Build Your Group & Party Business
Four Important Moves to Make Now!
Beth Standlee
By Beth Standlee, CEO, TrainerTainment
Building group and party business is an “all the time” job. Planning, consistency, prioritization, and focus are four key moves that create business on purpose rather than relying on the phone to ring.
1. Planning: Zig Ziglar challenged audiences with a great question that went something like this, “Do you want to be a wandering generality or a meaningful specific?” I love the clarity of the question. It’s easy to be all over the place and simply react to what comes your way. Busyness feels like work, but too many days of wandering around without a specific plan can leave the group and party sales pipeline empty.
However, when a business takes the time to plan for new business, implements that plan, and then works the plan, the busyness of the prior time becomes far more effective and sales improve dramatically.
Take Action: Here are a few easy things to do today to plan for new business growth:
a. Plan now for summertime business. Decide what your group and birthday party sales will be for Q 2.
b. Set the Q 2 group and birthday sales goal and share it with the team.
c. Plan the time that it will take to visit 50 potential locations on a weekly basis. You may call on the phone or visit in person but the plan needs to be to connect with 50 people who will potentially set up a group or party during a three- to four-week period.
Each of these suggestions are specific. I hope you agree each action is clear and if you commit to implement and work the plan, you will have group and party business that you wouldn’t have had otherwise.
2. Consistency: Once the plan is in place, consistency is key. I know we’ve all had the experience of creating a great plan and then failing to execute it on a consistent basis. Sometimes it’s a lot more exciting to dream and scheme about what you want to do. But, the reality is that consistently working toward the goal, or understanding every little effort every day, is what ultimately generates the big result. (Losing weight comes to mind for me.) Distraction can be the saboteur of consistency. Something else comes up –– it is important so you attend to it –– and the plan is undone. The plan is difficult and, after all, answering the phone is easier than making an outbound call.
Take Action: Promise yourself (and someone else if you really want to stay consistent), that you are committed to the plan. Put a system of weekly or even daily accountability in place so you can track your progress. Remember, it’s every little consistent thing that produces the big results.
3. Prioritization: There are many things that need to get done on a daily basis. Deciding how to prioritize the day must be the priority of the day! I use a “forced choice” method. Start by listing your priorities for the day. An example of mine follows (and yes, there are many more things than just these five, but you get the idea):
a. Connect with 10 decision-makers for summertime field trips daily.
b. Return any outstanding calls from yesterday.
c. Answer incoming calls.
e. Check my LinkedIn account.
Now that you have your list, the next step is to create the prioritization. Knowing where or how to best start can be the biggest challenge of the day. However, if you are consistent (see # 2) and use this method daily, I promise you will be the most productive you’ve ever been.
Start at the top of your list and ask this question: Is it more important to me to accomplish a. or b. today? Place a checkmark by the one that is most important. Then repeat for a. or c., then a. or d., then a. or e. Now you move to b. and ask the same question and so on with c. and d. You’ll wind up with a list that looks like the one at the top of the page.
In less than five minutes, you have a more clear picture of what’s most important. It’s interesting, if I changed the 9 a.m. sales meeting to 3 p.m., it would not have been the number one priority. However, since it was the first, scheduled event of the day, it winds up at the top of the list. There’s a clue here that leads to focus.
4. Focus: I have found that when I set a plan in motion, commit to the daily activities that I believe create the results, and then prioritize those activities, I am free to focus on what matters most. Sure things come up, but when I am focused on why I want what I want, it’s easier to stay the course. Focus can get derailed when you are too tired, distracted or when it seems like the plan isn’t working. I believe the best piece of advice I can give here is to be patient. Often, things take longer than we expect.
Take Action: Focus helps clear away the distractions. Concentrate and try saying no to the stuff that didn’t make your list or isn’t part of your plan.
Dream big, create a plan that inspires, promise to consistently execute against that plan, prioritize daily in order to keep the plan in focus, and experience the best second quarter of your life!
Beth is the CEO of TrainerTainment LLC, a training company devoted to the family entertainment and hospitality industries. Beth and her team are focused on helping the companies they serve make more money through sales, guest service, leadership and social media marketing training. Training products and services are delivered in person, through books and DVDs, and virtually with e-learning courses, webinar development and 24/7 online access. Visit her company’s website at www.trainertainment.com.
