Sales trips: the sublime and the ridiculous

With some trepidation, Dan asked me to write the GM’s blog while on vacation. I couldn’t resist the opportunity to moonlight as a blogger while he’s traipsing about Paris, so it’s official: this is now the Director of Marketing and Sales' blog. Of course, having blithely accepted the challenge of writing a witty, yet informative blog (Dan's instructions), I’m now sitting staring at a flashing black cursor wondering what to write about. I confess, I did consider using this space to flatter Dan shamelessly in an obvious attempt to build my own currency before looming employee evaluations. But that seemed a tad self- serving. Instead, with a busy few months business travel ahead for my department, I thought I’d share a few random thoughts on the glamourous trips of a sales and marketing director.

Working for a luxury boutique hotel has distinct perks. Not least of these is staying in other fabulous luxury hotels when traveling on business. (Note the distinction- when I travel for pleasure the quality of the hotels I frequent drops - a lot). My recent trips to visit clients in New York have afforded me stays at the fashionable Hotel Gansevoort, 60 Thompson, and Rivington, as well as various Ian Shrager classics. Next time I’m in town, I’m dying to try out the new “anti-hip” Gramercy Park Hotel opened to fanfare by the eponymous Shrager. Throw in a couple of fabulous dinners at the latest, greatest eateries (Buddha Bar, anyone?) and it’s enough to make me (almost) forget why I'm in New York. Almost.

Reality starts gnawing at my New York fantasy as I cram my largest pleather bag each morning with the usual accoutrements we use to flog our product. Known as swag in industry terms, these include branded candles, CD’s, breath sprays, hats, T-shirts and more. Not to be forgotten are the glossy brochures, expensive sales kits, pricing sheets, catering menus and more. Oh, and of course the trays of cookies, muffins and coffees that I bring to appease each client. I’m getting a back ache just thinking of it. I generally split the seams of one bag per trip - but I refuse to buy one of those wheelie bags and drag it, and my stylish Opus-swag, through Manhattan. The upside to losing a bag is it presents an opportunity to buy a new one every few months. I am one of the street bag vendors’ best clients, and always have this season’s latest Prad-o or Gucc-y when I return to Vancouver. (If you’ve been to New York, you know what I’m talking about).

A requisite of visiting clients in New York is putting one’s best foot forward- literally. On my last trip, this translated into negotiating subway stairs and miles of pavement in the scorching heat with the aforementioned pleather bag crushing down on me and cookie platters precariously balanced, in 4 inch gold trimmed Kenneth Cole shoes. Carrie Bradshaw I am not, however. Two days and several blisters later, I found myself on frantic search for a Payless, any Payless, in order to buy $2 plastic flip flops. To the assortment of swag and brochures in the bag were added my offending heels- quickly donned before each meeting.

Every appointment is different with the ultimate goal, of course, being to land the next biggest client for Opus. Downtown, I’ve run the post 9-11 gauntlet of security at the NYSE (yet another pair of nail clippers lost to zealous guards). Uptown, I’ve swanned through the hallway of a fashionable make up emporium waiting to be ushered to the boardroom, only to find my meeting in the decidedly un-fashionable mail room. Sometimes people are delighted to see me. Often, I’m totally ignored. I’ve found myself shilling my wares in a travel agent lunch room next to an overflowing garbage can and a colony of fruit flies. Not an atmosphere conducive to selling luxury, but I’m a pro.

On return from each trip comes the task of recording and retrieving expenses. Accounting for hotel and restaurant expenses is usually simple - compiling the assorted scraps of table napkins with tips scratched onto them, and crumpled taxi receipts, not so easy. But that’s what a controller is for. Well that, and auditing each item. For some reason finance types never seem to understand the obvious business rationale behind an $18 martini. Don’t they appreciate this is the arduous price of relationship building?

All in all these trips are a definite bonus. Face time with clients is invaluable and the chance to see what other hotels and restaurants are doing in fashion-driven cities like New York so useful. Just don’t let anyone tell you it’s a holiday.