Lisa Richards, Partner, Hospitality SoftnetLisa Richards, Partner
Imagine a busy hotel in the heart of a city. Their in-house team is struggling to keep up with the influx of inquiries. The staff on the frontline is trying to engage with guests to ensure their every need is met and their experience is top-notch. This includes offering products and services like room upgrades, dining options, special packages, additional amenities and memberships. However, when it comes to selling these services, the hospitality staff find themselves in need of updating their selling skills to the current sales environment. Many new team members are still learning, and some seasoned staff members are still transitioning from the post-pandemic situation. This leads to opportunities to take steps to refresh their selling skills to create a positive customer experience, to ensure inquiries are answered and responded to quickly and professionally to avoid potential bookings and sales falling through the cracks.

Enter Hospitality Softnet, a leading provider of sales training specific to the hospitality industry. Focusing on customer satisfaction, the company provides online, and on-site sales training and operational support programs designed to meet their client’s needs. It is equipped with an extensive suite of solutions to empower hotels, resorts and other businesses with sales teams to elevate their performance and profitability.

“We work with our customers, who are hospitality sales representatives, from both their perspective and their clients’ viewpoint. The main goal is ensuring clients can easily reach someone who can help them book and provide the information they need to make decisions,” says Lisa Richards, partner at Hospitality Softnet.

There often is a need for the specialized sales training needed to effectively upsell and cross-sell services, to avoid missing revenue opportunities and to create a positive customer experience. Hospitality Softnet offers training programs that help the staff take their sales skills to the next level.

The training can combine live virtual training, online modules, on-site training and self-guided resources. Live virtual training via theClassroom includes interactive sessions and telephone coaching calls, providing real-time feedback and coaching to address individual needs. Online training through theCampus allows staff to learn at their own pace, covering essential sales techniques and product knowledge.

On-site training covers a range of critical topics, including Selling Steps to Success Level 1 and Level 2, Prospecting Sales training, Director of Sales training and Reservations Sales training. These programs focus on mastering the sales process, understanding customer needs and developing effective communication and problem-solving skills. Self-training guides offer ongoing support, reinforcing key concepts and strategies.

Hospitality Softnet uses mystery shopping to help recognize areas of strength and to also assist in identifying areas in which the sales team can improve. It also helps in knowing the customers’ feedback so clients can work on and perform better in their need areas.

We view our customers, who are hospitality organizations, from both their perspective and their clients’ viewpoint. The main goal is ensuring clients can easily reach someone who can help them book and sell them on the information they need to make decisions

It bridges the gap between conventional hospitality skills and specialized sales techniques. Hospitality Softnet ensures that the sales and reservations teams are given the tools to enhance customer experiences and drive revenue growth.

A company leveraged Hospitality Softnet’s services to navigate the pandemic. The firm trained their workforce in sales techniques, enhancing their skills. To measure effectiveness, mystery shopping was implemented with scores above 85 percent, indicating successful training application. Notably, the client stayed involved and consistently achieved Certificates of Excellence (scores above 85 percent). Even more impressively, their mystery shopping scores rose from pre-pandemic levels, culminating in benchmark of 100 percent to earn a Certificate of Excellence and managers consistently achieve this goal.

By equipping sales teams with the right skills and ongoing support, Hospitality Softnet provides them with the resources and support to not only recover from the pandemic but thrive in the new normal. Their data-driven approach, combined with flexible training options, ensures measurable results and a competitive edge. Partnering with Hospitality Softnet will help clients bridge the gap between hospitality and sales and improve their customer satisfaction and revenue.