Chapter 8

Sales Mistake #7

Sharing What’s Not Relevant

Picture this: You’re part of a committee selecting a hotel for a conference of 400 of your peers. You want the hotel to be a fitting choice. You want it to be memorable (for good reasons, not bad ones), and you want to ensure everyone will be treated well.

You arrive in the city where the conference is going to be held, ready to visit the five hotels on the committee’s short list. You and the other committee members have finished the property visits to the first four hotels, and all four have potential. The staffs were helpful, the service was outstanding, and the food was delicious. But two properties really stood out because they met the committee’s essential decision-making criteria. These two properties have rooms you could expand to accommodate potential additional attendees, and both have all their meeting rooms on one floor so it’ll be easier for your peers to navigate.

You and the other committee members are looking forward to seeing the fifth hotel. You all arrive and wait to meet with their salesperson, Bernard. And you wait. You try to reach Bernard on his cell, with no luck, so you all continue to wait.

Bernard finally arrives, looking as if he dropped his papers somewhere. He has a file with your conference name on it, but it has papers sticking out in all directions. It is a sign of what’s to come.

Personally, you’re rooting for Bernard’s hotel since you love the location and you know his hotel chain has a reputation ...

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