Posted on: Monday, February 11, 2002

60 SECONDS ON BUSINESS
Share the successes with good incentives

By Dr. Drake Beil
President, Solutions Inc.

A key to successful yield increases is to set up fair and exciting performance-based incentives.

Incentives should be based on results, and that means incremental revenue, so don't be cheap about sharing the successes. In many of the hotels I consult for, I install programs that provide incentives for front-desk people, and in my designs, I also include bell desk people and housekeeping as needed to ensure fairness, support and enthusiasm about the yield program.

You need to have dynamite rewards and recognitions. Not including a killer incentive program for people is a sure way to stall out despite being on the path of success.

Next, if you believe people get better at things the more they practice, then you have to ensure they are trying with every appropriate customer, and trying the right way.

The best way to accomplish that is with good supervision and one aspect of that is to have regular meetings, which go over the results and experiences of the team.

As part of the meeting agenda, measure and talk about conversion rates. Out of every 10 customers asked, how many said yes? How much was that worth per attempt, and per acceptance? How much impact was there on the bottom line? How many said no? What were the typical reasons customers mentioned?

You might be surprised to learn that there are usually only three or four major types of objections customers have. That's easy enough to measure and manage.

Reach Dr. Drake Beil at drake@60secondsonbusiness.