Hotel salespeople can be distracted by allowing others to steal their time
Salespeople in the hospitality industry are high-energy. We’re all highly motivated, deeply involved with our customers, constantly responding to inquiries, and real go-getters. Moving a million miles per hour, handling so many finite details, uber enthusiastic – are we taking on too much?
Maybe it’s time we slowed down for a moment and looked more closely at our situation
We might all agree that we are people pleasers. Why else are we so attracted to the hotel industry? Saying “yes” gives us a sense of joy when we are helping those around us. While it is one thing to say yes to a customer, saying yes to our peers and superiors may have an entirely different effect on us.
We’ve all been in the situation where one of our colleagues, a superior (our own or one from another department), comes to our office and asks for help. Because we are alpha types in the service business and since we enjoy pleasing people, our first instinct is to say yes, no matter how busy we are. When we agree to provide assistance, the person we are helping will often be able to scratch the requested item off of their “To Do” list.
The problem is that by taking on the obligation to help someone else, we have made it more difficult to devote our time to completing our own assigned tasks and goals. So you think you were busy before? Now your day is even fuller, and you could be at risk of not completing your own tasks.
When that person asks for help, we need to be able to say something to them like, “Listen, I’m very loyal, and you know I’d be happy to do anything for you. But here’s my To Do list today. I have a lunch, a meeting with an incoming client, and two site inspections. Help me decide which tasks I’ll need to forego in order to help you with your request?”
Put the decision back on the person requesting help. They may say, “Gosh – I didn’t realize your plate was so full today. Let me see if I can get someone else to help me with my request.” Or if they’re a superior they may say, “I’m sorry to place this burden on you, but I really do need your help on this matter. Let’s see if we can get someone else to help out on the site inspection.”
The approach you should take is to respond thoughtfully but let the person asking for help know what your priorities are. “What on my To Do list would you like me to postpone?” Then it’s a joint decision. This calls for some tact, but by being honest and thoughtful you have communicated at the highest level.
Are you failing to complete all of the tasks you really need to because others change your schedule? Know how to politely but firmly resist if it interferes with your assigned priorities.