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Toni Jacaruso: Hi, My name is Toni Jacaruso. I’m with Jacaruso Enterprises. Our company provides remote hotel sales support for hotels that do not have onsite hotel sales people. Many times hotel management companies engage with us and ask us to teach them how to prospect for new business better. We are really good at it, and I’ll tell you what, it is not by accident. We have put a lot of time, energy, and thought into prospecting, and it’s hard. It’s time consuming and you can get lost very quickly if you don’t have a very specific and strategic plan. So here’s the thing, it is not a mistake that the world’s number one, largest social media distribution channel is Facebook. People like to do business face to face. One of the things that happens when prospecting is we have a tendency to hide behind email. It is not effective, primarily for a few reasons.

Toni Jacaruso: Number one: subject line. They are not really very well-written. Usually they are not compelling, and doesn’t make you want to get your attention and really read that email. Number two: length. They’re too long, make them shorter. Number three: poorly written. Please invest in a copywriter or have someone at the hotel proof your work before sending it out to a customer. And finally, call to action. If somebody is going to be fortunate enough to read your communication, let them know what you want them to do with it. Have them come out and tour the hotel, send them your next hotel room night, book your next meeting, anything. Just ask them todo something with the information.

Toni Jacaruso: All right. So next time you are tempted to jump and send an email, grab your keys, get in your car, and go make a sales call on that company. And then stop next door and ask that company, if the next time they have people traveling in from out of town, if they would consider using your property. We have some of the best partners in the hotel industry at the hotel level. Our general managers, our front office managers, and even our front desk associates are always willing to take cookies out to customers, and thank them for their business. You would be surprised how effective delicious baked goods are. I know that great things happen when I get out of the office. So next week I’ll be in California. I hope our paths cross some day. Take care.