Many of us have become aware of our status as data points and demographics rather than the humans we really are. However, we each have the power to turn the tide in countless small but important ways.
In our own little corners of the world, from the desk of a travel consultant or the podium of presentation, we have many opportunities to re-humanize and reconnect. Here are five simple ways specific to travel.
1. The Why Behind the What. When a client asks for prices or deals, there’s a deeper human reason than just information fulfillment. So, before you touch those keys make a human connection:
“…that’s a wonderful destination. But, do you mind if I ask why it interests you?”
Machines never ask that question. They always believe any request: data in – data out. Asking “why” is a simple way of expressing genuine human concern and making a connection.
2. Start with Desires. We all have needs: food, shelter, money to pay the rent, etc. As humans, we place our desires in a very different part of our hearts. While your clients might say they “need a vacation,” that’s not what they actually mean.
They NEED a price or a booking. They DESIRE to hold hands with a loved one on a beach. They DESIRE to see the sparkle in a child’s eye at Disneyland. They DESIRE family time, or to see something beautiful. The NEEDS are important, but DESIRES come from the heart.
3. Express Gratitude. There is no doubt: your clients have limitless choices for how and where they purchase travel. Always tell them – really tell them – how grateful you are for their business.
If you don’t quite feel it yet, stop and think about it: they are bombarded by advertising, website popups, credit card stuffers, and more all telling them that using a travel agency is an old-fashioned bad idea. And yet, through all of that: they still bought from you. Be grateful.
4. Pay It Forward (and Backward). Every business hopes customers will find them. Everyone who has a job depends on the success of their employer so they can care for their own families. If a client has just helped you by buying a cruise, ask how you can help them or their business through referrals, joint promotions, or by becoming a client yourself. Better yet, start helping before the sales arrive and pay it forward. Either way, real human connections are formed and the tide continues to turn.
5. People, Not Prospects. Decades of bad sales training and impersonal marketing have resulted in a ridiculous but common vocabulary. Are you really just a prospect, consumer, end-user, subscriber, gatekeeper, decision-maker, shopper, stakeholder, customer or lead?
Those harmless words all have a purpose in the world of data. But in the real world, they separate us from who we truly are. We are people. We are humans. We all have needs, desires, troubles and triumphs.
Bit by bit, person by person, we can re-humanize and reconnect. These five simple tips might help you sell another cruise. But if you keep it up, you just might change the world.
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