The team at Heart of Niagara can help make your dreams come true. The team can help you plan a special event—large or small—in one of several venues. If you want to show appreciation to your retiring chief executive officer, the Heart of Niagara team will make sure the party is truly special. They can help organize wedding parties, employee reward and recognition nights, strategy planning retreats for businesses, or even corporate teambuilding events. One large corporate client holds an annual gathering at Holiday Inn & Suites—the largest of the three hotel properties owned by Heart of Niagara—
for approximately 300 current and retired employees to recognize and celebrate their achievements.
Victoria Davis, conference services manager at Holiday Inn & Suites, is an important part of the sales team.
She enjoys working with customers to ensure that their needs are completely understood and can be accommodated.
Her customers vary greatly in terms of age, education, income, and social class. The key to working effectively with all of these people is relationship building.
Once she builds rapport with clients and establishes a foundation built on trust, they are more likely to open up and discuss their needs. Conference services managers have at their disposal a wide range of planning tools, including facilities and event production expertise, but customer needs guide the use of these resources.
Victoria finds that if the sales presentation is well planned and delivered, and if thoughtful questions are asked throughout the process, closing a sale or confirming a contract is easier. She believes that good listening skills and careful probing can help uncover dominant buying motives. For example, the client who wants an event with a special theme may have difficulty expressing her thoughts. Victoria must probe and listen closely in order to understand the customer’s desires. She must also create value throughout the presentation in order to set the stage for the close, or to confirm the contract. A special event can cost anywhere from a few thousand dollars to $100 000 or more, so price can sometimes be a barrier to closing. 31

Questions

1. What closing clues should Victoria look for?
2. What trial closes would be appropriate?
3. What tough points should be negotiated before attempting to close or confirm a contract?
4. Can you visualize a situation in which Victoria might use a multiple options close? Explain.
5. Assume that a large corporation wants to schedule a recognition event for 40 people. This event will begin with cocktails and appetizers and end with a served meal.
Special entertainment will precede the meal. What items might be included in a summary-of-benefits close?