February 27th, 2008
A Key Travel Business Opportunity For Sustained Sales Growth
Question: What is one of the easiest ways to get a sustained increase in sales in your travel business?
Answer- track and monitor the amount of people you give a quote to versus the number people who buy. Look at ways of improving the conversion rate to sale.
Now this sounds simple but in theory hardly any travel business or any business does this effectively. But I am convinced after coaching 146 businesses that this is one of the easiest ways to get sustained improvement.
Please consider this example: If ten people come through your travel business and all get a quote from you for some future travel arrangement. Obviously some will buy; usually 30% of people on average. Consider the ramifications if you were able to double this ratio to 60% over a 12 month period.
If you can do this you have just doubled your business. What a great travel business opportunity this is. And I assure you it is possible.
So how do we achieve a higher conversion rate to sale? The idea is to have uniqueness about how you deliver information to your enquirer. The worst thing you can do is to give a quote out just like your competitors. You need to stand out.
The best thing to do is to add as much information into your quoting system to really impress upon people all the advantages and benefits of dealing with your agency.
You see there is more to everyone’s decision than just price. They need to know if they can trust you as the consultant, the agency, the service or product you offer them and whether you will give them the service they require.
Therefore to alleviate these thoughts your quotations should become travel plans of action.
What I suggest here is to make your quotations completely stand out in the industry by including in a professional looking information pack. This quotation system could include:
a) An introductory letter welcoming them.
b) Vision and mission statement.
c) 7 Reasons why you should use your agency.
d) Guarantee in writing.
e) Testimonials from delighted previous clients.
f) A brief bio about you as their consultant and information on the agency.
g) The quotation on their travel arrangements.
h) Any supporting brochures or flyers on the product you are offering.
Do this and you will stand out. People cannot just judge you on price alone. People now have the facts on how you will benefit them in so many ways. Prospects have price, service, professionalism and reputation to consider when making a decision to use you or not.
If there is nothing different about you, prospects will only buy from you because of convenience and price – nothing more. Therefore you will be committing business suicide in a price driven industry.
It becomes very difficult to effectively come out of the price spiral once you have entered. Because your prospect will come to you expecting the cheapest price and the times you are not their cheapest option they will often move on to the opposition.
You have probably experienced the situation where the prospect goes back and forth between you and the other travel agency competing only on price. You undercut the other agency that in turn undercuts your price. This is a dangerous situation for your margins especially.
So you see uniqueness is critical to your success. Stand out in the way you quote people. Put a big effort into getting this right. Uncover what is special about you and the agency and then shout it out loud. Advertise it if necessary and put it on your stationary. Then stand back and watch your conversion rate to sale increase.
Implementation
You must stand out from your travel agent competitors so your prospects remember you and see a point of difference.
Uniqueness gets lots of attention.
Include in your Travel Plans all the information that makes you stands out, delights your clients, and anything that promotes your expertise.
Include testimonials or third party endorsements.
Never just focus on price but focus on ALL the great things you can do for your client. A great travel business opportunity awaits you. Take action and see for yourself the difference this can make.