SELLING TRAVEL by SMP Training Co

GET YOUR SHIPS TOGETHER AND SELL MORE NAUTICAL VACATIONS! AN IMAGE IS WORTH A 1,000 CLICKS!

THE FASTEST GROWING?

ADVENTURE FOR ALL

PLUS The O&M The EDGE THE Frontline THE BDM

JULY 2011

In this issue Do you have your ships together? Hope so. This month’s Selling Travel has a special article on nautical vacations that explores more then the deep water cruising phenom. There are more revenues to be had in several other hulls on the water! Check it out. I’m also talking about the use of images to generate some clicks, putting on a Travel Writing webinar to help you boost your sales and introducing more tips and tools for owners, managers, frontline, home based and you BDMs too. Great guest article from Steve Gillick, Recovery Selling, who has just returned from Japan. You can now view Selling Travel right from my website – so if you get lost in translation somewhere in the clicks, head over to SMP. If you need help with anything you see in Selling Travel I am as close as your email or Skype button.

Best regards, Steve Crowhurst, CTM Publisher www.smtraining.com steve@smptraining.com Skype: smptraining1 T: 250‐752‐0106

GET YOUR SHIPS TOGETHER! – Nautical niches. THE O&M – What do you say when you hear this? TRAVEL WRITING WEBINAR‐ The write way to sell travel. THE FRONTLINE – Can you DAZZLE your clients? THE EDGE – Don’t do it cheap! Invest in yourself. WHY ARE ALL NICHE MARKETS GROWING FAST? THE EXTREME BDM – What can you share? RECOVERY SELLING‐ Guest Article by Steve Gillick, CTM. CLOSING THE SALE – The Assumptive Close. ADVENTURE FOR ALL – Your Gay clients too! AN IMAGE IS WORTH A THOUSAND CLICKS! WORDART – Tips & techniques. FROM THE BOOK – Idea #161 Movies and Travel. MANGA MANAGEMENT – Business Toon‐Ups for ALL! PRODUCTS & SERVICES – SMP support resources. BACKPAGE COMMENT – Something to think about.

Selling Travel is owned and published by Steve Crowhurst, SMP Training Co. All Rights Reserved. Protected by International Copyright Law. Selling Travel can be shared, forwarded, cut and pasted but not sold, resold or in anyway monetized. Using any images or content from Selling Travel must be sourced as follows: “Copyright SMP Training Co. www.smptraining.com” SMP Training Co. 568 Country Club Drive, Qualicum Beach, BC, Canada V9K 1G1

CT MAGAZINE IS FREE TO TRAVEL AGENTS ‐ YOU CAN FIND IT RIGHT HERE AT www.canadiantraveller.net

And guess what? I write a monthly sales column for CT and feature articles on how to sell destinations – PLUS I get to deliver the CT Webinars that are FREE to YOU every last Thursday of each month! All this and pages of top quality destination information too. Read CT and check for webinars Here.

As you know, deep water cruising is that niche that is no longer a niche. It is now one hundred percent mainstream. That means everyone is selling it and anyone can buy it. When it relates to cruising the word niche will apply to the many offshoots such as adventure cruises, small boat cruises and so on. Your job at this point on the page is to start thinking about which nautical niche you would like to take on. There are about 18 of those nautical niches to consider. Before we get into those niche markets, lets review selling the current deep water cruise product. There are tens of ships and thousands of beds waiting in hundreds of staterooms for you to sell. When you do the math and calculate the potential sales for each travel agency you’ll be surprised at how low the number is – especially when there are agencies selling thousands of cruises each year and cruise lines taking thousands of direct bookings. This leaves little for the average agency or home‐based agent to close. A recent study released by Amadeus suggested that large travel agencies sell a minimum of 300 cabins a year, medium‐ sized travel agencies sell between 50 – 299 cabins a year and small travel agencies sell between 1 – 49 cabins a year. What does this mean? Well for the home based agent and the small travel agency you have an uphill battle to out‐market those larger agencies and the cruise lines themselves. Naturally you must go for your piece of the cruise pie, however let’s see if there’s more opportunity for you in one or more of the other nautical offerings.

My love for the sea dates back to my study of those old explorers in whose wake I sailed when I was 18. The map shows my voyages around the globe. The mug shot was taken on the Oriana when I held the illustrious position of SPA – Swimming Pool Attendant! Otherwise known as a “doddle”.

To win your piece of the cruise pie you must continue to sell as many deep water cruises as you can ‐ focusing on the upscale market to generate decent commissions. To thrash yourself selling discounted cruises and two‐for‐ones is not really where you want to be. It is true, some agencies are doing well in this low priced segment – you just have to sell harder, faster and sooner. Choose Your Three: You can never be all things to all clients. It just doesn’t make sense. You’ll need to make some choices and here we use the Power of Three to help you decide. Choose three cruise lines – high end, mid and low. Then choose three cruise itineraries, three categories… you get the picture. What you will end up with is a niche within the cruise market. Your next step is to study, truly study and learn everything possible about your three chosen cruise lines and categories. Now you can market yourself as an expert. You’ll have your ships together! You could try to sell every cruise line, category and itinerary however this stretches your marketing dollar, your time and energy to the limit. Getting your ships together allows you to focus, target, follow up and close without all the stress. Assuming you have your piece of the cruise pie but want to explore other nautical vacation opportunities here are a few ideas for you to consider. Each one can be as lucrative as you wish – the key point here is that few of your competitors know about these niches.

Here are the other nautical vacations you could think about selling: What you choose from this list will depend upon your personal interest and experience. q Adventure This list includes deep water q Barges & Canal Boats cruising as it should be part of your Cruise Sails Plan. Each q Canoeing one of these nautical vacations q Deep Water can result in a high revenue q DIY Yachts generating niche if you focus, q Freighters study and claim it as your own. q Kayaks q Lake Boats Rafting a Nepalese river is not q Luxury Cruises a cheap weekend. Sailing on q Motor Launch working boats will cost your q Private Yacht clients $5,000 and up per q Rafting person. Adventure sailings with such companies as GAP, q River Cruises National Geographic, Quark q Schooners can go from $10,000 to q Small Boat $20,000. Is there opportunity q Steamboat here for you to marry your q Themed Cruises own passion with a nautical q Working Vessels niche? Themed cruises such as those focused on dancing could be a terrific niche if you have a client base to match it. The working vessels that sail ocean, lake and river are not cheap and the passengers go where the cargo is required. Freighter travel, given up by most travel agencies is alive and well and expensive too… chances are there’s not one agency in your area selling this. If you have clients who think and live adventure and don’t really care about that bottle of wine each night or the Baked Alaska, then you might be closer to a niche that is exciting and tied to historically to the days when those that broke from tradition signed on those tramp steamers not knowing where they were going. Different times of course… however the escapism that goes with freighters and working vessels is one‐hundred percent real. How about pushing those gorgeous motor launches that ‘rent’ for half a million bucks for the week? Now that’s a product you could sell. All you need is one group to fill the ship and to split that fare of $500K – works out to $5K per person.

The image above was shot February 1968 off Japan after a storm. Remember to use your own images for “been there, sailed that” credibility.

One thing you’ll want to do is this: ask your cruise clients how long they intend to cruise on the ‘big ships’ and take a reading on their ideas for going to a next level of nautical vacation. Remember you are trying to expand your nautical vacation product line. A typical move for a big ship cruiser is to try river cruising where the experience is much more personal. For those bucket list cruisers who really do want to challenge their mortal coil, find them a grade 4 rapid on a world renowned stretch of white knuckle white water. Kayaking with Inui in the Arctic might be fun. For the knowledge loving client, book them on cruises where guest speakers such as author Anthony Dalton talk about their lives and those they write about. Don’t be shy about striking out and going for it. Trying something different. That is your job. To find your clients new and exciting places to visit and to experience what the world of travel offers.

WHAT DO YOU SAY WHEN YOU HEAR THIS: “USING TRAVEL AGENTS IS EXPENSIVE!”?

I am hearing this comment from the consumer, the news on TV and also from suppliers. When YOU hear it and read it you must have a come back ready to fire off in the general direction of the source.

A recent trade magazine quoted a supplier stating that travel agents are expensive (as a sales outlet) yet they do a good job. You show me any industry that wouldn’t jump at the chance to have thousands of sales outlets that actually cost the supplier nothing to operate, that promote a supplier’s product in advance of any commission and invest 50%‐75% of any commission in running that ‘sales outlet’ and that includes advertising, emailing and promoting those supplier’s products AND boosting their brands. Remember when the airlines cut commissions to 5% then zero. A group of travel agents decided to calculate the outcome to one offending airline if all agents stopped selling that airline for 90 days. Well you know the answer. With no revenues from travel agents and with billions of yet to be redeemed frequent flyer points… the airline involved would have been out of business. There would be no way for them to install ATMs or hire staff or open offices in every State, Province or small town or village quick enough to sustain the cash flow. So… the value of using a travel agent from a supplier’s point of view – HIGH! A 5% to 10% sales commission or cost‐of‐sale to the supplier… CHEAP! Remember a certain cruise line that actually advertised ‘don’t use travel agents – book direct’? How about the Australian travel insurance company that did the same thing? Well they didn’t do too well after that.

Then there’s the evening news where the anchor reels off bit and pieces from ‘brand new surveys’ that clearly state everyone is staying home this year. Well of course the anchor knows nothing, just reading and putting that well trained inflection in their voice to highlight the negative points. They don’t bother to research or check the statistics on world wide cruise activity, or where those Baby Boomers are travelling to – so they just parrot the survey. They also don’t care about instigating a loss of revenues for the travel agency community. These surveys typically interview 1,000 to 1,500 people not a true representation of what multi millions of Baby Boomers and retirees are doing when it comes to travel. Then there’s those consumers who preach travel agents are too expensive, it can all be done online. So what will you do or say the next time you hear or read these comments? Try this: Suppliers: Call the chief, the boss the prez! Ask him or her if they want to continue receiving your business. Remember, you own your own business and you have choices too. For home‐ based ask your host agency to speak directly with the supplier. Television / Radio: Call in or send an e‐mail and challenge their statements and back up your statements with facts that people are travelling. Get yourself interviewed and go for gold. Consumers: Best not to challenge directly, but to respond with statements and promotions as to why travel agents are well worth that fee. Social Media: Get the buzz buzzing. Send it viral. Put a call out – is anyone travelling overseas? At the same time, be sure to keep selling your value and what you do for your clients AND the dangers of not using your services.

MAKE YOUR VALUE KNOWN EACH DAY EVERY DAY!

FOR ALL TRAVEL AGENTS LOVE TO TRAVEL AND LONG TO WRITE? Find out how you can profit from your travel experience, how you can attract new customers, more groups, publicity and even offers of travel! Over 75 minutes of tips, tools and techniques that will point you in the WRITE direction.

MAKE TRAVEL WRITING YOUR NEW BUSINESS GENERATOR FOR 2011 HERE’S SOME OF THE TOPICS: q How Writing Can Boost Your Travel Agency Sales q Simple Blogging, E-Books & Press Releases q Creating Chatter & Buzz Through Twitter q How To Create An Agency E-Magazine q What To Write, When And To Whom q Travel & Writing - A Dual Career q Selling Your Niche Articles q What Editors Want q Involve Your Agency Team!

th SATURDAY JULY 30

TIME: 10 A.M. PACIFIC DURATION: 75 MINUTES INCLUDES: WORKBOOK + 30 MINUTES FOLLOW UP

FEE: CAD $45 + Taxes

WEBINAR LEADER: STEVE CROWHURST, CTM, AUTHOR, COLUMNIST, SPEAKER

Audio will be VOIP – you can listen through your headset or speakers.

The FRONTLINE! Where it all happens. Where the sales are made. Where the excitement is. Where DAZZLE is the name of the game! ARE YOU DELIVERING DAZZLE! IS YOUR SERVICE SO BRIGHT YOUR CLIENTS HAVE “WOW! THAT WAS TO WEAR SHADES? WELL SOME DAZZLING GOOD FOR YOU! FOR THOSE SERVICE I JUST READERS WHO WANT TO UP RECEIVED!” THEIR DAZZLE… READ ON. Delivering service that DAZZLES requires a couple of things to be in place. First it should be understood that there are two customers that need to be well serviced and they are the ‘internal customer’ that would be you and your fellow agency team members and then there is the ‘external customer’ and they would be your clients. If the internal customer is not happy – then there will not be too much DAZZLE happening on the frontline. So, you need to DAZZLE both your team mates and those other customers who pay the fees, bills and put that food on your table.

Selling The Invisible Many times you will hear the words tangible and intangible applied to what you sell. The definition of an intangible is this: “that which cannot be assessed, felt, measured, or moved because it has no physical substance” and there are more definitions that this one – however this one suits the purpose of the article. There is a point when travel becomes tangible and there is a point when service itself becomes tangible too and both, in fact, can be felt and measured. The definition, when applied to the frontline sale refers to the sales process when you are talking about the trip to the customer. This step in the sales process is called ‘Selling The Invisible’. The components of the trip you just presented and sold, become very real and extremely tangible as soon as your

client heads to the airport. How they are treated at the check‐in, and by the Flight Attendant when boarding the flight, the take off and the in‐flight service etc., everything you sold, has now become tangible to the traveller. And there’s more! The hotel you suggested – the lobby, the welcome, their room, the first sleep… what you sold, just became tangible. You get the picture. The DAZZLE in what you do happens when what your client experiences exactly what you told and sold. Of course you have no control over the weather, or the level of service your client will receive along their journey. In actual fact, it takes hundreds of people to be on their game at each and every interaction with your clients if your clients are to return DAZZLED with the vacation you arranged.

It takes hundreds of people to be on their game at each and every interaction with your clients if your clients are to return DAZZLED with the vacation you arranged. Service does not come in various widths, sizes and degrees. Service at it’s best, is simply 100%. That’s it. Excellence is not 110%. Excellence is 100%. Excellence is not ‘going the extra mile’ – that extra mile is included in the 100%. To truly DAZZLE a customer with your service, all you have to do is deliver what you are supposed to deliver and what your client is expecting – YOUR BEST. That ‘best’ must then be at the level of Excellence or 100%. Now it’s true to say that most customers (that’s you and me too!) are used to poor service and middle of the road service. Anything above reasonable service is a bonus. WOW! Your clients would feel like a Million Dollars if they received service at the DAZZLE level. As the graph depicts, if you cannot find it in you to deliver service excellence, then best you either stay home or learn your craft. No use turning up to offer Yawn Level service is there? So if you plan on DAZZLING your clients you’ll need a plan and a pair of shades to get there. Here we go:

THE DAZZLE PLAN

1. Everyone talks about product knowledge however few frontline counsellors if any have actually gone the distance to truly study their preferred suppliers. If you do this, you will rise head and shoulders above the competition. To be the best means you have read the main brochures from cover to cover. You know the content, the main features, the minimum age, the insurance coverage, deposit requirements and which hotels are closest to that special café.

2. Your focus must always be on the suppliers and products that make up your agency’s marketing plan. No use being an expert on anything other than what your agency is selling and making money on. Of course in your spare time you can become a specialist in anything you choose if there is an opportunity for you to strike out and do nothing but sell your specialty. 3. Reading business books written by the worlds best companies is your next step. Once again too few if any frontline counsellors actually read business books – do this and you’ll be even further ahead of your competition. Off to the book store you go and be prepared to invest in yourself. Books are not cheap. There are service books by Nordstrom – one is called “Fabled Service”. Then my favourite, “The Ten Demandments” by Kelly Mooney. All the books by Harry Beckwith are a must read. Start with these. Read them, share what you learn with your manager, ask to be coached to be best. 4. The next step in your plan is to be ‘well informed’. Sounds simple – and it is. When you are well informed, this means you are on the cutting edge of local to world events. It means you watch the morning and evening news online or on TV. You catch the major headlines, you know the world weather this week. You can anticipate. You can factor in. You are just on the ball, top of your game. You know what’s going on in the world you sell. 5. You’ll watch travel programs online or on television – from Rick Steves to National Geographic. You’ll be subscribed to all RSS news feeds that will deliver the news you need into your inbox. You’ll arrive at the agency early each morning so you can relax with a coffee and review those news feeds. By 9am – you would be informed, well read, in the know, up to speed, on your game and ready to deliver service at the only acceptable level – 100% and DAZZLING!.

Don’t forget, when you can deliver DAZZLE your fees go up. Clients will pay you more to receive your DAZZLING service because up until they met you – they’ve been paying fifty‐bucks for poor service!

DON’T DO IT ON THE CHEAP! BUILDING A BUSINESS YOU CAN BE PROUD OF MEANS INVESTING IN YOURSELF AND THE TOOLS THAT WILL HELP YOU MAKE A MILLION BUCKS. The life‐cycle of a new home based agent is not that long it seems. Some stay in the business only a few months, others struggle for a few years before giving up and leaving the industry. Quite often the response to my question “Why?” is something between – “There’s no money in this business…” to “I can’t generate any sales.” Digging further I find that there has been little investment in sales training, they are using old or borrowed software, no digital tools, a lack of marketing know‐how and a website that to put it politely, sucks! For my home‐based followers then – here’s how “we” can correct this problem and re‐focus, re‐build and re‐energize a career in the best industry in the entire world!

Okay. First things first. A website is expected today. It’s not a luxury. A quality website is considered traditional marketing – it’s no longer a new fangled thang. It’s in the box. Got to have one and when you have it, it has to work for you. So that means excellent imagery, great writing, superb headings and titles. You know what it’s supposed to look like. If you are using a template provided by your hosting agency / group then you’ll need to tap into the web master’s knowledge and stand firm until your website looks like a professional job. There are rules to creating a website and the first rule is to decide what you want your website to do for YOU. Based on your response, your web master can help you create the site you need and want.

I’m looking for real‐time challenges that stop you from being the best you can be. Be sure to include your email and website links. Thanks!

If you have no other options re developing a website then I’ll point you in the direction of www.weebly.com – it’s a DIY program with excellent tools and if you need help or wish the Weebly team to create your website – for a few hundred bucks you’ll get a pro site. To the statement “There’s no money in this business…” Well of course we know different. There’s plenty of money to be made in the travel business – it just doesn’t come walking in these days. Not only that, there are thousands of well travelled long term travel agents in the trade that a new home‐based agent must try to out market. That’s going to be tough unless the new HBA has travelled to more than 30 countries and has a specialty, a niche market that few if any agents offer. “I can’t generate any sales…” As with any business that thrives on sales and travel is a sales industry, it’s a numbers game pure and simple. The more people you talk to, email to, market to, the better the response will be and the more sales you will make. Popping off a couple of e‐mails each day will not do it. Chatting with people you already know, won’t do it. You need to invest in a marketing campaign and perhaps also buy into a local mailing list. A good old traditional ad in the local rag can also go a long way – however a one shot event will not get the job done. A repeat ad will go a lot further in building recognition for you. There’s also a lot more you can do – here’s a few ideas:

If you want to meet more people than you are right now, you’ll have step outside that ole comfort zone and strut your stuff to an audience of say 20 to 50 people. Some new HBAs make the mistake of going to senior homes to entertain the dear souls who are there. The trouble is these seniors are not travelling. You can still visit seniors homes and chat with them and you do that for a different reason. This is not a selling situation. You must sell yourself as a speaker, a presenter and you must pay for a professional publicity shot of yourself versus having a buddy shoot a picture of you on their cell phone! Not good. Next, invest a few hundred dollars in the best venue for your event. A hotel can offer whatever you want and need. A library can too and for much less. There are other venues such as museums and art galleries too. When you use these Good evening everyone… are types of venues you can use wording such as The ART of you ready for a trip of a Travel. If you have an adventure niche you would go with: lifetime? The ART of Adventure Travel. Learning to Present Not everyone can stand up in front of a room full of people and speak. So if you can do this, you will be ahead of the local game as so many travel agents seem to shy away from the public speaking business‐building activity. Presentation Tools You may need to purchase your own LCD projector ‐ plan If you want to sell a million dollars of travel you’ll on spending $500 + but not too much more. You will need need to sell high‐end products. No use working in a laptop and as you know, a mini 10” laptop can be bought the two for one cruise market, or low cost air travel. for under $300. You’ll need to seek out the products that sell for fifty grand and up. That would be luxury cruises. High PowerPoint end safaris. Hotels that sell for $10,000 a night. This program can be purchased as a stand alone software Imagine you are selling this type of travel product or if you buy MS Office it will be included along with MS and imagine your customer list and who they are. Word and Outlook. The thing about PowerPoint is that so Now look in the mirror. Do YOU look like a million many people know how NOT to use it. So, here’s where bucks? Hair, clothes, style… are you in the game or you’ll need to invest in some training and learn how to what? If you need a makeover – invest in yourself. create a fantastic PowerPoint that will capture your Git ‘er done and come out selling. audience’s attention. Presentation Style What is one‐million in sales anyway? Try 33 At this stage you have all the tools you need to deliver a trips valued at $30,000, OR two world cruise terrific presentation. Your presentation style is all cabins at $500,000, OR… thirty three hundred important. Once again invest in training that can improve air bookings at $300 each!! Stick with the your presentation skills. Be humourous not funny. Be well high‐end, live long, travel, spend your informed not boastful. Deliver quality information and commissions! learn how to ask for deposits.

THERE ARE OVER 350 NICHE MARKET ACTIVITIES IN THE TRAVEL & TOURISM INDUSTRY, NOT TO MENTION EACH AND EVERY COUNTRY, BEACH, LIFESTYLE AND MODE OF TRANSPORTATION BEING A NICHE. MY QUESTION IS: HOW CAN THERE BE SO MANY FASTEST GROWING NICHES? SOME FACTS AND FIGURES AS TO WHY MIGHT HELP ‐ MIND YOU A NICHE MOVING FROM 2 SALES TO 15 WOULD LOOK IMPRESSIVE IN ANY LANGUAGE. LET’S GET PAST THE FLUFFY COMMENTS AND GO WITH THE TRAVEL PASSION THAT CAN REALLY DRIVE YOUR SALES. According to most trade press… Medical Tourism is one of the fastest growing niches. Just caught a glimpse about Minority Travel also being fast growing. Cruising is always growing, at least in the number of new builds… and Eco‐Tourism, Green Tourism, Sustainable Tourism (so many labels for this one) also growing, and fast too. So what’s a travel agency owner to do when trying to plan the next step for increasing revenues? So many niches, so little time! Here’s a couple of ideas.

#1: Forget all you read about every conceivable tourism ‘this & that’ being the fastest growing. Concentrate on what you know and love. Now, if you don’t actually have a travel passion, be it a place, a route, a travel style, destination or activity then hold on – we’ll get to your challenge in a moment. For those that do – that’s all you need to build your niche. Mind you, you really must know your niche well. If there’s a thousand things to know about your niche – then you must know them all.

#2: For my no‐niche readers ‐ it’s hard to imagine that anyone in the travel business not having a particular travel passion. If it’s true that you don’t, and you feel you need a niche, then it will be a cold hearted business decision – and that’s okay. It simply means studying which niche is actually the fastest growing and then deciding if you can actually sell it. #3: The Niche Within The Niche is where you might want to look. That’s right. There are riches in the niches within the niches and yet few agents look further than the original niche.

Let’s go with weddings and honeymoons. Divorces are down – it’s no longer 1 in 2. Marriages are up and still happening and yes there’s a whole bunch of young people working their way towards getting married. So the client base is there for many many years to come. The niche within such a niche could be the wedding destination. Most North American agencies are flogging the Caribbean, European agencies have all those historical sites to focus on, then there’s the extreme version as in Bungy Weddings, Snorkelling I Dos and then there’s the Ice Hotel or that old motel up in Inuvik or perhaps try a cultural wedding in Japan. Kyoto perhaps and a room costing ten thousand dollars a night! Now that’s a niche! It’s much more fun to sell your own travel passion than an unsubstantiated fastest growing. Build your own niche and enjoy!

“My niche is panning for gold tours! I even sell small gold nuggets if my customers don’t strike it rich! There’s riches in them thar niches within the niches, that’s for sure!”

On this page we enhance the sales relationship between supplier BDMs and the travel agent. Outcome: faster, quicker, larger, higher revenue sales!

SO WHAT DO YOU KNOW THAT YOU CAN SHARE WITH YOUR AGENCY ACCOUNTS AND WHAT DATA DO YOU HAVE THAT YOUR AGENCY ACCOUNTS CAN ASK FOR? Here’s the difference between making a sales call and making a call for sales. Your job is to help your agency accounts sell more of your products and services. To make sure that happens you’ll need to advise your agency clients about a few facts and figures that they can use to make informed marketing decisions. So what do you have that you can pass along and obviously with the blessing of your Director of Sales? Their Figures Compared to Others These statistics are always a heads‐up and jolt in the revenue wallet if the agency you are calling on is lagging behind the rest of the agency community. It could be they are not interested in selling ‘that’ particular product or destination or it could be they don’t know how, and yet again, it could be they just were not aware of the sales going on around them. The fact you mention it could be the wake up call they needed and you might just have helped them prevent a loss of business if their clients are actually migrating to the competition to buy what their agency isn’t offering.

Boosting Their Sales Through Data When you have the statistics in your hands it’s an easy step to show your agency account how to boost their sales of this specific product that everyone else is selling. The first thing to disclose is the seasonality of the bookings. Here you caution your account as to when the bookings happen and when they taper off. Then, looking at the calendar you can advise “Now is a great time to advertise…” and encourage the owner / manager to invest and if you have a co‐op plan in place, now would be the time to put that on the table. If the ‘season’ is over, then you would counsel your account to hold off – then you help them plan for next time – blocking time and money for when they should launch their ad campaign. With that done – you can move onto other products and destinations that they can sell now, today, this week. This Data to Dollars technique is a sales booster for you and your account.

The Sales Plan It’s been mentioned many times in the past, that as a BDM you should be able to work side by side with your agency owners and build yourself, as in your company, into their sales plan. This is an art form as many owners would be suspicious of your intentions. Some however will jump at the chance to have your expertise on their side and so these are the agency owners and managers you work with first.

Remember the BDM Mantra: “If I can’t sell it to them… they won’t sell it for me!”

GUEST ARTICLE by: Steve Gillick, CTM President & COO, CITC. steve@citc.ca It wasn’t the radiation scare, the concern about eating raw seafood, the myth about the cost of hotels or taxis or any potential language barrier that was deterring this traveller from visiting Japan. It was the crowds. “I understand it is so crowded there all the time and I don’t think I could handle that”, she said. “Obviously Japan is not for me”. Myth‐conceptions about a destination can be a major roadblock for the traveller who would love to visit a particular destination but has, in fact, handcuffed themselves against even considering travel to that place. Myths can also pose as roadblocks to the travel agent who just doesn’t understand the traveller’s reluctance to even consider the suggested destination. The old sales adage is “give them what they want”. If a client lists all the benefits that Japan would provide but then turns off when you say “Aha! Japan seems like the place for you to travel this year”, then you need to re‐think your fact‐gathering strategy and probe a bit more. Nuclear Concern: Fukushima, where the nuclear reactor melted, is 238 Km (148 miles) north east of Tokyo. Travellers could not visit Fukushima if they wanted to as there is a 30 km safety zone around the site. Most travellers will be flying into Narita airport, just outside of Tokyo, or into the new international facilities at Haneda Airport, which is even closer to downtown Tokyo. Most tourist activities are in the Tokyo area with day or overnight trips to sites such as Hakone (hot springs), Nikko (the elaborate shrine and mausoleum of Ieyasu, the founder of the powerful Tokugawa Shogunate in the 17th Century). Travellers usually include Kyoto and Nara on their itinerary and some go as far west as Hiroshima and Nagasaki. All these destinations are south and west of Tokyo. Lesson #1: In selling Japan (or any destination, for that matter), know your geography! Remember when the SARS epidemic hit Toronto and all of Canada was painted with the SARS do‐ not‐travel brush. Travel agents were incensed that all of Canada was being treated as if SARS was everywhere. A reminder that agents should not commit the same injustice to other countries.

With the recent nuclear calamity in Fukushima, there is concern with travellers about how the situation will affect them in terms of the air they breathe, the water they drink and the food they eat. These concerns are usually not something the traveller will hide from the travel agent—we call them ‘articulated concerns”. But it is the ‘unarticulated” that cause the damage. The number one unarticulated concern for all travellers? What are the bathrooms like? Followed closely by, where will I sleep? So a travel agent, in selling Japan to the first time visitor, has to keep some of these issues in mind. If the client does not raise them, then it’s up to you. So let’s get started.

As far as radiation exposure is concerned, current reports indicate that radiation levels are no greater than travellers would find anywhere else in the world. There are some ‘hot spots” identified in various areas (eg Adachi‐ku—which is north of downtown Tokyo) but even in these areas of concern the rule of thumb is to wash your food and take showers after being outside for long periods. This tends to negate any effects of radiation dust. Again, we are talking about areas where tourists don’t normally congregate. Lesson #2: World situations can change at a moments notice. This may affect visa requirements or health issues or safety concerns. Travel agents should be aware of what is happening, and check travel advisories and updates on health and also visit other ‘travel intelligence’ sites. This is part of the expertise and preparation you bring to the sales equation.

“…having just returned from my ninth trip in June 2011, I can attest to the fact that the food is delicious, the sake is wonderful…”

Airport Concern: The common myth is that it costs at least $250.00 to get from Narita Airport to downtown Tokyo. In fact, you might spend that much if you opted for a private car transfer. You can take a train to downtown Tokyo for about $20.00 but for first time travellers with luggage to manage, the best option is to take a $30.00 Airport Limousine bus directly to your hotel. The time, with traffic is anywhere from 1 ½ to 2 hours. Haneda airport is even closer. A Limousine bus will set you back about $10.00 on a one way trip to your Tokyo hotel. Lesson #3: Know thy transfer options! Remember that when you sell a destination, you are also selling confidence in YOUR ability to respond to all the questions your client may have. Be proactive and think of a list of FAQ’s that you could be asked.

Bathroom Concern: “Do I have to use a squat toilet”? A good travel agent could respond by using the Jerry Seinfeld approach and ask: “Do you want to use a squat toilet”? Assuming the response is “No”, then you can re‐assure your clients that western‐style toilets are just about everywhere throughout Japan. You can also note that unlike North American cities, public washrooms are free and in abundance throughout all cities (in stores, train stations, and on the street) and that bathroom cleanliness is the norm. In fact Japanese toilet seats are padded, some are heated, most have built in wash‐and‐dry functions and some even play sounds of nature when in use. Lesson #4: Know Thy Client’s hidden (unarticulated) concerns. If you already know that travellers may fret over the bathroom situation, then be upfront and address it for them—either verbally or with a FAQ or fact sheet that you have prepared in advance. Destination specialists are those who not only understand what a destination holds for their clients, but they understand what their clients want to know about that destination.

The “It’s‐too‐crowded” Concern: Now we are back to the original concern. A client has travel concerns deserves a few more probing questions. Do they have demophobia (fear of crowds) or claustrophobia (fear of being enclosed in small spaces) or are they simply under the impression that walking on streets in major Japanese cities is like trying to squeeze through the stand‐up section at a rock concert—where you can’t move unless the 10 people in front of you move first? Tokyo (as a case in point) is simply not that crowded. Yes there are 13 million people in the city—but it’s a big city. Yes there are times (we call it rush hour) where there are lots of people on the streets and in the subway system and you will definitely feel crowded. And yes there are major festivals at some of the temples (eg at Asakusa) where you will have to wade through crowds. But this is no more dramatic than wandering through the CNE or the PNE or Calgary Stampede. Every major city has rush hours. You avoid them at home—and you can do the same when travelling. Lesson #5: A successful sale relies on your ability to deal with so‐called ‘objections’. In order to uncover those concerns, you need to ask probing questions—some open ended, some closed, some direct, and the more you sell the same destination (along with the experience you gather from your own travels to that destination) you will develop a list of possible objections that you can keep in mind, and these will help you ease your client’s concerns.

Food Concern: So your client doesn’t like seafood. That is not all they eat in Japan. Beef and chicken and noodles and tofu and salads can be found on any menu. Even Western dishes (and French and German and Italian etc) are in abundance as well as good old ‘pub grub’. Of course for those who want to sample sushi and sashimi at its best, there is no place like Japan where the freshness and quality of the raw seafood (as well as cooked, grilled and fried seafood) is melt‐in‐your‐mouth unbelievable. Lesson #6: Sales is a process where you determine your client’s needs. Find out why they want to travel, what they want to do in the evenings, what kind of food they enjoy eating. It may even surprise you to find some ‘foodies’ in your database—those who watch the Food Network and are ideal candidates for your culinary niche market trip to Japan. A good database management (CRM) system will help you keep track of your foodies (as well as your adventure types for hiking in the Mt. Fuji area or visiting the snow monkeys or tackling a rope suspension bridge).

CONCLUSION: The sales process can be a great platform for you to establish your expertise as a destination specialist. Every tidbit you learn about a country, every post‐trip report from a client, every webinar you attend and every article you read, becomes part of the treasure trove of great ideas that help define you as an experienced and reliable professional. It is, after all, what you do with your education and how you apply it to service your clients that counts. Japan is an amazing country that has gone through a lot in the past few months. But having just returned from my ninth trip in June 2011, I can attest to the fact that the food is delicious, the sake is wonderful, the trains are running, the western toilets are flushing and at no time, day or night, were we pinned to the walls of a subway car due to excessive crowding. Stay on top of the destinations you sell and your clients will thank you for it in their travel evaluations and referrals.

Read more Steve Gillick HERE

THE ASSUMPTIVE CLOSE I’ve never really understood the fact that so many travel agents are reluctant to practice selling techniques. Mention role plays or simulations and suddenly there’s a cloud of dust, with over the shoulder comments coming from those hoofing it out the door, such as, “I have to catch an early flight…” So in the end, few travel agents ever truly learn how to close a sale. Here then is an attempt to explain the science of closing and we start with the Assumptive Close.

The Assumptive Close is based on you acting as if the customer has already decided to buy. This is how so many super sales people in the past and present manage to produce the sales and revenue that they do. They assume, more so believe, that the reason the customer visited the agency or called in by phone was to book that trip of a lifetime – not to just chat about the brochure. How would you act and what questions would you ask if “this customer” was going? Well of course your body language would be forward and your face would be beaming and your eyes would be glowing and you would overall be 100% interested and engaged. The Technique Behind the Assumptive Close: Assuming the customer is booking you move the conversation from chit‐chat about the destination or product to how many people are going, how many seats, ocean view preferences, which deck, date of the tour… in other words you are locking in specifics. “What will your friends say when they know you are travelling to Australia?” “I hope you have a nice camera to record this trip…” “How many seats should I reserve for you…?”

Principle Behind This Technique If you act as if something were true, the customer may well believe you. How it works If I act as if something is true, then other people around me have two choices. They can either assume I am lying or I am telling the truth. Generally, we assume people are telling the truth unless we have a reason to distrust them. We have beliefs in the overall trustworthiness of others. Assumption is a part of creating a self‐fulfilling prophecy, where your belief in something leads to it coming true. Not magically, but through the conscious and subconscious actions in which you consequently engage. Thinking “I really need and deserve that vacation!” leads to fulfilment. You can even make that statement to your customer “You really deserve this trip don’t you…” and they’ll confirm back, “Yes I do…” At this point you can use the Either or Close: “Shall I reserve tour A or tour B for you, which one did you like the most?”

Now you practice until you can use this technique and apply it in all situations. BUT THERE’S MORE…

So that’s one technique. There are over 30 different generic closes and it could be argued that not all would work when selling travel. That said, selling is selling and closing is closing. The art of closing a sale has been with us for centuries. Travel agents of days past used each and every one of those thirty techniques. Moving from one to the other, combining this one with that one until the resulting outcome was money on the table. Somewhere along the highway someone said “Hey business is so good we don’t have sell!” Then there was a loud cheer followed by a resounding crash a few years later as the economy fell off the mantle. Trouble was – few could remember how to sell and even less mustered the courage to try. If you are new to the trade and have a sales background make sure you keep that skill sharpened everyday. The closing technique changes somewhat based on the selling situation and location. Face‐to‐ face with all visual clues available is the best. On the telephone – your voice and words are what the customer is responding to. Email will make use of your ability to ‘paint a picture’ and through your words, attachments, design and layout of your email – will encourage the reader into action.

Let’s review examples of the Assumptive Close in three different scenarios – face to face, in an email and on the telephone:

FACE‐2‐FACE: Closing face‐to‐face is your best opportunity to actually win the business. Your client will, or should follow your lead, meaning you are, or should be controlling the sales process. To help you you’ll have every visual clue working in your favour. That means you are watching the clients body language, picking up on messages their facial expressions and eye movements are sending, and their verbal responses too. If you present well, articulate the value of your offer etc., then answer the clients questions, you should be able to move to the point where you ask for the sale. “I believe we’ve covered everything you should know… and you’ve selected this tour… excellent, how will you be paying…?” This is the Assumptive Close. E‐MAIL: Some believe that the words in the email do the selling. This is true to a point – and that point starts right after the client is attracted to the layout of your email. If the email is jumbled and just rows of text that are tough to read… you’ve lost the client. So, make good use of bulleted statements. Use short and concise sentences and leave the flowery verbiage to someone else. You stick to a clear and concise presentation with a call to action: “ If this matches what you were looking for please call me, or click here where you will be able to purchase your tour online…” The client retains the power here. They can click away, delete at their will. PHONE: Selling over the telephone is based on your tone of voice and then the words you use. Once the client “feels” wanted, that you care and they like how you sound – you will gain their interest. This happens in a matter of seconds. Now that you have the client listening to your voice, it is your words, questions etc., that will move this interaction to a close. The only clues you have are your clients voice, intonation and the questions they ask. You’ll need to focus on each of these sound / audio based clues and determine your next string of words to keep moving the sale forward. You will be listening for their words and phrases where they might say, “ I hear you”, “Sounds good…” or, “ I see what you mean…” or, “That feels good…” Here’s how you can move forward to the close. Continued…

Continued… No matter how your customer processes their information there are a few more fundamentals that every person selling travel should know about and include in their dialogue with the customer. 1. Never ask for permission: If you hear yourself asking, “Would you like me to book that for you…?” use one of your feet to kick the other shin! Never ASK in this way – the customer will, most of the time, find a reason to linger, respond with a no, a not yet, a perhaps – or suggest they must first visit their Auntie in another country before committing. 2. Always make the assumption they are buying this one or that one and present your question this way: “Out of the two tours, which one shall I reserve for you?” Yes, you are still asking, however the focus is now on one of the two tours – and nothing else. Everyone has heard of the “Fries with that?” question when at the counter of a McDonalds. If the question was asked this way: “Would you like fries…?” there might be a 50/50 split re Yes and No responses. A more direct “Fries with that?” will gain more “yes” responses simply by removing the words “would you”. Listen to how you engage your clients, study their responses and the sales you close based on the words you use.

CHECK BACK NEXT MONTH FOR ANOTHER CLOSING TECHNIQUE

TUNE INTO HOW YOUR CLIENTS PROCESS INFORMATION Your client will often reveal how they process information and all it takes on your part is to listen. AUDIO: An audio based client will say something like this: “Sounds good…” “I hear what you’re saying…” When you hear audio based responses you know your client is audio based when it comes to processing information – therefore you respond with: “Wait til you hear this…” “This is going to sound even better…” “The price will ring true for you too…” VISUAL: The visual customer will utter words like this: “Looks good…” “I see what you mean…” The visual client can be spurred into buying through imagery. This means you open the brochure to show images and with your finger on the sunset you say, “Look at this, can you picture yourself there?” Continue on using visual based language. “This price looks about right doesn’t it?” “ Take a look at this itinerary… what do you think…? FEELINGS: The customer who is kinaesthetic or feelings based will offer: “Feels good…” “Ah yes...” The client that is feelings based needs those same feelings responded to. When you hear the ‘feels good to me’ comment you respond with, “You are going to relax and enjoy this vacation – I promise – how would you feel laying on that beach?”

When you want to guide your customer and lead them happily to a closing situation you may want to study the art of NLP or Neuro Linguistic Programming. Here’s a book from my library that is excellent and there are many other books on the subject too. Search online for more information. A study of NLP basics will reveal hidden gems that you can use from better understanding their speech pattern, to their body language, you’ll be able to read their eyes and overall be better able to control the conversation. There are levels of NLP and we’re talking about the very basic level. At the higher levels, NLP is used by police negotiators in stand‐off situations. In a business environment corporate negotiators use NLP in various situations around a board room table to win, or lose, attain, give up… whatever the outcome is that they want. NLP is a fantastic sales tool – used wisely, it can help you grow your sales.

Adventure is where you find it, as you want it and at any level that your customer can enjoy. That means there’s a tour, a destination, an adventure for all ages and all customer profiles. When you are promoting an adventure niche, you should not only push those soft safaris, but also close to home adventures too. The extreme versions such as climbing Kilimanjaro, trekking in Nepal and if you are into it, the extreme expedition are also products that you as an Adventure Agent can sell. Most travel agents consider adventure travel to be ‘over there’ in a different country far far away. The type of customer who fits the adventure profile would normally be thought of as young, strong and very macho. That’s close – but not the truth. Here’s how you can increase your sales of adventure travel products. Photo: That’s me being a bloody fool (taking my gloves off for the picture) sitting at a picnic table in Canada’s NWT… the ice behind me is the Beaufort Sea. The mercury was down to minus ‘a lot’! Enough to freeze said un‐gloved hands!

From my experience, there is in fact an adventure for all. I’ve seen, as you probably have too, people in their 70’s and 80’s who can bound up a cliff face with no problem and out walk the youngsters. There are family groups that include children and teenagers who also like the outdoors and can handle it. One customer segment attracted to adventure product that is not generally focused on is the gay and lesbian client. If you do your research you will find that this customer segment is as tough and as resilient as any other when it comes to adventure travel.

So with that in mind, the fact that almost anyone on your mailing list is a prospect for an adventure trip – it’s now time to market. Never believe that Mr. & Mrs. Cruise Client will want to cruise every year. There is a time when all that fluffy travel needs to be purged from the system and ‘real travel’ needs to be experienced. Also, when it comes to marketing your adventure product, you’d be tapping into almost everyone’s need to do something adventurous, “BEFORE WE DIE”.

I’m sure you are aware of the movie “The Bucket List” and the overall implications it had on the travel trade. It was quickly taken on by so many of your customers as they created their bucket list – the list of places and things they wanted to do before kicking the bucket. What you are about to undertake then is called BTD Marketing…. Before They Die Marketing! What you will be promoting is that one last gasp at something awesome, chilling, nerve racking, over‐powering and almost surreal. What could this be? To get to the ‘what’ you must ask your clients directly – like this: “So Steve, tell me, what would you like to see, or do in terms of adventure before you die?” You could soften this a little if you cannot say the word die. Try ‘leaving the mortal coil..” – if that’s too Monty Pythonish… use the term Bucket List. “So Steve, what big, got‐to‐do‐it‐adventure do you have on your Bucket List..?”

If you are new to the adventure market, try, as mentioned, to create a local product. Most countries can offer rivers, mountains, desert, forests… even herds of animals from wildebeest to caribou migrating – look for that local adventure. Whitewater, trekking, walking… start somewhere and build up to K2! Adventure For All.

When you plan on using images to attract attention to your promotion make sure you go for the best photos or graphics you can find. The image you want might just be waiting for you somewhere on your supplier’s website. Also check out the websites of tourism boards and don’t forget to use your own images for that been there shot this promotion. With thousands of images shot every year by tourist boards and suppliers there can be no excuse for using poor imagery to promote your business. Same thing with graphics. There are so many travel graphics available either free or for a small fee. There’s also software you can purchase for about fifty‐bucks that contain thousands of images. Make sure you tap into these resources and secure the best image for whatever it is you are promoting.

The OOH and AHHH of it all… That’s the response you want to your images. Those sounds mean your promotion just made contact with the customers travel gene. That “I gotta go there!” response is usually preceded by the Ooh and the Ahh outburst. Then comes the click, the call or the visit. When you choose your imagery, test it out and show a few people on the street as they walk by your agency – or if you are home‐based, head to a shopping centre and do a test there. You’ll need a promotional intro such as: “Hi… we’re doing a response test to travel scenes… can I ask you to look at an image and respond with what the images makes you think of…? Or words to that affect. Then you flash the image at them and check their eyes and facial reactions. You will get some WOWs and some of those oohs and ahhs… and then you can ask, “If this arrived in your email – would you be inclined to click for more information?” You can target who you send which image to or you can go across the board and monitor for overall response. One important thing to think about is the ‘delivery system’ you’ll use. You can email the image, post it online and send a link, or you could use PowerPoint. With PowerPoint you can actually create a full multi media event for your clients to watch. Once completed you can also upload your PowerPoint to SlideShare and Brainshark for world wide viewing. Hey ya never know! Business can come from anywhere these days.

POWERPOINT is an excellent tool for showing full screen images. Simply insert one image per slide and then save the presentation as PPS or PowerPoint Show. Set the settings as playing full screen at a kiosk and you’re done. Save and send. When your client clicks on the attachment – your PPS will open full screen. Imagine if your customer has a 24” computer screen or using their flat panel TV for viewing your promo. With PowerPoint you can also add text, you can even narrate your slides or add music – so there’s the image and supporting text and audio and all of that is generating an image that is worth a thousand clicks – especially if you ask each recipient to pass it along to their friends. You can also use Flickr and similar photo‐based sites to upload your best FAM or vacation photos that truly show the area. Then you can send the link out for your clients. Be sure arrange the images so that they flow, and keep the number to around 7 or so… add a call to click and get ready to sell!

Quick and easy slogans! I hope you’ve found WordArt and include it in your box of marketing tricks. If you are using 2007 or 2010 versions you’ll need to review your Help button if something doesn’t work as shown here. It’s boring to some, but the one thing you must do is to review each and every font style listed under… err, Fonts. This is the only way to truly make excellent use of this fantastic tool. The next thing to study is each of the WordArt Styles you see on the image to the right. Okay, one more thing to do… now you review each of the Styles in each of the Fonts. Yup… this takes time. It takes dedication. You only have to do it once and then you can release yourself from the old and tired Times Roman or Arial font you’ve used for ten years. So let’s demo a few Styles and a few Fonts and we’ll mix in a few colours too using the Fill Colour tool.

1 2 3 4 5 A B C

Look at the WordArt Gallery above. There are 25 different styles to choose from. There are roughly 540 font styles in Windows – doing the math (540 x 25) you have a potential of 13, 500 font / style combinations. Make sure you find the fonts that will work best for your marketing activity.

If you think you need access to more font styles and you probably will depending upon the product you are promoting, you can click to websites like DAFONT.COM. At dafont.com you will find hundreds of fonts ready for download and FREE! You will click on download, then click on Extract when WinZip opens and then right click to Install. You will find the TTF font file on the drop down menu of fonts when you use WordArt, Word and PowerPoint.

As you can see with practice and a lot of combinations that include, outlining the text, adding a shadow and backgrounds etc., you can create any slogan you need.

Don't forget to check my website each month for the latest FREE Slogan. Use it as is, or as a template for your own slogan ideas. Most of my slogans are created in either WORDART or Logo Creator 5. Click here for those FREE Slogans.

IDEA # 161: Movies and Travel Sales

This idea is a wake up call that whenever a movie has a destination backdrop – sales to that country or area increase by about 25%. What this means to you is that you stay alert for those movies and then you market the destination right after the first release and then continue to pepper your client list with teasers until the movie closes out. You can also go back in time and use the movie title, theme and of course location where it was filmed to promote your tour, or whatever it is you want to sell to that country. For instance, going back to the late seventies, Shogun, a made for TV movie plus it played on the big screen and it went to Video and then DVD – boosted the tours sales to Japan big time. A more recent boost came from The Last Samurai starring Tom Cruise. There was a double whammy here – as the movie was actually shot in New Zealand! Both countries enjoyed an increase in visitors. Fast forward to Dan Brown’s novels The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons and a big boost for Europe. Crocodile Dundee as you will recall gave Australia such a boost they are still trying to out do what that movie did for Aussie tourism. Let’s go back in time again to Out of Africa. Fast forward to Harry Potter – do you know how many tourists have looked for platform 39½? We won’t mention those that ran into the wall thinking they could pass through it! The Pirates of the Caribbean movies have stirred up visitors to where this movie was shot. So whether it’s a best selling book or a movie, keep your eyes and ears open as to how either is being accepted by the general public. Then be first in to market the destination. Historically I can tell you that usually, by the time you get your flier ready, someone has already created the ‘package’. Sure enough, Harry Potter tours were ready and waiting as the movie hit the screen – and agents could sell them too. Look for websites like this one, where you can keep track of what’s shot and where: http://www.movielocationsguide.com/

On my way home from speaking at the Vacation.com conference in Las Vegas last month I had a 4 hour wait between flights. Usually I look around, check things out, study the advertising on the walls, check shop windows for whatever could be used to sell travel… and I didn’t have to go far to find my next New Idea. Opposite me by a row or two was a chap with a 17” laptop and he had what is known as a ‘skin’ applied to the lid off his laptop. His laptop was silently pitching his restaurant. So when I arrived back to my office I looked for a software or supplier and sure enough there are many companies that can deliver on this idea for you. See the photo below… I used their software to create a cruise skin. Once designed, you order it online and then apply it to your laptop.

412 PAGES 273 IDEAS 100s of VARIATIONS 700 LINKS TO MORE RESOURCES When you need a source of ideas to either implement as is, or to help jog your own creative juices, this is the book to buy. It took me over 25 years to get it ‘here’ and that story is on page 5. It was some journey. When I started writing it, the IBM Selectric was the word processor of choice! What a laugh. Some suppliers have purchased a copy for each of their Business Development Managers, host agencies have made bulk purchases for their members and individual agents have written in to say this book is their idea bible.

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I’m receiving more and more requests for training on HOW TO CLOSE THE SALE and that kinda boggles the old mind a little. Thought everyone knew how to do this fundamental thing. On the other hand, it could mean that there are more and more newcomers to the industry who need the training – to learn how to close a vacation, group or corporate sale so that they can do what they intended to do – make some money. It might be a good thing if you were to check in with your team during the Monday morning sales meeting and ask if they need a “closing makeover”. Just a bit of polish here and there to brighten up their techniques. A quick review of closing by phone, email and of course face‐to‐face. Everyone has a favourite closing technique and most closes have science to back them up in terms of how and why they work. So there’s your mission if you choose to accept it. Ask everyone in the agency for their favourite closing technique. Have them demonstrate it so that the rest of the team can see it in action.

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