs?

One million quarter-inch drills were sold not because people wanted quarter-inch drills, but because they wanted quarter-inch holes. © T. Levitt

Look at the situation not through the eyes of a seller who has a super-duper product/service, but through the eyes of your client. What will he get in the end?

Moreover, here, as nowhere else, it is not the quantity of arguments that is extremely important, but their quality. Save buyer time and thinking! Speak to the point and only about the main thing. Remember, you only have 30 seconds to impress and hook your interlocutor. Use them effectively!

For example, the first time I talk to my prospects on the phone, I don't tell them that I can develop a workflow for the sales force or provide sales training. But I always say in the first sentence that I can help them increase sales. Almost all companies want this. And this stated benefit is quite enough for the client to continue listening to me, start asking clarifying questions and ultimately agree to a personal meeting.

By the way, if the purpose of your call is to arrange a meeting, try not to reveal the essence of your proposal in all details over the phone, keep the intrigue (remember the “bitten candy” effect). After all, if you tell everything over the phone, the client simply will not be interested in meeting with you.

Or here's another example. Several years ago, a colleague and I were developing an outsourcing contact center service for sale. In this script there was this phrase:

- We can help you increase the number of daily contacts with clients several times, without “inflating” the staff of your company.

In addition, as a “yummy” when collaborating with your company, you can offer the client the provision of some exclusive information about the market or the opportunity to receive privileges from your business partners:

- We have a certain influence in this market, and cooperation with us can help you gain additional income. For example, we have competent suppliers who provide our company with certain benefits, and if we characterize you as our partner, you will also enjoy these benefits.

At this point I interrupt the story and leave you room for imagination :-). Read the continuation of the topic in the following articles.

You can also purchase and significantly increase the efficiency of outgoing calls in your company in the first month of using this tool.

Do you want to differentiate yourself from most copywriters, receive well-paid orders and build long-term partnerships with the customer? Then you definitely need to learn how to correctly write text for the most commercial page of a multi-page website - “Service”.

Why the “Service” section?

Here are some arguments for you.

There are a lot of sites that sell services on the Internet. And even if these companies sell goods, they still provide services, such as delivery or warranty service. This means you are guaranteed you can provide yourself with orders.

The second, but no less weighty argument is the ability to competently offer your services. You, as a copywriter, need this in order to stand out from a number of similar proposals from competitors and the customer’s choice is on you.

Convinced? Then let's move on to the details.

But before we begin a detailed analysis of the process of preparing material and writing text for the “Service” page, pay attention to some features:

A service is not a material product, which can be touched, so it often in itself causes mistrust among a potential customer. Your task is to be able to attract attention, demonstrate the benefits of the offer, remove objections and convince them to place an order.
The service consists of many individual characteristics and it is often difficult to specify a price. Therefore, the description must be such that the customer understands that the price he will pay is much less than the value received in return.

And the first step on the path to winning for the client’s favor will be

Preparatory work

At this stage, you need to find out all the details, details and nuances.

Copywriter is investigating

To do this, you must obtain the following information from the customer:

what specialists provide the service and what experience do they have?

features of the service provision process

due to which high results are achieved

availability of diplomas and certificates.

Also, be sure to research your competitors. Highlight their strengths and weaknesses. If you don't do it, they will, and the client will choose them.

As a result, you should have a clear understanding of what your distinct advantages are over your competitors.

Information was collected and analyzed. Next step —>

Creating service description text

First, decide what blocks the text will consist of.

Required blocks- This is the title, description and call to action.

May or may not be, alternate in order in the middle of the text: benefits, examples, price.

Another block - lead - is also used strictly when necessary. Here's what a copywriter, content marketer and head of our Academy says about this Natalya Volnaya:

There may or may not be a lead. It all depends on the audience. And in fact, the description of the service can become a lead. That is, depending on the audience, we can immediately go to the point - this will become the very beginning of the attraction. Or we can reveal the problem at the beginning (if the audience is cool), and only then bring it to the point.

Title. He must clearly indicate What are you offering - service name, enhanced by a core feature, your competitive advantage.

Here are some examples:

We relieve your marketing department and take care of preparing any texts.

We always deliver texts on time or return 100% of the payment.

We don't just write text, we create a sales tool.

Free trial article of 1,500 characters with 100% uniqueness. We work 24/7.

100% Unique. Any Subject. 5 Years of Experience. Compliance with Deadlines and Requirements. 5 name options. Unlimited improvements.

Website development. 10 years of experience. Over 500 projects. 70 specialists in the team.

Lead. You shouldn’t start educating the reader at the beginning of the text—that’s what a blog is for.

A lead is needed so that a potential customer understands what service you offer and what problem or problem it solves. You have only 8 seconds to attract the reader’s attention, and with the help of the lead, you should immediately draw him into reading.

Description. This is the most basic block. In it we talk about everything related to the service. We tell you what the main stages of the service are and how we provide it. We indicate all the differences, which we found and explain what is required from the client. We confirm with specifics the main idea and features.

The text should be such that the potential client has no questions or doubts after reading.

Here's what a proposal from one of the copywriting agencies looks like:

And here’s how Denis Kaplunov’s agency offers its services:

Do you notice the difference?

Benefits. This block should motivate the client to purchase. Help him understand what he will receive if he orders a service from you.

To do this, you will need a portrait of your target audience. Understand her true problems and desires and show how they will be solved (fulfilled) with the help of your service.

Here is an example of how copywriter Yulia Gaidarova describes the benefits

Objections. If you don't have a FAQ page on your website, work it out all the most common questions and doubts in the text service descriptions. This can be done through a recommendation from an expert, an offer to test the service, or direct answers to questions.

Examples. This is any evidence that can confirm your competence and thereby inspire confidence in the reader: portfolio, reviews in text or video format, recommendations, certificates, diplomas, letters of gratitude.

As proof work well. Describe what the task was, what was proposed, what actions were taken and what result was achieved. They can be either posted entirely on the site, or in the form of links to other pages.

For example, Dmitry Kot’s Agency for Selling Texts presented its case on its website in this form

The call could be: fill out a form, call, order a call back, leave a request, go to some additional pages, get information, write by email.

There will be no appeal - the text will cease to be selling, and all your efforts will lose meaning.

And of course, don't forget about. Apply the same rules as you would for an article: structuring, left-aligned formatting, sans-serif fonts, simple colors, small paragraphs.

Now you know how to write text for a service description page. Agree, everything is simple. You just need to find the distinctive features of your service, get into the client’s pain and help him understand that you have the offer he needs :)

And now it’s your turn to share ways and tricks that help you win the battle for a client using text for the “Service” page. I look forward to seeing them in the comments with great interest. And of course, ask questions!

P.S. The article was written based on materials from Natalia Volnaya’s master class.

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They convince not with speech, but with character
Menander

Every day, someone tries to sell a product or service to the modern consumer; most clients have a negative reaction to the so-called “cold call.”

This term refers to the first call to a consumer with whom negotiations have not been conducted before. Often, a negative reaction from a potential client is due to the salesperson not knowing how to properly sell a product during a phone call.

1. Collection of information about the client

It is necessary to collect preliminary information about the client’s solvency and who is specifically responsible for the purchase. This makes it easy to overcome the so-called “secretary barrier”.

If you call and politely say: “Please connect me to the HR department (deputy director for housekeeping, chief accountant),” the chance of getting to the right person increases.

You can clarify: “I don’t have the first name and patronymic of your chief accountant written down...” Any person is pleased if they are addressed specifically to him, and you will most likely be listened to if the conversation is conducted on a personal level.

2. Timely call and readiness to talk

It is worth asking whether it is convenient for the interlocutor to conduct a dialogue right now - maybe he has visitors or is holding a meeting. Ask what time you can talk - and call minute by minute, in no case half an hour earlier or an hour later!

Be sure to say: “Peter Sergeevich, you and I agreed that I would call you back.” The potential customer will listen to you.

A manager offering his products must literally learn the text of his appeal by heart - know all the information about the price list, components, warranty period, possible discounts.

If you do not have complete information, say: “Your question is very interesting, no one has delved into this aspect before. I will now write down this and all your other questions, receive the necessary information and inform you as soon as possible. Thank you!”

3. How to sell over the phone correctly using the tactic “Ostap Bender storms the millionaire Koreiko”?

4. How to properly sell a product over the phone, using flattery wisely?

Coachman, don't drive the horses! The “talking out” technique, and even more so the words “I want to offer you”, cause a negative reaction. Therefore, you can slightly “puff out your cheeks” - introduce yourself as the head of the sales department.

Then invite the potential client to a dialogue. Let’s say this: “Viktor Vasilyevich, our company supplies modern office equipment. As far as I know, all negotiations on this issue should be conducted with you.

Could we talk now?" Or a little differently: "Svetlana Petrovna, I don’t want to make commercial offers that are uninteresting to you. I would like to learn more about your company to understand how my company can be useful to you. I have a few questions for you."

That is, you do not set as your goal to immediately sell something, the first call is exploratory. The ideal result is to schedule a personal meeting. There, catalogs, product samples, listing discounts and payment terms will come into play, and it will be possible to talk about the sale of specific goods.

5. Talk to the right people to talk to

How to properly sell a product to a buyer? Don't talk to someone who won't buy it. When making a “cold call,” without ingratiation, we find out from the secretary who exactly makes the decision on this issue.

If the girl on the line asks additional questions, calmly ask: “So, you make the purchasing decision?” Usually the secretary hesitates and transfers you to the right person.

6. Rule of four yeses

It is difficult for a person who has answered affirmatively to several of your questions to say “no” later. Think about what you can ask without risking a negative answer. And only then ask: “Would you like to discuss the problem with me...? When will it be convenient for you to meet with me?”

7. Find out which items interest the potential client

When you hear the words: “Send your proposal by fax,” first confirm: “Yes, I will definitely prepare a commercial proposal for you and send it.

So that it contains only the information that you need, please tell me what is most important to you when purchasing... (office equipment, lighting fixtures, blue hares...)? Then you can prepare your commercial information in the best possible way.

8. Don’t try to fool your interlocutor

It is in your best interest to provide objective information. This, by the way, will affect your voice - it will sound more convincing and relaxed.

Of course, you need to focus on the advantages, but if they ask about a service that your company does not provide, answer: “We will take care of this issue and solve it for you,” without claiming that you have everything.

What questions will you find answers to in this article:

Why is it important to take care of clients' children today?
How to sell your services a year in advance
Are cross-selling always effective in the service sector?

Remember the characteristics and habits of customers

For hotels, as well as for many companies, operational efficiency is determined by such an indicator as customer return. To evaluate this parameter, you need to maintain an electronic client card (in a CRM system or MS Excel spreadsheet). For example, we issue an electronic card for each guest, in which we record his wishes and comments expressed during his stay at the hotel, as well as additional information (what car he arrived in, what he ordered for the room, etc.). Feeling that the hotel is carefully taking into account his interests, the client will prefer to stay here next time. I will give an example from my practice. Our guests had a third child, and the family, as always, came to us in full force. We have prepared gifts for mother (massage and cosmetology procedures), father (cigars) and baby (gift set). They were very touched by this attention. But here is a completely different case. I wanted to book a room at a hotel I had stayed at before. Over the phone they began to clarify with me everything that I reported last time. I said that the data was in my client card, but they answered me: “It is on another server. We see her only when you arrive.” I didn’t want to go to such a hotel.

Provide unexpected and convenient service

Most hotel rooms have folders with a list of additional services. This way of informing the client about services has long been outdated (this does not apply only to luxury hotels: there such a folder is a beautiful and expensive element of the decor). To demonstrate respect for the customer and the technology of your company, replace (if not in all rooms, then at least in business class rooms) folders with tablet computers so that the guest can order food from the restaurant without calling the phone. Or another example. Many hotels offer bed and breakfast. But often the restaurant does not have enough seats. Offer a "Breakfast in the Room" service. It won’t cost you anything: the maid will just bring breakfast to the guests and pick up the dishes an hour later. And guests will definitely appreciate this offer: “We are ready to serve breakfast in your room and bring you a cup of your favorite coffee.”

Show concern for children

Pay attention to the experience of Western companies, which have long understood that it will be easier for an adult to please you if you please his child. A typical example is the McDonald's chain, where parties are held with clowns, the child is given a toy in a set, etc. We, for example, always inform that we have a changing room, a crib with a special mattress, a zoo, a swimming pool with a children's “saucer”, paramedic If a client is planning to come with small children, he will be attracted by the message about a small play corner in your office.

Sell services for the future

This is more suitable for working with corporate clients. For example, in the hotel industry, companies book venues in advance for summer events. They usually do this in September-October of the previous year (due to the need to approve the budget). This means that we can call and offer our services at the beginning of autumn.

However, the same approach can also be used when working with private clients. Car dealers do the same thing. When selling a car, they immediately offer to buy a service contract for, say, three years in advance. The contract price already includes scheduled maintenance and replacement of some spare parts. In this way, dealers guarantee themselves that the client will definitely return to their showroom, where he can service and repair the car for less money than if he did it not under a contract. I advise you to determine what you can sell to your clients in the future.

Place different emphasis depending on the gender of the client

A sales manager must know the specifics of communicating with different clients. For example, if a woman calls, it is important to her how she can personally relax (cosmetic procedures, massage), as well as how her husband and child will eat. If a man calls, you can tell him about the bathhouse, a nightclub with a cigar room and football broadcasts.

Don't be intrusive

When offering services to private clients, act unobtrusively. There was a case when the manager called the client and offered to relax again at special prices. The wife answered the phone and said that her husband had not been to this hotel (the last time, as it turned out, he was vacationing there with his mistress). There is no chance that the client will return to the hotel.

How can you unobtrusively remind yourself without inundating your client with letters? Add the section “I agree to receive a plan of hotel events and promotions once a month (week, half-year, year)” into the client card. Then, thinking about how to organize a vacation, the client himself will return to this plan to find out what will happen on the dates he is interested in.

For those who doubt, give a nice bonus

Allocate the sales manager a monthly budget (for example, 10 thousand rubles) and allow, by attracting a client, to dispose of this amount at his own discretion. Let’s say a person calls who doubts whether it’s worth paying 15 thousand rubles. for accommodation. The manager quickly responds: “With us you will receive a basket of fruit and a bottle of wine as a gift. Come!” The man agrees because he is traveling with his wife, and she will think that it was the husband who took care of the treat. The cost of a fruit basket and a bottle of wine at the purchase price is about 500 rubles, and your hotel will receive 30 times more.

However, if we are talking about a city hotel, then slightly different rules apply. Most often, business travelers stay in such hotels. The average length of stay is 1.5 days. As a rule, guests do not eat at the hotel (they only pay for breakfast) and do not spend money on additional services. The maximum that can interest them is laundry and ironing services, as well as a one-time visit to the gym.

Hold themed events

It is necessary to constantly maintain and increase interest in the services of your company. So, if the hotel has a restaurant (or you manage a restaurant), organize regular festivals, for example, “Oyster Week”, “Spaghetti Week”. Another example (not from the hospitality industry): the logistics company DHL hosts events for key clients, including go-kart racing. In this way, the company not only organizes pleasant leisure time for customers, but also once again emphasizes in their eyes its competitive advantage - expedited delivery.

Cross-sell

There is such a popular trick: you use the services of one company (for example, a hairdresser) and get a discount in another (for example, in a hotel). Keep in mind that this only works in the low and middle price segments (for example, if the cost of living in a room is 3,500 rubles). A client of an expensive salon will not be interested in the offer - he simply will not want to show that he needs a discount. We ran similar promotions: only 2-3% of those who received the offer called back and asked what the discount was for and how to use it. Discounts offered by group shopping sites are also low in effectiveness: these sales do not provide the required profitability, and in addition, a client who vacationed with an 80% discount will not return and will not pay the full price.

For hotels, cooperation with companies that organize trainings and corporate events provides greater benefits. Such organizations can provide a more or less stable influx of visitors, but they impose a number of conditions. The main thing is that their employees are not always ready to travel far outside the city: among the trainers and coaches there are often foreigners who are very limited in the time they can spend abroad.

Encourage leaving good reviews on social networks

For owners of small non-chain hotels, I recommend promoting services via the Internet (you shouldn’t work through travel agencies - the commission will be about 20%). For example, ask all customers to leave good reviews on your company's Facebook page. In hotels, a notice with such a request can be hung in the room or placed at the reception. In return, offer the guest a small discount on accommodation (1% or a little more) or a gift.

Motivating service sales managers

Payments to reservations department employees must include a fixed and variable portion. As a rule, the variable part can only be tied to the amount of money earned for the company. Focusing on sales of accommodation in individual rooms or introducing more complex KPIs, in my opinion, is ineffective in the hotel business. On average, the constant and variable parts of a manager’s income should be equal (subject to achieving planned indicators). Let's say, if in your region the average salary of a service sales manager is 30 thousand rubles, give him a salary of 15 thousand and pay another 15 thousand for fulfilling the plan 100%.

In addition to processing incoming calls, the manager’s responsibilities include issuing travel packages, communicating with potential guests, corporate groups, etc. We try not to bother clients with too frequent mailings and calls. So, a manager can call a client with any proposal (to hold a birthday, event, etc. at our hotel) once every two months, and emails with our event programs are sent out once a month.

The practitioner says: Evgenia Zavolzhina- Director of the Department of Hotel Complexes of the Euro-Asian Management Company, Yekaterinburg

What performance indicators should be introduced for sales employees?

In our reservation and sales center there are reservation specialists who work with incoming customer requests, and sales managers in areas (conference rooms, rooms, country holidays, organization of special events, banqueting, catering). The income of the company's employees consists of a salary, which increases if the sales plan is exceeded, and bonuses. Bonuses are awarded for achieving performance indicators in several parameters:

the number of requests received from clients (this indicator is entered only for reservation specialists);
absence of accounts receivable (only active sales managers should comply with this indicator).

In addition to the reservation center staff, sales are carried out by reception staff. Their motivation system is based on the following indicators:

compliance with hotel standards;
sale of rooms “from the counter” and sale of additional hotel services;
absence of complaints and complaints from guests (checked using questionnaires);
guest return statistics;
“mystery shopper” report (accommodation and call to the hotel).

Expert opinion: Andrey Stegantsev- President of the Russian Union of Business Trainers, Consultants, Coaches, Moscow

Five ways to increase sales of services

The main difference between a service and a product is that a service is work with the client’s property. By transferring his property to a stranger, the client experiences fear, which makes it difficult to sell services. What is the client afraid of? He fears that, at best, the service will not benefit him, and at worst, that his property will be damaged or stolen. Moreover, the more valuable property the client transfers to the contractor, the more fear he has. For example, when staying at a hotel, a person trusts the owners with his property and himself - his health, well-being, mood. No wonder he gets anxious.

There are several ways in which a client's concerns can be alleviated.

1. Reduce the size and likelihood of damage. Inform that all the property of those staying at the hotel is insured, comfortable conditions have been created for them, and a professional security service is working; and if the guest doesn’t like something, he will be refunded the money for the remaining days and taken to any hotel in the city for free. I think that with this approach, almost everyone will want to stay at your hotel, even if your cost of living is higher than that of your neighbors. Also reduce the likelihood of damage: if the client knows that the hotel has a doctor available around the clock in case of sudden injuries and illnesses, and a detective in case of unpleasant incidents, then he will feel safer.

2. Promise to compensate for possible damage. Decide what you can do in this direction and inform your clients. You can figure out, for example, how to encourage a client to return to you again, even if some problems arose during his stay. Let's say, in case of incidents related to service, one of the possible methods is the gift of a discount card (or a free dinner, or a city tour, or something else - this opens up space for your creativity).

3. Increase the transparency of service provision, make it interactive. If the client sees on the website not only photos, but also videos of rooms, if he can order a small rearrangement in advance, if he is asked the question: “What is most important for you in the equipment of the room?”, if his opinion can be taken into account when drawing up the buffet menu , his trust in such a hotel will increase sharply.

4. Get results faster. This principle allows you to decorate the overall picture with a few bright strokes. What does a hotel client pay money for? For peace, coziness, comfort, safety. Well-known tricks: transfer from the airport, free drinks at the reception, Wi-Fi in the lobby. I have seen more than once people leave hotels where they already had rooms booked, only because there was a delay in check-in, they had nowhere to sit, and the girls at the reception were not very helpful.

5. Provide the opportunity to quickly contact you. Provide your mobile phone number so the client can call if there is any difficulty. Recently, at the reception of one of the hotels, I saw an appeal from the hotel owner to the guests with an offer to call her personally if the guest was not satisfied with something. Nearby were her business cards with her mobile phone number. Agree, this is captivating!

Kirill Irtyuga- General Director and owner of the management company “RosinvestHotel” and the Voyage Hotels & Resorts chain, Moscow; expert of the magazine