40,000 Deals and Counting

I have always been a sales guy. I am driven by the hunt of securing a deal, of negotiating favourable terms. I love the pressure of deadlines and the excitement that comes with signing a contract after a tough negotiation. I have been in sales for over 14 years, and in this time, the teams I have been on have successfully negotiated over 40,000 contracts with small businesses (i.e., hotels) and customers throughout North America ranging from high-profile professional sports events to Annual General Meetings for not-for-profit organizations, to political campaign travel, to smaller local amateur sports tournaments.

No two sales opportunities are alike, but I apply the same skills and techniques to each situation. I also continue to work toward mastering new sales skills, looking for ways to improve my approach. Sales is a dynamic industry where the skills that you develop can easily be transferred to a different sector, selling another product or service. I am in no way done learning or refining my skills, but I can say with confidence that I have learned a thing or two in these 14 years.

MAKING THE CUSTOMER FEEL LIKE THEY ARE THE ONLY ONES

Salespeople juggle many tasks and priorities each day. As I note in my article on hotel salespeople, we are masters at prioritizing tasks. I know I am. One thing I have learned in sales and negotiating contracts is the need to prioritize my customers and my relationships with them. I do this by being present and available to them. Right from the initial RFP, I am sure to respond quickly. This demonstrates that I am available to work with the customer towards a profitable agreement, no matter what it takes. In contrast, if I delay my response, it may not send the best message about my enthusiasm.

I have rarely seen a deal that does not involve some back-and-forth negotiations or at the very least a series of questions about the product or service. When questions or concerns are raised, it is my policy to respond right away. I completely acknowledge that we are all busy and that responding to email or phone calls promptly may not always be possible, but it is something I strive for. I do this to ensure that my commitment to the deal is clear. I want to infuse some excitement into the negotiations. In my experience, without the excitement of working towards a deal, the momentum fizzles and people may lose interest. By setting the tone early and quickly responding to the RFP, I let my customers know I mean business and will work to see the contract all the way through.

The intensity with which I work to secure a sale and a signed contract increase dramatically when a customer agrees to work with me. I become a shark with blood in the water and I make sure that I am completely focused on getting negotiations done and a signed contract in hand. I maintain the momentum of engagement and make myself even more available for additional questions and the finessing of the minor details that need to be worked through. Nothing kills a deal faster than not responding promptly.

As I mentioned, we are all human and sometimes other priorities pop-up. This goes for our customers as well. What I have found to work for me in keeping the momentum going is by regularly touching base with my customers. At the end of the day, a customer has many options on where to source their business and a supplier in demand has many customers to pick from. The trick for me is to ensure that my customers feel like I am the only supplier able to meet their needs!

INFORMATION, OPINION, AND ANALYSIS OVERLOAD

Information geared at customers about a given product or service is copious. At times, it can be overwhelming, with a constant stream of influencers, experts, and companies delivering research, opinions, star ratings, feedback, and studies all to help the customer find the right products. What I do as a salesperson is cut through the noise by supplying the customer with the most accurate and relevant information. It is in my interest to ensure that customers receive relevant and timely information about the product or service I am selling or the industry. In the end, this will help them make informed decisions, and be comfortable in taking the next step in a negotiation. I want my customers to be repeat customers, so I make it practice to share information with them regularly. What I want to avoid is buyer’s remorse.

To do this, I need to know my product or service, and be aware and informed of what my competitors are offering. In addition, I need to be well versed in the industry of my customers and understand the environments they are working in. This allows me to appreciate what their needs are and identify the specific information that will resonate with them. I find that having the information instills confidence in my customers and helps in moving the sale along in the process.

IT IS NOT ALWAYS SMOOTH SAILING

Having worked in the corporate office for Delta Hotels & Resorts and now IHG Hotels & Resorts, I am what they call a “middleman” in hotel sales. I hunt for opportunities across North America and present them to our hotel Owners, General Managers, and Sales Directors in hotels. This includes linking a customer that needs hotel rooms in a specific city for a specific event, or to a hotel Owner who is interested in the business and has the capacity to deliver. My job in the corporate office is to bring parties together to secure a mutually beneficial deal. 

In this capacity, I have an interesting vantage point. I have been part of some great deals with amazing long-term potential. I am always left with a great sense of accomplishment when I can work through a deal that both parties are committed to. In other instances, I have worked on deals where there are a few hurdles that can stall the momentum or, very rarely, when the juice is just not worth the squeeze.

Hurdles can pop up at any time during a negotiation. As the middleman, I have been in situations where a particularly good proposal between the hotel and the customer has been negotiated, but when it goes for approval to the respective decision-makers, it falls apart or suggestions for a revision come back. Other times, communication breaks down because the negotiations have been ongoing for a long while and neither side is willing to concede. I work with the customer to try to find another solution or another hotel to work with.

A way to move a deal forward is to take accountability for things that are within my sphere of control. These include corporate policies or strategic approaches that may sometimes be at odds with what a hotel wants to do or what a customer expects. Acknowledging these issues and discussing them is important and builds a bridge between the hotel and customer. I gently remind the parties of what the goals and intents are, namely that we are here to close business and make money. Sometimes being the middleman requires taking a little hit so that all can return to the table and negotiate the deal.

Persevering through a sale also requires an understanding of your own role in the sale. I have completed personality tests like DISC and StrengthsFinder to better understand my personality and learn about techniques that will be useful when encountering people with other personality types. Understanding people will help in overcoming the hurdles.

IMPORTANCE OF IN-PERSON INTERACTIONS

I have said this many times in my previous articles, and it warrants repeating here again. In-person engagement and communication with customers are paramount to a successful sale. When a good deal hits a roadblock, I always make a point of meeting the customer in person. If a deal has stalled or the momentum is waning, the best way to troubleshoot in my experience is to meet the customer. During the pandemic, this has been exceedingly difficult to do, and I have had to rely on virtual meetings and many more phone calls, but I guarantee once travel restrictions lift, I will be meeting with my customers face-to-face again. 

Meeting customers in person does not have to wait until something bad happens. I have taken advantage of special occasions like Mother’s Day or the start of Tulip Festival in Ottawa to drop in and see customers in their place of business bearing treats like a box of cookies or a box of Timbits. Other times, during a negotiation, I like to take the customer out for lunch at a good spot in town. I have flown hours to attend a golf event that I know will win favour with the customer. I am so committed to this that I have even driven to a customer’s house on Christmas Eve to drop off some IHG branded swag. With a big contract, there is a lot on the line, and the customer needs to see how invested you are and how much you care about them and the opportunity. Whatever it takes, I always find a way to secure face-to-face time with a customer.

CLEAR COMMUNICATION IS PARAMOUNT

There is an old sales saying that I always fall back on: “Ask if you are unsure”. The accuracy of the information that I communicate to my customers or that they share with me is especially important when it comes to closing a deal. If there are doubts, or there is some confusion, I never hesitate to seek clarity or confirmation.  

Thinking of the communication that I do with customers through phone calls, emails, and face-to-face meetings, there is bound to be a misinterpretation or a misunderstanding. Sometimes this misinterpretation is due to technology mishaps, a transcription error in an email or the needs of the customer or the hotel are not clear. To avoid souring a deal due to a misunderstanding, I always ask for clarification.

For example, when I notice incorrect information being passed to a party, I quickly note it and try to get it corrected. This is made easier since I have been involved in the discussion from the beginning so I can quickly resolve and present the most accurate information. When managing a ton of RFPs, sometimes it is not possible to be involved in all the conversations and this may lead to some breakdown of communications between parties. To help restore communications, I jump back in and ask questions from both parties to see where the miscommunication happened and how we can address the issue and repair the relationship to close the deal. This requires solid people skills to understand the pain points and work with everyone involved to find a solution.

I recall a time when I was negotiating a contract for the NBA All-Star. The customer was interested in a new hotel, looking to secure the whole property for the event during the first few weeks of the hotel’s opening. As a new hotel, the Owner was hesitant that doing this so early in the hotel’s existence would turn potential customers away from considering the hotel in the future. The customer wanted to book the whole property in the first few weeks of the hotel’s opening. Negotiations stalled but I was able to bring both parties back to the table to discuss ways forward. It was important to hear the hotel Owner’s concerns. I provided information on the opportunity this deal would represent in revenue and the brand recognition this would generate. During this time, I kept in contact with the customer and provide them with status updates on the negotiations. We eventually got the deal done and it was a huge win all around. 

Sustained communication is important to secure a deal and sign a contract. Not all negotiations will be easy; some will require prolonged discussions to make sure everyone has the same goal and understands the same thing. When things stall, it may be because somewhere the information to a clear path forward got buried. It is my job to clear the path.

GOOD RELATIONSHIPS CLOSE DEALS

Combining all those skills and techniques also contributes to building customer relationships. Those relationships help me close deals. In my experience, building business relationships that will last into the future is paramount for salespeople.

Research has shown that it is more economical for a business to retain customers than to find new ones, illustrating the importance of developing long-term relationships with a customer. Since joining IHG, not only have I grown my customer base by prospecting new business and new opportunities, but I have made a point of maintaining and further developing the relationships I have with customers that I first started working with almost eight years ago.

I know that every deal I work on has the potential for future deals. I am not looking to closing a single sale; I am always looking at future opportunities. With many buyers now relying on the online process, it is even more crucial for me to make every effort to maintain strong relationships with the customers that I have.

Through my efforts, I witness the growth of that customer’s business, understand their needs, and support them when those needs change. Having this trust is a huge component of a strong relationship. It must be built through every interaction. Being invested in a customer’s business, watching them succeed is an important way to build trust. In turn, the customer will be invested in my success as well. As individuals, we want to see each other do well and will look for ways to make that possible. That is why developing my relationships with customers is so important; these relationships present amazing opportunities and make closing deals a little smoother each time. With a solid relationship, the possibilities are endless.

To help develop these relationships, I make it a point of connecting with multiple people within a company or business. This way I am exposed to the different facets of the business and understand its workings. I also make it a point of including all those contacts as part of the buying journey so that they are also exposed to the work that I do and have a better appreciation for the deal that we are negotiating.

Ultimately, nurtured relationships lead to loyalty between me and the customer. A bond is formed so when opportunities arise, my customer will continue to buy from me. Deals come more frequently and close a lot faster. In addition, a loyal customer will defend me or my brand when I am not in the room, or my customers will give me the benefit of the doubt on the off chance that something does not go according to plan.

Closing deals is not an exact science; it is an art. Each deal is unique, but I have been successful thus far by applying the same principles. After each deal, I take the time to reflect on the process. I evaluate what I learned and what strategies or techniques I used. This helps me prepare for the next time, creating pathways for smoother deals. I also take stock of the relationship and how my customer and I have been able to move it forward. Those deals that are the most challenging are usually the most fulfilling and rewarding. The rush of a signed contract keeps me motivated to move mountains and get deals signed.

What is the most memorable deal you have closed?

What tactics or skills have you used to close a deal?