Sometimes our assumptions or oversights can lead to lost business. Here are five things that may help you avoid the Kiss of Death to your next booking.
1. I don’t want to seem “pushy.” Don’t book clients on the wrong vacation to avoid looking like a pushy sales person. Adopt the mindset of helping them with their vacation decision.
“Helping” suggests a more collaborative approach and positions you as the expert, sharing your knowledge and experience with them so they make a wise choice.
2. Making everything about you. It’s not about you; it’s about THEM. Using your standards to assess their needs leads to assumptions, doesn’t help them, and robs you of better profits.
Expensive to you may not be expensive to them. Activities you enjoy may not be what they like and so forth. Remember to ask what everyone in the party enjoys.
3. Not scrutinizing your clients’ requests. If you are unclear, your recommendations will miss the target and you may lose you the business.
Listen for generic terms. “Nice,” “good” and “convenient” can be interpreted in many ways. Clarify what these words mean to them. It will uncover important details to their vacation.
4. Presenting features, not benefits. Don’t read them a list of features. They can do that online. Differentiate yourself and create value by translating features into benefits to your clients.
Find the emotional triggers that motivate people to buy, and when you relate the benefits to the triggers, your clients will ‘feel’ the need to buy your recommendation.
5. Not following up … enough. Everyone today lives a busy life. They probably intend to contact you but get knocked off track.
Use a variety of phone calls and emails. You are not intruding if they agreed to your follow up. Tell them you don’t want to be a pest, and you also don’t want to miss the opportunity to serve them.
How many times? At least 6 follow ups – no more than a baker’s dozen. On contact #13, advise them of your dozen follow up attempts, and that you will assume if you don’t hear from them by (24 hours) you’ll have to take them off your list. No one likes to be taken off a list and if they ARE interested will contact you somehow. If you don’t hear back, let them go.
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Cheryl Gregory, CTM
President and Chief Strategist for Strategies4Travel.com
