UPDATE YOUR VOICE MAIL GREETING

We don't need a breakdown of your entire daily itinerary(i.e., "...in a site visit from 8:17-9:02; Starbuck's run after that; then sneaking out at 2pm to catch a movie..."), We only want to know if you're in the general vicinity. It's not appropriate to just say you're"away from your desk""when in reality you're in an all-day training session, traveling on business, or on a 14-day third-world Red Cross mission. Think of it this way... let's say I leave you a message at 9am when I hear you're "away from your desk" and you don't call me back by the end of the day. My immediate thought is you're ignoring me or I'm not important to you, which could be the case of course. Simply make it a habit to update the greeting first thing every morning. Conversely, you need to be diligent about it. Nothing worse than saying it's"May 10 and I'm away from my desk..." and the date is actually May 27. I'm thinking you've gone into Witness Protection and I'm going to need a new sales manager. :)

THE E-MAIL SUBJECT SHOULD BE ABOUT...THE SUBJECT!

This benefits both of us. An RFP bid should not have a subject line that says something akin to "hello from..." or "greetings from...". I'm thinking it's a Hot Dates e-mail, announcing a renovation completion or maybe even SPAM (and my e-mail filter may think the same). Also, I don't believe it suffices to say "Bid from ABC Hotel". Maybe I have more than one program out? I suggest to simply state the program this bid is in reference to. Moreover, think about the response from the customer. When you get an e-mail reply back, don't you want to know at a glance what the subject matter is?

E-MAIL SIGNATURE LINE

Ok, I promise to move onto other topics, but so much of what we do is via e-mail. Thus my last comment is about, well, the last lines... namely the signature. It should include your name, title, direct phone number, fax, and most importantly, a direct link to your hotel's web site. Just placing the link to your entire brand's web site makes me work too hard to find your property... and I may even discover a sister hotel I like better. "Doh!"

SELF-IMPOSED DEADLINES (U.P.O.D.)

Hotel Sales Managers desire to convey how important we customers are with statements like "I'll have that for you in an hour". That's wonderful but what happens when, as soon as you say/write that, another customer, your boss, or your Bookie contacts you with a need even more urgent? An hour goes by and I don't see/hear anything, what am I going to think? I believe in Under Promise, Over Deliver (U.P.O.D). Give yourself a realistic time frame (if the customer really needs it quicker I think they will say so). Then when you handily beat that self-imposed deadline, you look like a star.

ACKNOWLEDGE SHORTCOMINGS

Now, there will be times when you still can't deliver on your promise. PRIOR to that deadline a simple proactive communication works wonders...."I know I promised you by 5pm today an update on replacing our pool water with Jell-O for your theme night. However, our Catering department still has not been able to calculate the water-to-powder ratio." Why wait for the deadline to pass? Be proactive! More to the point, let's say my RFP needs six breakouts and your bid identifies five. Now, that may be all that you have in your inventory, but by not stating that I believe you've misread the RFP. By acknowledging any shortcomings up front, you have completely diffused any anger or frustration that I may have.

I can't stress the importance of the last item above. It alleviates any ambiguous interpretations, eliminates communication black-holes, and tells me you're on top of your game. That's the sales person we want to work with. Happy hunting....