Episode
#250 - Hospitality Meets Dawn Lister - Sales, Service & Stubornness
- Published
- Apr 8, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3145
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://www.hospitalitymeets.co.uk/
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Summary
This week, I sat down with the brilliant Dawn Lister - and honestly, I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to get someone from the world of sales on the show. And what an introduction to it this was. From wanting to be an air stewardess at 10 years old, to building a 20+ year career in hotel sales, Dawn’s journey is packed with graft, growth, resilience… and a lot of persistence (some might call it “relentless follow-up” 😅). Now Sales Director for B&B Hotels UK, Dawn brings a no-nonsense, people-first approach to an area of hospitality that often gets misunderstood, and massively underestimated. In this episode, Dawn and I get into… How a childhood dream of travel turned into a lifelong career in hospitality Starting in conference & banqueting… and quickly being moved out of it 😅 Falling in love with sales (mainly by talking too much at coffee breaks) Why she didn’t go to university - and built her career through doing instead The importance of early mentors (and learning under “formidable” leadership) Being told to stop calling people so much … and why persistence still wins The reality of sales: rejection, resilience, and finding the right fit Leading with a “people first” mindset - both with customers and teams Why hospitality sales isn’t about the product… it’s about the experience Some cracking quote-ables from Dawn “Revenue isn’t revenue until it’s banked” “Hope is not a strategy” (Dammit) “If you’re not the right fit, that’s fine, but let’s have the conversation first” “We’re all selling similar products… the difference is how you make people feel” “Some people told me to stop calling… those are the ones I enjoyed winning the most” Why this episode is worth your ears If you’ve ever worked in sales, or been on the receiving end of it, this one’s for you…