 All right, meeting partner, you want the business. You want to book that meeting. But when event profs are comparing apples to apples, how are you going to set yourself apart from your competition? That is finally what we are tackling today, or six ways that you can set yourself apart from your competitors. Hey, everyone, it's Leanne from leancolderwood.com. And I've been sourcing meetings for my clients for the past 11 years. And so often, the client has such a tough decision to make, because there are literally two or three or four hotels that apples to apples would be good choices for my client. So now they're faced with this decision of Eenie Meenie, Miney Moe, trying to pick what's the best hotel. And they're not sure how to do that. And of course, you want them to pick your hotel. So I'm outlining today six very easy ways that you can rise above your competition so that when it does come to an apples apples comparison and an apples apples decision, that the client will choose you and will choose your property or destination. So here we go. Way number one is providing value. And this falls on you as the salesperson. You have an opportunity to give that event planner something of value without expecting anything in return. So I am not talking about additional concessions here. I'm talking about something that sets you apart, that makes you as a sales manager memorable. You have gone out of your way to provide something that that event planner needs in their work, whether it's related to site selection or not, that they can use to make better meetings. So that's what I mean by providing value, giving them something that they can use. If you're able to do that, you've probably set yourself apart from the competition right then and there and you've made yourself memorable. Number two, showcase the truly extraordinary on your site visits. Now, event planners have been on site visits, I'm assuming some have even been on hundreds of site visits. And we've seen it all, the good, the bad and the ugly. This is your opportunity to really showcase the extraordinary things about your property or your destination, things that no one else would have or think to show the clients. So I'm not talking about showing the flat screen TV. We've all seen those, but trust me, they get pointed out on every single site visit. No, no, no. I'm talking about the electric tea kettle in the closet for the tea snob that will not make a cup of tea with the coffee maker because then in their tea tastes like coffee. So if you're a hotel with an electric tea kettle in the closet and you show me that tea kettle, you've already put yourself in the running. So little tiny things like that, that not every hotel can boast about that makes you the right fit for that program. Number three, ask the planner about their goals and objectives. You've heard this one before, you've heard it 100 times, but yet we still don't see it done enough. So as a sales manager, ask your client about the goals and objectives. And you don't have to use the words goals and objectives and sound so stuffy in that delivery, but you're smart. You can figure out ways to pull from the planner what it is they are trying to achieve from this meeting. And then you can weave that stuff into your site visit and into your proposal about how you're addressing those things. So pull that information from them. I think you're gonna be ahead of your competitors if you can get a good handle on what the goals and objectives are. Number four, recognize the client in special ways. So this is very similar to number one where the spotlight is now on you as the salesperson and it makes you look different from your competitors. When you take the time to learn what your client likes and what your client is about and then recognize and appreciate their business in a very unique and special way, they're never gonna forget you and they're never gonna forget your property or whatever property you end up moving on to. So this is an opportunity for you to set yourself apart from your competition. And again, when comparing apples to apples when it comes to your hotels and the event planner has to choose which one they wanna work with, which one are they going to choose? They're gonna choose the one that recognize them in that special way. Number five, connect them with other people. And I don't feel we do this enough in the industry as event planners or as meeting partners. Our industry is about connecting with people. And when we finally identify a need from somebody to talk or learn something, we don't connect them. So it's so simple. We connect them with the people that they can learn from that they can gather information from whether it's through LinkedIn and email introduction at a networking reception. Just pick up on those clues from your clients or your colleagues and connect them with other people and they'll be so appreciative. And again, it's not something that everyone does. So now you're gonna set yourself apart as someone who does this for people without expecting anything in return. And finally, be honest. Now we know when a meeting proposal goes to a hotel, the hotel's job is to try and make it fit. But if we're truly trying to fit a square peg in a round hole, be honest with the client about why it's not going to fit and offer solutions. And those solutions can come in a number of different ways. It can outline potentially the type of meeting that you can fit. And that client may have some of those meetings outside of this meeting they're currently prospecting. But also highlight hotels that would be good fit and people don't do it. And it's fair, you think you're highlighting your competition, but when I do need something that's gonna fit in your hotel, I'm going to remember the time that you saved me getting me to a different property when I required something different than what you were able to offer. So being honest and authentic will actually go very, very far and it will develop long-term trust relationships with your clients. So those are six easy and easy to do today ways of setting yourself apart from your competition and gaining that meeting's business. If you're looking for other tips and tricks on how to attract meeting planner attention, I have a great resource over at my website at liankholderwood.com. Just download the how to attract your meeting planner's business resource. It'll come to your inbox and there's a whole bunch of great tips and tricks that you can use today and attract more business to your hotel and destination. If you've experimented with other surefire ways of setting yourself apart from the competition and you want to share those with our community, please comment below this video or this LinkedIn post and let me know what those are. I feel that strength comes in sharing knowledge and would love to share that with our readers and our viewers to make sure that we're all feeling empowered in our roles. Thank you for watching this week's video and we will see you next time. Bye for now.