Reliable sales people are like gems…Hard to find

Sales is a science to the professionals and a trade to the ignorant. According to an empiric study by Harvard Business Review, the number one cause for most organization’s failure may simply be explained by the ineffectiveness of large numbers of sales people.?

The greatest sales person should be able to work under pressure, even though that is not an ideal situation to be in, but in a city like Dubai with such high competition around, it is inevitable, especially in the hospitality industry. In Dubai alone, there are thousands of hotels – so one can understand the pressure a sales person would feel. What drives success is empathy, persistence and ego drive. As my mentor, Serge Zaloof (RIP) used to remind me: ‘Fiston (French slang for Son)! In our industry, we work with the people for the people, and always remember: take your job more seriously than your title’. I have come across many people who are reluctant to be in sales, as it consists of long hours and immense pressure, which to me is a red flag. Sales representatives should have two basic qualities: empathy and ego drive.

• Empathy – the ability to feel as the other person does in order to be able to sell, must be infatuated, this does not mean that one has to be sympathetic. A reliable sales person cannot sell without the vital and exceptional ability to receive a powerful response from the client through empathy. One needs to adjust to different reactions, and is not bound by a one-track sales pitch. They need to understand what the client is feeling and be able to change track right away.
• Ego drive – This is when the sales person needs to make the sale, not for monetary gain, but for themselves. This provides a powerful means of enhancing their ego. The perfect balance should be found, between ego and the correct way to seal the deal. An ego strong enough to be motivated by failure but not to be shattered by it. As I keep saying, it is always more benficial to learn from our own failures than success stories.

Hiring

From the start of 2021, we have hired over ten new employees in the commercial team. Some being top sales leaders stolen from the competition such as Andrea Torres , Vishesh Amerkar , Ahlam Tlidjine , Abdelrahman Assem , Marijana Mandic , Ahsan Tanwir , Reda Ismail , Omar Tazi , Vasu Tandon to compliment the efforts of the existing talent Alaa Eldin Moustafa , Jihane Chakrouf , Houssam Eddine Hmani , Miguel da Costa , Mohamed Saad and Abdullah Ali , who have proven themselves at Al Habtoor Group for many years (had to tag them all so I can keep my team afloat). Not to forget my Marketing Gurus – Gregory LAGUESSE , Hadi Vazir , Farah Bootwala , SamRaj Babu and Rachel D’Cunha . I also pride myself with my two wing men– Hadi Pirzada and Yasser Mazouz - DOSM and my right hand and business analyst Akshita Jain , to work scientifically and differently. I call them my three musketeers. They are my first three appoints, and together we have created something new. We have created stability in the team, and handpicked the best talents from around the globe. We specifically look for certain traits while hiring in the commercial team:

• Firm: A professional sales person who is always prepared and able to give accurate answers rather than questions. Someone who is straight to the point, gets the work done with their own accountability, and uses business metrics rather than particular descriptions.
• Sociable/storyteller : A sales person should know how to build relationships; no sale is complete without relationship building. We want our clients and guests to keep coming back to the hotels, and only a sales person can do this. They would need to build a rapport before starting a “sales spiel” and tell stories about why other clients chose your hotel and how it addressed all their needs.
• Critical: As a sales leader, I want to hear numbers. A successful sales person should provide data and numbers instead of unprovable claims.

Nurturing talent and retention

At Al Habtoor City Hotel Collection we nurture talent, by enabling each team member to play to their own strengths by offering training and opportunities, through different talent development processes for our employee’s career development, 希尔顿全球酒店集团 and Al Habtoor City Hotel Collection encourages employees to attend online webinars to constantly evolve and advance in their career. Since 2021 Q4, 50% of the staff were promoted due to their top performance and more yet to come. Al Habtoor City has focused on talent development and coaching, which has led to increase in promotions. This has not only motivated the sales team, but have proved to bring stability in the company since the pandemic. In addition, sales representatives should be able to establish loyalty and trust with our clients, especially at Al Habtoor City Hotel Collection with citywide events happening on a daily basis. However frustrating this can get, it is also one of the most crucial elements in a business.

Diversity

The hospitality industry is such where diversity is key and we hire reliable sales people from around the world to target and understand different markets and regions globally. Our diversity chart consists of employees from – #France, #Canada, #Australia, #Philippines, #Morocco, #Egypt, #Portugal, #India, #Pakistan, #Tunisia, #Iran, #Algeria and the list continues. Al Habtoor City proudly consists of 10% Emirati talents, as our Chairman, Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor vision is to give local Emirati’s the chance in the hospitality industry, as this industry is one of the most booming industries in the #UAE.

Recognition

Moreover, while development take part of it, we also look at the other side of the equation with the recognition of our employees. Last year in October, we celebrated the longstanding #Habtoorians with a heartwarming event, highlighting their time over the years with Al Habtoor Group . Many employees have been with the company for over 25 years and counting. As a result, the employee turnover rate has dropped and today the team is mature and stable. They have the tools and intelligence to act as true business owners. This stability and motivation reflects on our business performance. Recently we just closed our complex of 1,600 rooms at full occupancy for more than a week, making history that creates a virtuous circle to feed up the motivation of our commercial force.?The gap between the competition and us is being bridged softly but surely. Al Habtoor City has come a long way from the transition to the Hilton namesake in 2018, to the pandemic in 2020 and today a stance of #stability – The future looks bright for Al Habtoor City Hotel Collection.

With my experience of over two decades at other hospitality brands, experiencing different roles within the industry and facing many obstacles, moving from one country to another compelled me to develop understanding of not only commercial aspect but the overall operations of the property with the solutions and guest centric approach across all departments.

Today, as the commercial director of three luxury hotels– Hilton Dubai Al Habtoor City, Habtoor Palace Dubai, LXR Hotels & Resorts and V Hotel Dubai, Curio Collection by Hilton - where opportunities are endless. Moreover, not only limited to delivering the commercial part of the business but to help my peers in operations to enhance the overall guest experience, which is the forefront of any profitable and successful hospitality enterprise.

As per Fortune.com, 希尔顿全球酒店集团 has been ranked at the second best company to work at in 2022, as it is the best multinational workplace and reflects the company’s commitment to its team members. Diverse by nature and inclusive by choice. At Hilton, every team member makes a difference and values match the values at Al Habtoor Group of teamwork and sportsmanship. As every sport requires teamwork, Al Habtoor Group’s Chairman Mr. Khalaf Ahmed Al Habtoor is a dedicated tennis player and our Vice Chairman Mr. Mohammed Khalaf Al Habtoor celebrates the noble sport of Polo and is the founder of Dubai Polo Gold Cup.?

Who wants to join this dream team at Al Habtoor City Hotel Collection ? I will not say this is an easy road, but it is definitely worth it.