The C Word with Jessica Lorimer

The C word cancellations. Podcast. We're in season eight, we are doing episode four fighting back against coronavirus. Cancellations galore and so many people are freaking out. They are losing thousands and thousands in revenue. And I thought, right, something needed to be done. So I reached out. One of the best people that I know when it comes to sales and retentions, Jessica Lorimer, guided me through so much over the last couple of years. How to grow a business, how to scale a business, how to do new business, phone calls in an area that I've never had to do before. And she has helped the hospitality community and the boostly Academy members from day one.

It's been a really difficult couple of weeks for a lot of people and in all honesty, those of you who are in the hospitality industry, I think, you know, when I started looking at how coronavirus is going to impact our economy, you guys were the only group that I genuinely had sympathy for. So please know that, you know, this is a tough time. You will make it through. It might not feel like that right now.

I think the main thing, and we've got a lot of people who are in the boost, the academy world are in the hospitality community. A lot of people have rental properties, so self catering and obviously when you've got a bed and breakfast or a hotel, you've got, you know, 48, 72 hour window which, which is kind of normal but with, with rental accommodation it's different. You can have very strict which is, you know, a month or even there's no cancellation, you have to pay the full amount. And I think the, the balancing act this week has been looking after your business but not coming off as being a dick because it is a global pandemic going on right now. What advice, if any, do you have for somebody who is st predicament? What could you be saying? What could you be doing to keep the guest happy but also as well looking after you and your business and your cash flow?

One is don't be a dick should always be an integral business rule because there is nothing that will screw your business quicker. Even in a climate like we're in at the moment, which is relatively unsteady and uncertain in terms of travel and things like that, than behaving badly. Because what happens is that when business owners generate goodwill from customers, customers will be loyal, they'll be patient, they will try and come to negotiated resolution. When we behave like a bit of a pillar, what happens is customers walk away and the average unhappy customer will tell 10 other people about a bad experience. But the average person who's happy with an experience will probably tell between one and three. So you've actually got a huge increase in if you let yourself get super stressed out by the situation. And whilst it's normal to be stressed in the current environment, cancellations, they don't have to be the be all and end all. Okay? So if you've already got T's and C's, the key thing that we need people to understand when we're dealing with them as customers is that we don't want to be a dick in this situation, but we also want them to understand our point of view. And sales is a lot about what I call mutually beneficial relationships. If you've ever worked in sales, you will have heard that phrase so many times it will drive you crazy. But as human beings, we are programmed to try and generate mutually beneficial relationships based on risk. So what we want to be saying to customers is, look, I completely understand the predicament that you're in, and I completely understand why you would need to change this booking. And the language here is really important change as opposed to cancel, because we are prepping them for what is to come. Okay? So the immediate thing we do is the empathize. I completely understand why you would need to change this. I want to be transparent with you, because again, this breeds trust. I want to be transparent with you. The terms and conditions that you signed state that and be clear, what do they state? Is it no cancellation at all? Is it no refund? Is it pro rataed? Wherever that looks. However, and this is the key bit where for the customer, it turns around and they feel like they're going on the hero journey. However, because we are in the situation that we're in, I'm more than happy to offer you either. Right. And this protects us from, you know, this, this means that we're in more control of the situation. If we give them an opportunity and we tell them what we're willing to offer them, it shows goodwill, it demonstrates that we're willing to negotiate. And it also sets it out really, really clear. You know, we have these terms and conditions, we're willing to negotiate on them for you, and this is what we're willing to put out there. And so you might say, however, you know, because of the situation that we're currently in, I'm more than happy to either offer you a change of dates, including, you know, some of our premium, premium times or whatever, or alternatively a credit for X when you do come and use your stay, or you could offer them A pro rata refund, however you want to do that, and then say to them, I'm willing to work on a solution with you. It would be best in order for us to do that to meet either on Zoom or on the phone if one of these solutions does not meet your need. If it does, just hit reply, tell us which option you would prefer and we'll arrange that for you. And that just makes it really, really clear, what are you willing to do? How are you willing to build a relationship with them and save that relationship that you've already built with them? And if the offers that you make aren't preferable, then you're willing to talk. You're willing to have an actual conversation about what can be done when you get on that conversation on the phone. If it comes to that, the important thing to know is that they are also human. They're going to be really stressed out, they're going to be really hacked off that they might not get money back, people might not be insured, they might have other worries. A lot of people at the moment are seeing a lot in the media. They're very afraid. We know this because everyone stopped piling toilet roll that you call, even eat. Like I was going to stockpile anything, Be green and blacks and more white. But apparently people do not have the same priorities as me, really, I guess, because otherwise we'd all be like raging alcoholics with chocolate issues. But you know, when you get on the phone, the important thing to know is that they are coming from that place of fear and that they are just like you. They have the same fears. They are worried about money, they're worried about their families, they're worried about what's going to happen. And it's quite likely that they'll have had bad customer experiences with other things. So other people will have treated them badly and you will now be expected to potentially bear the brunt of that. Come to the conversation knowing that it will make you much more empathetic. Okay? And that's what they want. They want to be heard. Ultimately, when we're scared, when they're afraid, when they're frustrated, we need the opportunity to vest. So when you come to that conversation, the important thing to say is right at the beginning of the call that my job here is to find an amicable solution for us both or a mutually beneficial resolution. So please, why don't you tell me what's going on with you and what your ideal outcome would be. Give them five to ten minutes event. You know, chuck the phone on the surface, it's fine. Like, they can just go off and they can talk about everything else that's going on for them and that's okay. They're not, they're not making it personal. It's not you. They know that. They just need that opportunity to benefit at somebody. And right now, that is you. Once they've done that and you've heard what their ideal outcome is, you can decide, you know, is that ideal outcome something I'm willing to give? And if it isn't, you know, if they're saying I want a full refund and blah, blah, and it's not there, then again, you just have to reiterate how unfortunately, you know, submission can be signed. State that this. Now, I'm willing to work with you on this, but this solution that you've suggested isn't going to be possible at this point time. Would you be open to exploring other opportunities that are going to help you? And that's it. And it sounds like a bit of a formal conversation, and it is. It is a formal conversation because we have to take emotion out of this. We want them to understand that we're coming from this, from a place of professionalism, that we're coming at it from a place of goodwill, that we're trying to build relationships, but equally that we're not going to break down the call and start crying because our businesses are under pressure and because we're frustrated, because that won't, it won't make them any more sympathetic towards you, Sam.