Interruptions plague hospitality salespeople because of who and what they are.
When it comes to the sales personnel at a hotel, as a general rule salespeople have the following wonderful qualities:
- They are smart.
- They are well-groomed.
- They are well-educated.
- They are attractive.
- They have excellent anticipatory skills.
- They are terrific fun.
Unfortunately these qualities can lead directly to interruptions.
Add in the fact that hotel salespeople may have food out in their offices, and is it any wonder that they suffer frequent interruptions when other hotel employees come to them to seek assistance for a variety of personal problems?
Being a team player is important but…
You want to support the people in the other departments, but the big issue becomes when you allow these interruptions. If you permit too many of these interruptions between 9 and 5, you probably won’t make your numbers – or have a job for very long. It’s scant consolation that everyone will miss you when you’re gone.
9 to 5 is considered prime selling time. Selling is what you were hired to do. This prime time is clearly the best opportunity to contact your customer. Rarely do we find our customers working the swing or graveyard shifts.
So we have to maximize our daytime productivity, and that means avoiding interruptions.
By their very nature, hotel salespeople enjoy nurturing others and receive joy when they are able to help colleagues with their problems.
As much as you want to help the very people that support your efforts, you absolutely must train people who drop by that these interruptions need to be an emergency if they occur during peak selling time. Very often we can deflect the interruption with a cordial but firm, “You know, I’m just really busy right now. How about if I meet you after work? I have so many high-priority items on my plate that will affect my numbers today. Can we get together at 5:30?”
That last comment is important. You want to indicate that you’re willing to listen and willing to help by offering a specific alternative.
What do you do if it’s your boss?
Frankly, you have to train them as well. Depending on your relationship, you need to express your willingness to help but specifically refer to a project you are working on. This allows your boss to make the choice as to what is the most important. If interruptions from your boss yield a new task to take on, do it with a smile. Let’s face it: when all’s said and done, doing what our boss tells us to do is our job.
Protect your selling time.
When employees come to you for help with a personal issue, showing compassion is important, but you have to make it clear that while you are willing to help, you cannot stop to help them during valuable selling time. Be thoughtful but firm. Your job between 9 and 5 is to sell.