CITY OF VIRGINIA BEACH
Best Practices Creating & Developing Prospects Sally Noona August 1, 2012
This overview is intended for the Sales Managers within the Convention Sales, Sports Marketing & Services Unit of the VBCVB and offers Best Practices in developing good prospects in the sales process.
Best Practices Creating & Developing Prospects Sally Noona
1. Purpose _______________________________________________________________________ A strategic Sales Manager evaluates and understands the expectations and goals of his/her performance at the beginning of each fiscal year and creates a plan to make certain that a strategy is in place throughout the year to weather all types of scenarios – one’s strategy not only fills the coiffeurs with FY opportunities but makes certain actions move him/her closer to their goals throughout the year and into the next…
2. Scope _______________________________________________________________________ The following Best Practices are intended for mainly the Sales Managers of the Convention Sales & Marketing Unit but not limited to only them. It is good for the Sales Assistants to understand these activities also as they may be called upon to assist in the development of good prospects
3. Prerequisites _______________________________________________________________________ All Managers should have access to and have a good understanding of the use of the following: A computer and a telephone Access to the Web & Destination Marketing Association International’s Mint data base
4. Responsibilities _______________________________________________________________________ Developing good prospects for future overnight group business in Virginia Beach is the primary responsibility of a Sales Manager. Subsequently, it is imperative that the Sales Manager accept this responsibility with passion, fervor and accuracy.
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Best Practices Creating & Developing Prospects Sally Noona
5. Best Practice _______________________________________________________________________ Best Practices in the Development of Good PROSPECTS:
MINT Mining – With our membership to DMAI, we are allowed to query their data base of meetings. Schedule specific times throughout the year for reports to be run for prospecting purposes (seek the assistance of your Sales Assistant): o Know the parameters needed for your various searches: Are you searching for a Sales Mission and Searching by City/Zip code, etc. Are you searching for particular Market Segment (i.e., Religious, Sports) Put in Parameters to fit the need desired: Month (off-season groups) Size (In-house or Center Users) Exhibit Space Used (150K or less gross)
Research Competitive Set City’s Calendars – Access comparable cities to Virginia Beach and review/research who is meeting there. Target groups and use DMAI’s Mint access and the Web to assist in filling in the blanks of needed information. Also send for pre-lead historical information from hotels and venues… Who is your counter CVB Manager in these cities – can you assist each other?
LOCAL Bring it to the Beach Presentations – Grassroots Marketing. Create your target list NOW (at beginning of FY) and ask such questions as: o What are your vertical and niche markets? o What local groups work into these niche markets? o Work backwards: what group are you trying to target for VB and is there a local/state chapter or community affiliated with it to present to? o Ask for referral contacts/leads o Schedule future dates as soon as possible
Break down how you are going to achieve your booking pace: o What is the average size of your bookings for your market niche or each meeting type? o How many in-house, Convention Center and Citywide leads/bookings will you need to produce your numbers based on your close ratio…? o What has been your performance in the past? o How are you going to step it up?
Schedule Prospecting Blocks into your calendar throughout the year/weekly: o Designate a minimum of one hour a day (5 hours a week) to find new business (Wise suggestions: turn off emails and place a do not disturb sign on door during this time period - protect this valuable time) o Do your homework on the account: research history, & future sites prior to calling o Do you have your script ready? Lead with how VA BEACH can solve a problem 2|Page
Best Practices Creating & Developing Prospects Sally Noona for a client & remember that the first call is not to “close” but to set the stage for future engagement
6. References _______________________________________________________________________ http://www.destinationmarketing.org/
7. Definitions _______________________________________________________________________ DMAI - As the world’s largest and most reliable resource for official destination marketing organizations (DMOs), Destination Marketing Association International is dedicated to improving the effectiveness of over 3,500 professionals from 600 destination marketing organizations in over 20 countries. DMAI provides members—professionals, industry partners, students & educators —the most cutting-edge educational resources, networking opportunities, and marketing benefits available worldwide. The Meeting Information Network—MINT houses more than 40,000 meetings from 20,000 organizations—including associations, corporations, military reunions, sporting events, and government institutions—in a web-enabled format accessible from any location at any time. It represents a unique collaboration between 150+ DMOs which voluntarily report detailed meeting history information on the events held in their cities. From assembling marketing blitzes to authoring convention center feasibility studies, MINT provides countless research opportunities that translate into vital business. Plus 50% of the meetings in the database have less than 200 rooms on peak nights, making it a valuable resource for your DMO regardless of your size. The Post-Convention Report (PCR) is the cornerstone of MINT and provides detailed information on meeting demographics, contact names, room pick-up, and future bookings—everything you need to find viable business leads for your destination. The Query Builder is a powerful prospecting tool that makes identifying and targeting potential business easy. Search MINT and download data tailored to your DMO’s individual needs in a variety of flexible formats such as Microsoft Excel and Access, HTML, or comma delimited file. Our detailed MINT manual makes navigation through MINT easy. Free on-line training is available for all users.
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