The Frustrations Caused By A Stagnant Sales Pipeline & Pokey Sales Cycle…

Do you ever sit at your desk and think to yourself “WHY won’t anyone call me back?” “WHY is it taking so long for them to make a decision?” “WHY am I going through a dry spell and can’t seem to close any new business?” WHY WHY WHY?

OK…maybe that’s a little dramatic. How about this?

Do you ever sit at your desk and get ticked off because those blankety blank clients just won’t get off their blankety blanks and make a decision already. I mean seriously, who do they think they are acting as if their time is so much more full than yours and they can just ignore your phone calls and never call you back. Haven’t they ever heard of multi-tasking? I mean really…PICK.UP.THE.PHONE! (Note I do not condone calling clients names nor would I ever use such profanity.  I am a good Midwestern girl with a sweet disposition.  I am merely giving a scenario of what I’ve overheard, of course).

Ah yes…there are a lot of emotions that come with being a sales professional. I could sit here and type different scripts that have skipped through my head (or I’ve overheard) on any given Tuesday, but that is beside the point. What I’m trying to get at is that there are a lot of things that play into the timing of a sales cycle. It’s not all within our control, but surprisingly you don’t have to sit at your desk feeling helpless and frustrated. There are more productive questions you can ask yourself that will help get to the bottom of it. Once you explore these areas, you may figure out that there are actions you can take to turn things around. Those blankety blanks are not purposely making your life miserable. Chances are a solution is within your control and you can turn things around. And the bonus is that by putting these questions into practice will help you change some habits and probably even shorten your sales cycle forever.

1. Is your sales pipeline strong enough? – By strong enough I mean be honest and look at those leads you are chasing with more scrutiny.
a. Are the businesses a good fit for each other, or are you trying to fit a square peg into a round hole?
b. Is the contact really the decision-maker, or are you working with a middle-man?
c. Have you asked all the right questions, or are you just taking them at their word or making assumptions? I learned from my husband to ask a lot of questions in business. We’ve been in business together in various start-ups for the past 8 years. I used to think he would ask the dumbest most obvious questions until I realized that when he asks those things people open up even more, and my assumptions may have only been partially right. It pains me to admit that he’s right, but he rarely reads my blog, so I think I’m safe.

2. Is your sales pipeline large enough? – Especially in the hotel business you cannot bank on a few pieces of business. The most successful sales managers have a lot of direct sales activity happening in ALL areas of the sales cycle. You cannot prospect just until you have a handful of leads that want a proposal and then focus on those proposals getting to contract. You must multi-task and continue the prospecting while giving sites, sending proposals, sending contracts and closing. Prospecting often gets put on the back-burner when business picks up. Big mistake.

3. How are you staying relevant to your pipeline? – Were things going great with the lead, and then suddenly it’s like your contact fell off the face of the earth? This is one of the most frustrating things, and yet so common! I recently read a great book, SNAP Selling by Jill Konrath. Truly it is one of the best sales books I have read in quite a while. It has excellent solutions for selling to the overwhelmed and incredibly busy buyer. It is so relevant to today’s business environment, and I highly recommend it. We are implementing suggestions from the book into our own business sales process at Plan B Consultants!

What have I missed? If you don’t identify with the top scenarios…how have you been successful at maintaining a consistent sales cycle? We’d love to hear your ideas and success stories, or even your challenges!

Feeling Overwhelmed By Your Lack of a Sales Plan?

I don’t think there is a single sales professional out there that hasn’t at some point in their career felt that awful paralyzing response of being overwhelmed.  If you don’t know what I’m talking about then you are either in denial or I need to hire you as my personal coach.   However,  you probably know what I’m talking about…that gut-wrenching feeling that there is so much to do with no idea where to begin. I’ve been in sales for almost 12 years in some capacity, and every now and then I get hit with the stupid stick and revert back to the panic. It hit me in early October this year. Business has been going pretty darn good for us this year, but as I mentioned in my last post about gratitude…I am known to be just a wee bit of a driver. I’m never satisfied. So in October panic set in. I realized that as a company we were going in a million different directions with our sales, and our focus was blurry at best. We had several plans, and none of them were moving fast enough!  We were flying by the seat of our pants, and that always makes me uncomfortable.  I mean really…what was I thinking?  I know this stuff.  I just wasn’t practicing what I preach to my hotel sales partners everyday.  It felt awful.  It feels awful just confessing that this is where I was just a few short months ago.  Luckily I know better, and made some changes quickly before it affected us negatively.  It’s not rocket science… we set a plan and now we’re following it with conviction.

Here were my issues and perhaps you can relate:
1. I didn’t feel our message was reaching enough decision-makers
2. I questioned the quality and quantity of our pipeline
3. I had a list of over 500 decision-makers and influencers, but spotty intelligence on a handful
4. I wanted to get my message out NOW. No patience (is this a requirement to be a business owner?)
So, what do we do when this gray cloud starts to loom over us? How do we break free from the paralysis that sets in from being overwhelmed and do something about it?

Well…here is what we’ve done so far:
1. I took a step back to figure out WHY I was feeling this way
2. I realized that I was running myself and my team in too many directions which was leading to our lack of focus and therefore hurting our execution
3. We identified our sales cycle and all the steps included
4. We created a toolbox to help us with each step of the sales cycle
5. We widdled our list of 500 down to 10 (Yes 10) to start
6. We recreated our timelines and goals based on the above
7. MOST IMPORTANT: This is all documented on paper so we can touch, feel, tweak, review. If it’s not documented then it’s not a real plan…it’s just a dream.
Now we are working the plan to uncover intelligence on each of the 10 companies to discover their needs and where we fit within those needs.

I am breathing now…I have a plan and I know it is going to take patience (which is a work in progress). There are days when I want to crawl out of my skin because clients just don’t move as fast as I’d like, decisions aren’t made easily, or a hurdle pops up. But, the plan is in place, moving forward, and by golly it is working! Just setting the sales plan has created what I like to call “sales karma.”  Our 4th quarter sales are higher than they have ever been in our company’s history!
My team is doing something and that something is organized and methodical. So, I urge you to take a deep breath and step back, identify your weak points, and put a plan in place to strengthen them. Whether it is building your sales pipeline through lead generation and sales tele prospecting, building business intelligence on your target sales accounts, or creating a toolbox to make your sales cycle more efficient…it will feel good both emotionally and financially to work a sales plan.

Recognize…Reflect…Regroup

This isn’t one of my typical industry posts.  It’s a topic that I think we can all relate to though, and I felt compelled to share.  If you’re following Plan B on facebook  www.facebook.com/planbconsultantsinc then you’ll see that this month’s posts have all been about gratitude.  We’re hopping on the bandwagon a bit maybe, as it’s a “thing” on facebook this month.  But, it’s a good “thing” and maybe something we should try to do all year through.  

It is easy to go through the motions day-by-day and get caught up in the mundane. I’ve been known to be a bit of a driver. Nothing ever seems good enough, as I’m always pushing for perfection or working toward “the next big thing.” Taking a time-out is being complacent in my warped mind. Each November I try to break it up a bit and bring myself back to reality. Snap out of my daily grind. Reflect…Recognize…Regroup. 

I have so much to be grateful for this year, and Plan B has so many people to recognize for our success. No small business can grow and thrive without the support of a “community.” Our community is full of business partners, vendors, loyal customers, employees, contractors, cheerleaders, friends,  family…there are many names for them all. Bottom line is we are where we are today because of the beautiful people who believe in us and what we are trying to do for the industry. I only dream that I can give back to others in the same way. This post  is my small way of showing a glimpse into my heart and how truly appreciative I am for the outpouring of support from our loyal customers, our incredible staff and “village” of cheerleaders. Cheesy? Over-the-top? Maybe to some.

For an entrepreneur sometimes all it really takes is a random and simple congrats or recognition of the hard work to give you the extra nudge to keep trudging through the challenges, and that shouldn’t go without notice, should it?  My parents taught me many valuable lessons, but two that apply here are to learn to take a compliment gracefully (but never let it go to your head) and to always show appreciation.  Thanks Mom and Dad!     

As I return this week from a fantastic sales trip where I feel like all I did was jabber on about the business, I was given a lot of opportunity to reflect. I am busting at the seams to reach out to all of the individuals who have helped the business get this far by either trusting in our business enough to hire our services, or simply say some kind words of encouragement to get me through my insecurities. 

So, I guess this blog is more for me…a bit cathartic. Maybe in a way it is a bit selfishly written, as I just need to write and put it out there. Oh there will be personal and private thanks given this year. And maybe this will help readers reflect on your own supporters, mentors, clients, family and friends who get you through.

If you listen to the news it can seem there is absolutely nothing to be grateful for these days. The economy is in shambles, there are natural disasters at every turn, people are struggling. You know what…we are all struggling in some way shape or form. It’s life, but I am choosing this season to focus on the better part of life. Gratitude. It feels good, and just maybe I won’t wait until November to make it a bigger focus from now on.  Namaste.

Hotel Sales Superstar Qualifications

The other day my husband and I were chatting about hotel sales managers and sales in general. He asked me a really simple yet thought-provoking question. “What does it take to be a superstar in your industry?” This provoked a very long dissertation from me, and had he not been driving I’m sure he would’ve left the room to do something way more interesting. However, it got me thinking. There are some vital common traits that I’ve seen in the best-of-the-best over the past several years.

So in no particular order:

1. Always willing and open to learn
I’ve worked with sales managers that have had 30+ years of experience and those that have -2. There is nothing more annoying than working with someone that has a “been there done that” attitude. One of the reasons I love sales is because there is ALWAYS something new to learn either about the product or service you sell, a technique you can use to sell, or the customer you are selling. There is nothing that turns off senior leadership more than a dinosaur on the sales team that doesn’t want to learn new tricks and has been surpassed by the industry. Stay fresh and relevant to your company and industry.

2. Increase the fact/emotion ratio
We all know that great sales people tend to be highly driven extroverts. But it is imperative that we don’t let that natural state go the extreme and cause us to ignore facts and data when speaking with clients or leadership. We can’t completely ignore the emotional side to buying. However, I’ve seen the best sales professionals utilize data and facts greatly to their advantage to close more sales. How many times has your “friend” who is also a client used the competition because they were more affordable, better location, better product, etc.? Similarly, how often have you gotten a raise from your boss because you told them how hard you’ve been working and how exhausted you are vs. showed them the exact amount of revenue you’ve brought, number of deals closed, actuals vs. goals, hours spent , etc.? I know facts get my team a lot further when we’re making difficult decisions. Come to me with emotion and intuition and I’ll send you right back from whence you came to gather your facts, dang-it!

3. Work smarter not harder
Every successful sales professional I know focuses on quality vs. quantity. They know where their bread is buttered, and they focus on what yields them the highest percentage of return. I’ve worked with management teams that required their sales managers to make x amount of sales calls per day. Guess what…their best sales manager never met that goal. Guess what…the leadership didn’t care. I could go off on a tangent about sales call quotas, but my point is that you need to know how to manage time effectively and focus on the right things. Meeting a sales call quota just to meet it and appease the bosses is a recipe for sales career disaster.

4. Balance farming & hunting
It is known that not every sales person likes to hunt, or is good at it. They would prefer to farm, nurture existing relationships and squeeze as much as they can out of every existing customer. Similarly not every great hunter likes to farm. Hunters prefer to seek out new opportunities, build pipelines and constantly be building vs. maintaining. Superstar sales managers find a way to excel at both. Farmers outsource their hunting or they hone their skills at gaining new referrals. Hunters get really good at utilizing their sales CRM to remind them to keep in touch with existing customers, or perhaps they work closely with a sales assistant that can assist with managing the “farm.” If you don’t have the luxury of being on a sales team that allows you to focus on your specialty, then it’s imperative to work on this balance. It’s possible to do both!

5. Utilize resources
Unfortunately, we have to do more with less these days. We don’t always get the shiniest new toy and the best technological advances to make our jobs easier. We don’t always have the best product to sell. We’re not the prettiest hotel on the block. The most successful sales people don’t need all that bling! They get the job done regardless because they are resourceful. They find ways to get the message across using facts, stories, and testimonials. They go the extra mile and think creatively. They partner with others on their team that can help make it happen. They find ways to do all of this without whining about it! There I said it.

And the list could go on!

What traits make you or those you know a hospitality sales superstar?

Hotel Sales Blitzes: A business development strategy that will regenerate your sales pipeline

The life cycle of a hotel sales blitz looks kind of like this:

Initially many sales professionals and even sales leadership expect the life cycle to look something like this:

I wish it were that easy, but unfortunately just because an appointment is made with a potential client, doesn’t mean that their buying cycle works with the desired sales timeline.  Without getting into much detail on what a hotel sales cycle looks like, typically a sales blitz appointment is within the first 2 conversations, and it takes an average of 5 conversations to turn a business opportunity into revenue.  So, we’re really talking about the beginning of the sales process/cycle. The first conversation in a hotel sales blitz is to qualify that they have a need and interest, and the second conversation is the actual appointment to dig deeper, match needs with features and benefits and establish some trust…build a relationship.
A sales blitz is typically an event with broad brush strokes. The purpose is to canvas the market. Appointments are set with clients that have an interest and a need, BUT that doesn’t mean it is immediate. It’s an educational session with as many potential clients as you can squeeze in a short time period. The Webster’s definition of “blitz” says that it means, a fast intensive non-military campaign or attack. And this is where the confusion lies with many sales professionals.  When they ask for a sales blitz what they really want is a sniper attack. Or, to use my initial analogy, they want to use a tiny brush with intricate detail.  The only problem with that is sniper attacks and intricate details don’t require an event with multiple teams, generating awareness and excitement.  They are usually done with small teams or an individual with little fanfare and a quiet/steady approach.  Shouldn’t snipers and details be a daily occurance as a result of all the intelligence gathered from the broad stroke approaches?  We all want business NOW!  I am guilty of this impatient nature even with my own team.  However, when expectations get out of whack…it’s important to re evaluate.

1. Maybe the sales blitz should’ve been sooner if the need is to be further along in the sales cycle at this point of the year. It’s important to plan sales blitzes strategically throughout the year as one tool to generate a constant pipeline of revenue.  Could’ve, should’ve would’ve…let’s focus on the now and the opportunity an event now can generate for future success.

2. Forget about the sales blitz for a second and take a look at business opportunities currently  at step 3 or 4 in the sales cycle, because those are the clients you should be having conversations with now to turn them into revenue producing accounts.  If you have a gap in your sales cycle at step 3,4 and 5, then there is an even greater need for a sales blitz now.   Remember, the sales blitz purpose is to regenerate the pipeline at the beginning of the cycle, which will eventually push through to the final stage IF the sales team persists.

It’s easy to want to rush the sales cycle and expect that at least some of the sales blitz appointments will turn into immediate business. It certainly does happen from time-to-time, and boy do we love it when it does!  Unfortunately, I see way too often that sales teams will hold a sales blitz event,  and set or try to meet very high expectations of closing business immediately. When it doesn’t happen because the client’s buying cycle doesn’t match up…they give up, exclaim the event was a waste of time and forget to move through the realistic sales cycle with these great opportunities.  In a nutshell, the sales blitz appointment is just the beginning. There is tremendous amount of work that goes into the steps before and after the appointment.  Be willing to commit to the process, and don’t give up too soon.  A well-planned and executed sales blitz, with appropriately logged activity and tracking…will gain the desired return from the time, effort and costs invested.

Plan Your Sales Prospecting

4 Tips to turn your “Cold” Calls to “Warm” Calls

Is cold calling dead? No! Unless you define cold calling as pulling a list from out of the clear blue sky and just working your way down the line dialing for dollars. There is no reason for that with all the data and tools we have today to pull more targeted and qualified lists. Can we call it “warm” calling or something else? I’m tired of defending what my call center does day in and day out. We generate leads and set qualified appointments all quite efficiently because we have a pre-call process down to a science.

We enjoy leading our hotel partners through the following pre-call process because it makes for a stronger outcome and a happier hotel partner! The breakdown on a lead generation or appointment-setting campaign happens when the pre-work is rushed or a list is forced through that does not make sense for the hotel. A targeted approach is still not going to get you a 100% success rate, but it gets you a lot closer a lot faster.

Here’s the approach we take:

1. Define & understand past successes

We always seem to want what we don’t have. I can buy size 2 clothing all I want, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to fit this carb lovin, wine drinkin, desk jockey rear into a size 2. I’m much more successful at…MY size. You can source a wedding planner contact list, too, but it doesn’t mean that someone is actually going to think you’re a good fit for a wedding if you have a 200 square foot board room…and that’s it! OK…so that example is a little extreme. But, you get the picture. Don’t try to be something you’re not. Embrace your successes and roll with it. I get a lot of calls from hotels wanting help with business development, but they refuse to recognize who they are not, and continue to beat their head against the wall trying every which way to get business from a segment that just doesn’t want to do business with them.

2. Look at emerging markets

Not only do we want to recognize our past successes, but don’t ignore emerging markets IF they make sense for your hotel. Usually with emerging markets there is some economic indicator showing that these make sense to target. Maybe the emerging markets are similar to your successes? Very likely.

3. Determine what your target decision-maker looks like

From #1 and #2 we can start to figure out what a typical decision-maker looks like and where they might be found. Maybe you’ve been successful with small association board meetings, as that is a good fit for your hotel in terms of room block and meeting space sizes. After studying where those association meetings have come from, you determine 85% of the decision-makers happen to be from within the Northeast Region of the US.

4. Determine your list source & drill down to get target customers that most closely resemble your success stories or relevant emerging markets

The list you choose must have the ability to drill down far enough to maximize your time. When I was a new sales manager, I used to just pull a list out of the sky, but would spend hours of wasted time pouring over the contacts and looking them up online or in our existing database to make sure it made sense to call them. It was a huge time suck. Placing calls on a list you’ve already qualified and drilled down based on key target criteria eliminates the need to take 20-30 minutes or more between each call to research. Yes…you will still most likely get some wrong numbers and clients with no needs or interest. It is the nature of the beast when prospecting. At that point you need to trust in your pre-work and the list you’ve pulled and work through the list. If you see the close rate is really poor (below 3%), then re-evaluate the criteria for pulling the list and adjust accordingly.

When making prospecting calls, how do you source your lists and determine who to call?

A Common-Sense Approach to Reaching the Key Decision-Maker of a Global Sales Account

I’ve touched on The 5 Key Audience Groups for Business Travel Sales, and conducted a little deeper dive into #4 The Local Office Contacts.  In honor of GBTA this week, I think it is only appropriate that we talk about #1 The Key Decision-Maker (in most cases they are known as The Travel Manager). 

We’ll look at this audience group in the context of a global or national account only.  Look for a future post on key decision-makers of more accessible accounts. 

Those hotel sales managers that work for a large chain may be thinking, “whoa…I can’t go there.”  You may have been warned not to go near the Travel Manager.  Does this sound familiar?  “So-and-so has requested that all communication come from the global account representative” or “Please send all requests or correspondence for So-and-so through your global account representative.”  I’ve seen this go two different ways:

1.       The sales manager heeds this warning, and takes a complete hands-off approach letting nature take its course.

2.       The sales manager ignores this warning and reaches out to the decision-maker (usually due to some pressure internally) only annoying said decision-maker and making the global account rep, the brand and the hotel look really bad. 

Both of these are not intentional, but tragic mistakes.  In the first, the sales manager is assuming that their global rep will do all the work for them.  As my driver’s ED instructor used to say back-in-the-day “When you assume you makes an ass out of you and me.”  The global sales rep will not tell your story the way you tell your story.  They may not even know you have a story!  They cannot possibly know your reality, and you will be leaving business and revenue on the table.

In the second example, the sales manager is putting the hotel and the company both at risk.  Decision-makers are intensely busy, and when vendors ignore their request of how they wish to be contacted the risk is high to become black-balled.  Don’t make the global sales rep back-pedal and apologize.  Just follow the rules. 

So, am I speaking out of both sides of my mouth, or what?  Nope.  Surprisingly, there is an easy middle-ground filled with common sense. 

Communication should go through the global sales representative, but don’t expect that person to know the key driving factors as to why the account should choose your hotel.  Feed them the info EXACTLY how you want the client to see it. 

But first… 

Think of the global sales representative as the gatekeeper.  They have to protect the brand’s image and reputation with the client, so they are not just going to throw every question, concern or piece of info at the client.  Believe me, there have been many irrelevant, untimely, and just plain poor sales presentations that have been inadvertently skipped over or lost (by accident of course!).  There is a lot of revenue at stake on a grander scale than just your hotel.  So, share your compelling story in company-speak first.  Give them the reality from your property’s perspective with data + insights.  Always include data.  Nothing speaks louder than the hard numbers to back you up.  Then, ask the global sales rep for their thoughts and insights and couple their knowledge with your property needs to create that compelling presentation! 

Send your global sales rep exactly what you want the client to see.  Notice:  this means you will send a completed presentation or offer to the global rep who will in turn simply forward it as is to the client.  Don’t make it difficult for your global sales rep to send the info.  Collaborate with them on how and when the piece should be sent.  The info should be concise, accurate, and relevant to the client’s needs with a call to action.  If you do this well, you will not only win over the client, but also gain the respect of a very important colleague…your global sales rep! 

Not to mention, the global sales rep could end up giving you the green light to reach out directly to the decision-maker.  If you partner with them and show that you know your stuff…they may just open that door for you to connect directly.     

Lastly, always establish a next-step with your global sales rep to get feedback from the client on the offer, and determine the next move.  

Backyard Sales Efforts

A game only the persistent hotel sales manager will win

I recently posted something on the 5 Audience Groups For Business Travel Sales.  #4 on the list was The Local Office Liaison (or Feeder Market Contact).  Whenever I mention the local/feeder market offices, it gets a lot of heads-a- nodding and shaking in agreement.  Then, when we get down to the nitty gritty, we realize oops…we have a lot of information gaps to fill with this group!  Have you ever heard someone say “hotel sales is like being a private investigator”?  Well…this is the area of business travel sales that makes that statement true.  Connecting with a local office contact often requires a lot of digging, searching and rooting around.  It’s a game that only the persistent hotel sales manager will win.

Let’s scratch the surface here and take a quick peak at the top 3 roadblocks I see from our hotel sales partners in connecting with this tough audience group:

ROADBLOCK #1: There isn’t a travel department or travel booker in the local office.

RESPONSE: You don’t need to speak with a travel manager or booker.  You could talk to an office manager, field rep, HR, security, director, etc.  All you want to know is why are people traveling to this office?  Are they coming in for meetings, special projects, are they supervisors, trainees?  Just ask a few key and basic questions that most anyone could answer,  and be on your merry way.  Relax…this is probably the easiest day of sales calls you’ll have all week!  We’re in level 101 right here.  Just gathering, fishing, searching.  Easy breezey.

ROADBLOCK #2: This is a global account for my company, and I’ve been told not to contact them!

RESPONSE: You’ve most likely been asked not to contact the Travel Manager or Key Decision-Makers.  They work with global sales, because they don’t want 5 million hotels contacting them asking the same questions.  Understandable.   Contacting the local office is different.  You need to understand your market better than your national or global sales representative so you can share insights and create the most compelling case.  The global/national account rep can’t possibly be expected to know every market that their accounts have offices.  Trust me…they will thank you for doing your homework!  Connecting with local offices is critical, and you shouldn’t get in trouble for doing your job.  Just make sure to do your research before you approach the local office.  Nobody wants to talk to an unprepared solicitor.  Confidence gets you in the door and education keeps you there.  Networking in the local market with groups like The Chamber of Commerce, Association of Administrative Professionals, or other civic organizations is a great under-the-radar way to connect with these offices.  It doesn’t have to be “knock knock…will you please give me the time of day and answer my questions and  don’t kick me out for soliciting in a no soliciting building?”

ROADBLOCK #3: There isn’t a local office in my market, but we see travel coming in!

RESPONSE: Chances are that company is doing business in your market and visiting their own clients.  This happens often with consulting companies like Accenture, McKinsey & Co., Deloitte, IBM, etc.  Are there some large headquarter offices physically located in your backyard that would be doing business with other large companies from outside the area?  For example, I currently live in Bentonville AR which is world headquarters for Wal-Mart.  As the world’s largest retailer, they have constant inbound travel from their vendors and business partners.  Those other companies may not have an office here, and if they do, they are probably more apt to be visiting the Wal-Mart offices and spending more time there than their own locations.  You’ll want to figure out where the travelers are coming from.  Then, contact those feeder offices and ask some relevant questions pertaining to their travel into your market.  Again we’re talking low pressure call.

The outcome directly relates to how you approach this audience group.  First, realize that this office in your backyard is most likely not going to have hotels at the top of their mind, on their radar or even on their priority list.  Just assume that and let it be a surprise if I’m wrong.  You will need to explain exactly what you are doing reaching out to them and why.  Second, build the relationship through time.  Don’t propose marriage in the first introduction.  Take it easy, Tiger!   You may not get all the answers to your questions immediately.  Connecting with the local office is a process just like everything else in business travel world.

I’d love to hear about your challenges and/or success stories of connecting with a local office (especially as it pertains to those global/national accounts).  What has worked for you?  What has been your greatest challenge?  What bothers you about approaching the local offices?