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Due to the recession, a number of industry offerings have taken a hit, and group sales is no exception. Over the past few years, companies scaled back on outings as schools sliced field trips from the curriculum.
“I hear horror stories from other group sales departments,” says Robert J. Araiza, director of marketing and sales for Mulligan Family Fun Centers, with three California locations. “I feel bad for them.”
Araiza acknowledges he has fared better than most. He attributes his group sales success to bending the rules by giving discounts on weekend nights and always being willing to try new promotions.
“We take a lot of shots, and we don’t make them all,” he notes. “But we at least take the shot.”
He considers his teen lock-ins and middle school nights a couple swooshes. Between those two regular events, Mulligan made more than $175,000 in 2010.
While no surefire way exists to duplicate impressive group sales like this, experts offer tips to get you back on top.
Be aggressive. In the old days everyone sat back and waited for those inbound calls, says Sheryl Bindelglass, president of SherylGolf in Martinsville, New Jersey, and author of “Fast Track to Group Sales.” “Now, you have to be hungrier. You can’t just wait for these groups to come to you. You have to do more outbound calls.”
She suggests the “5-by-10 Rule”—meaning, make five sales calls by 10 a.m. every day. After midmorning, the day becomes too hectic to really focus on group sales, Bindelglass says.
Map it out. Often people in group sales get stuck playing catch-up, says Bindelglass. For example, if you call the summer camps in May about trips, you missed the window of opportunity; they already booked elsewhere. These calls should be made in January.
To help keep focus, create a chart of the various groups: when they hold their events, and how far in advance they generally need to be contacted, Bindelglass says.
“I believe it’s important to strategize and plan even more than previously required,” agrees David Yarmer, senior sales/marketing manager for Dallas SpeedZone in Texas. “The economy is not really a valid excuse any longer. We must adapt to the times and act accordingly. We look three to six months down the road and even further for cold calling and staying in contact with potential clients. Our rule is keep calling and visiting until you get a ‘yes.’”
 Listen up. Find out what customers want before spouting off prices and what you can do for them, Yarmer advises. It’s important to be a consultant to clients, not their salesperson. Companies are more willing to pay for a teambuilding event than just a day driving go-karts or playing mini-golf. Sell the venue as a benefit to their company.
“Once I know why they are considering a visit to Speed- Zone,” he says, “I can reinforce the fact that they need to have an event at SpeedZone.”
Stay personal. When dealing with potential group planners, try to remember it’s the personal relationship that could make the difference in obtaining a contract and losing one, says Sam Rice, regional manager for AJ’s Family Fun Centers in Grand Rapids and Ludington, Michigan.
“We push our group sales team to make on-site visits to planners’ offices and chat on the phone whenever possible, leaving e-mailing, texting, and faxing as secondary forms of communication,” he says. “There’s no question that a lot of business is generated from social media and utilizing technology, but there is also something to be said about the importance of creating and maintaining the personal portion of the business relationship via an old-fashioned meeting.”
Let’s make a deal. In this tough economy, Rice believes you have to be ready to book groups off the rate card when necessary. “Our group sales team has a never-turn-down-adeal mentality, and they will often call upper management when they feel they need to go toward the bottom of the price parameters to close a group sale,” he says. “With every level of our team involved in the process, we feel better about cutting an admission fee if we need to meet someone’s budget. We’ve accomplished this without giving the place away many times, and we like making group planners look good to their team for getting a discount or a deal.”
Yarmer follows a different philosophy. He instructs his sales team to create “value” rather than “discounts.”
“We do offer some flexibility with pricing, but creative packaging can be a greater benefit—to the company as well as to the client—than giving ‘Package A’ for the ‘Package C’ price,” he says. “When a business chronically discounts and offers lower prices as a standard, attempting to get back to standard pricing once the market corrects is difficult to impossible.”
Be creative. While in negotiations for larger groups, especially when it looks as if they may go elsewhere, Rice dangles a complimentary go-kart sponsorship for the season. To sweeten the pot, the group planner designs one go-kart in the company’s colors and logo. “Usually, we have bodies that need to be repainted every year, so we’d have the expense anyway,” he says.
Get them coming back. To earn repeat business, try to book the group’s next activity at the current one, Bindelglass says. Explain that you can lock them into this year’s prices if they sign today.
Also increase the FEC’s attractiveness by building a rapport with customers: Hold their hand on the event day, mail a thank-you card immediately afterward, and send the group leader a $10 game card on her birthday. “Keep that relationship going,” Bindelglass urges.
Contact Contributing Editor Mike Bederka at mbederka@IAAPA.org.
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