Marriott International has launched a new sales structure - Sales Force One – a companywide initiative aimed at simplifying the sales process for customers. The structure of Sales Force One allows the customer to work with one primary point of contact, who represents all brands and properties, enabling Marriott, theoretically, to accommodate all of the customers needs in a one-stop fashion.
Although Sales Force One is a national initiative, Marriott International is in the process of creating regional sales offices to better service customers through organizing individual accounts.
The strategy also encompasses the relocation of sales representatives from individual properties, in which they were primarily focused on booking business for one specific property, to these regional sales offices, referred to as home offices, focusing on a select group of accounts headquartered in a specific area in the market.
As opposed to serving only one property, these representatives have the ability to sell business for their accounts in any property within their region and, if need be, nationwide. Many of the smaller properties, with little or no meeting space, will no longer have on-site sales associates, while some of larger properties will continue to have on-site sales associates to handle larger and more complex group business.
All company-managed properties are required to participate in Sales Force One. Franchise properties, however, have discretion over their participation in the program. While shared service fees to Marriott International may be adjusted for participating properties, those same properties may be able to reduce operational costs by down-sizing their on-site sales and marketing teams.
