New medical cover comes to Thailand

GSF to offer Salomon-Adidas

Deputy PM opens joint exhibition

His Excellency Korn Dabbaransi, deputy prime minister and minister of public health was the guest-of-honour at the joint opening of the International Food & Hospitality Show 2000 (12-15 October 2000) and Thailand’s 2nd Hospitality Industry Congress “Vision and Changes for Global Competitiveness” (12 - 14 October). Both events took place at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre and were organized by Bangkok Exhibition Services Ltd. and Thai Hotels Association respectively. Other guests included Dr. Adisai Potharamik, minister to the prime minister’s office, chairman of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Chanin Donavanik, president of Thai Hotels Association and Pattrapee Chinachoti, chairman of Bangkok Exhibition Services Ltd.

Thought for the week

Why businesses fail - 4

More on poor sales performance leading to lousy cash flows! To continue from last week and back to the hotels…

A big danger… to much business from one customer. For hotels this seems to be constantly struggling with big time business introducers whose buying power is so great they are able to command the market at minimal profit whilst reserving large percentages of a hotels inventory. I think perhaps the evolution of the modern independent traveller using direct ordering through the Internet may soon put paid to this lot. In these conditions the senior management in the hospitality industry must be constantly scratching their heads and planning how to sell to the full market spectrum. Perhaps those selling across the 3, 4, 5 star and super deluxe properties might give us all the clue on how we all need to think about capturing different market segments and reducing our reliance on one or two major introducers. Now that’s looking after sales and cash flow and profit.

Sound business practice also means sales people must think ‘big picture’ and to make sure they/we are acting as a ‘company team’ and that we are putting the organization’s overall results ahead of our own ‘small area’ priorities. A friend in the event management business recently told me that he had two hotels in the same group arguing over his business and cutting each others prices and he was both amused and perplexed by this situation. He had decided that in future he was going to use another chain as although he had made a short term gain, the hotel sales teams’ behaviour made him nervous and question their professionalism and he felt uneasy about accommodating his customers in either hotel. Were the sales operators of these organizations acting as a team and looking at the big picture? Maybe not, and what damage was done to the long-term result for the organization and its prospect for future sales?

Company difficulties can also arise from insufficient understanding of the competition and not knowing one’s strengths and weaknesses in relation to those of our business rivals. This lack of knowledge will inevitably lead to us forfeiting our opportunities to gain a stronger market position. How much competitor analysis is undertaken by those businesses that fail? I suggest little or none. (Do we do competitor analysis on a regular basis? No huh?) Managers need to carefully look at their total market for new business opportunities rather than just trying to do the same old same old at 110%. We must beware of becoming blinded by our own perspective (or lack of perspective) on the market or of becoming too immersed in details thus losing sight of how the overall operation is progressing (a sin).

On a more light hearted note, maybe we also need to look at the ratio of sales staff to administration and production and perhaps sack two accountants, four engineers, fifty percent of the HR department and anyone we are carrying on the payroll out of some perverse sense of loyalty. Then spend the money we save to hire, train, encourage, cajole, push or even glorify the sales team. That’s where to money is - with their ‘best mates’ - “the customers”.

Again (the unknown guru was right): ‘the sales department is not the whole company but the whole company had better become the sales department.’

Thinking sales or would we rather play with the engineers and their gizmos?

To contact Ric mailto: rictownsend@yahoo.com  

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