Experience the power of a personal selling approach for the Travel Industry

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[Music] hello everyone welcome back today we continue our series study of selling the travel and tourism products the topic for today covers the concept and process of personal selling in travel and tourism about 6.5 million people in the united states are directly engaged in personal selling personal selling is still dominant in the retail travel sphere even though it has been severely affected by online travel platforms today we will look at four areas regarding personal selling what is personal selling personal selling in tourism and travel what kinds of personal selling situations are there and what the personal selling process is in travel and tourism first what is personal selling ing to the institute of marketing personal selling is the process of persuasion leading to a continuing trade arrangement initiated and perpetuated at either a personal or impersonal level but commonly confined to oral representation supported by visual aids it should be a bi-directional process in which both the buyer and the seller obtain benefits personal selling is a sale conducted by a salesperson a salesperson can be defined as a person employed to represent a business to sell its merchandise to customers in a store or to customers to make the visit they can be called by many names such as sales representatives or sales consultants agents and so on personal selling is also an important marketing tool for businesses particularly those that sell complex or high-value products and services the key roles of personal selling to a business include these 1. identifying decision makers decision processes and qualified buyers 2. promoting to the corporate travel trade and other groups 3. generating increased sales at the point of purchase 4. providing detailed and up-to-date information to the travel trade 5. maintaining a personal relationship with key clients 6. gathering information on competitors promotions as an element of the promotional mix personal selling is more suitable when [Music] the product for sale is more complex such as motor kitchen the product is more expensive such as house the product is bought infrequently such as holiday the customers is another business i.e b2b markets pairing to another key element in the marketing mix advertising personal selling can be more costly and more effective if used correctly this figure shows how it compares to advertising along the two dimensions level of complicity of the product and percentage of promotional effort spent in summary personal selling has many advantages and disadvantages compared to many other types of selling advantages are allowing for two-way interaction being able to develop a relationship tailoring of the message high customer attention disadvantages are high cost limited reach inconsistent message and potential ethical problems what does personal selling like in the travel and tourism industry tourism activity is an intensive effort required activity it brings individual selling to the foreground the fact that consumers have to go to the place where the service is presented makes individual selling more important compared to the other elements of promoting techniques for example travel agencies depend considerably on personal selling personal selling can minimize wasted effort promotes sales and boosts word-of-mouth marketing effectively a salesperson in travel and tourism is called a travel agent or consultant it is a professional who assists with travel plans making travel arrangements for both business and holiday purposes they also need to promote and recommend various travel destinations and ancillary products to clients they need to have extensive knowledge about various countries geography weather history language and customs travel agents get commissions on products services sold about 10 on package holidays and coach holidays zero to nine percent on airline tickets nine percent on ferry bookings one percent on travelers checks 25 to 40 percent on travel insurance and 9 to 15 on cruises here is an example of a sales consultant recruitment advertisement in leeds showing the duties skills and required qualities of a long-haul travel consultant typically the scope of duties of travel agents or consultants covers arranging travel for business and vacation customers determining customers needs and preferences such as schedules and costs planning and arranging tour packages excursions and day trips booking reservations for travel hotels rental cars and special events such as tours and excursions describing trips to clients and give details on required documents such as passports and visas giving advice about local weather conditions customs and attractions and so on to work as a travel agent there are some essential skills and qualities required including for example previous recent travel sales experience gds experience preferred good working knowledge of popular worldwide holiday destinations good understanding of social media exceptional customer service and communication skills good organizational skills with an attention to detail to be able to work in a fast-paced environment a strong sales focus and willingness to work on a commission only basis a successful travel agent should be an expert in providing excellent customer service the key principles of good customer services are 1. speed or responsiveness shows up in almost all studies as the main determinant for service quality 2. accessibility if a customer has a problem it should be easy for him how to get in touch 3. friendliness that brings us to the human side of the equation all service is based on human to human communication even the self-help kind 4. customer focused give customers undivided attention and focus on meeting their needs rather than selling anything 5. efficiency providing excellent customer service consistently results in improved revenue repeat business and word of mouth referrals in order to sell successfully travel agents and consultants need to have specialized knowledge about travel in particular they should be experts in many of these areas 1. travel information passport and visa requirements also medical safety information and knowledge of time zones 2. industry practice this is where you will learn about ravel terminology and abbreviations 3. product and service this includes how to match products and services to customers and sell these options 4. customers psychology 5. legal and compliance 6. industry technology they also need to be knowledgeable about these 1. geography 2. business practices and sustainability issues 3. sales skills such as the importance of meeting and exceeding sales targets and also about upselling 4. communication skills the sales situation to a travel consultant or agent is not necessarily inside a travel agency personal selling in travel and tourism like in many other industries can have many different forms the range of situations in which staff deal with customers and make sales in travel and tourism is vast simply because it is such a wide-ranging sector with many different industries customer service and selling may be carried out verbally i.e to face and on the telephone or maybe non-verbal i.e in written or electronic form such as sending emails and faxes broadly speaking there are two big categories one retails selling when a customer comes to your business this can be face to face or via email and telephone [Music] and two field or outside selling when sale person goes to customers there are five subcategories of situations one holiday sales for instance making hotel bookings selling cruises arranging flights selling tickets for coach travel selling excursions two requests for information for example check in and find the poor food on their recent cruise in the mediterranean times train arrival and departure times luggage allowances on flights weather 3. requests for advice such as what to wear on a cruise holiday visa and health requirements in destinations length of time taken to renew a passport 4. complex requests such as assistance for travelers with impaired mobility taking animals on holiday priority seating flight upgrades insurance medical facilities in resorts five and complaints such as flight delays poor quality accommodation [Music] what is the process of personal selling and how to act to maximize the effectiveness of the sale before looking into the answer we can have a look at these questions 1. how long do you wait till you approach the customer 2. who is browsing the brochures 3. right away give them time to browse 4. how will you start a conversation with them 5. how to establish a good first impression in a travel environment 6. what types of questions will you ask 7. how will you build up a rapport with the customers in general tourism and travel like most of the selling is a process that can be learned experts have spelled out the common steps of the selling process shown in this figure and professional salespeople use them all the time these steps are as follows 1. prospecting and qualifying 2. approaching customers 3. presenting and demonstrating products 4. handling objections 5. closing sale 6. following up sale step 1 identify customers this involves two activities prospecting and qualifying customers prospecting is finding new customers and qualifying is assessing their buying characteristics there are many methods that salespeople can find prospects including in retail situations internally or externally however one guideline is that not all prospects are true opportunities for a sale qualifying questions are used to separate prospects from those who do not have the potential to buy it also helps to identify the need and expectations of the customers the following three questions of the key to help determine who is a real prospect and who is not one does the prospect have a need for the product two can the prospect make the buying decision three can the prospect afford the product can you think of some questions that you can ask to qualify the customer the questions can cover their experience current expectation preferences budget upsell and cross-sell options using these questions the salesperson must discover clarify and understand the buyers needs successful salespeople know how to formulate clear concise and well-chosen questions to encourage customers to reveal more information about themselves consequently more of a travel agent's time should be spent listening rather than talking the four types of questions are past experience expectations about the vacation and upsell and cross-sell after identifying a prospect the salesperson should approach the prospect and start the communication one good way to do this is to impart an interesting or important piece of information for instance i think our travel product can meet your holiday requirement rapport building and first impression count it is the start of the trust building process for a travel agency it can be done by for example clean tidy office tidy brochure racks workspace neat and clutter free nice pictures of holiday destinations every customer is warmly welcomed acknowledged even if on the phone [Music] a cheery smile good eye contact call clients by the names tidy appearance and uniforms after approaching the salesperson should explain to the prospect what kind of product options are available to meet his her expectation this is the presenting and demonstrating stage this can be done online or offline using the internet or brochures formal or informal written or verbal this is also the opportunity to choose suitable products including preferred products and using upselling and add-on selling techniques and use sale tools such internet brochures atlas maps etc suggestions of a holiday itinerary can include travel details and costs it is also time to upsell and cross-sell by providing supplementary information such as visas health checks luggage insurance etc almost every sales presentation structured or unstructured meets with some objection rarely does a customer say i'll buy it without asking questions or voicing concerns obstacles represent opportunities for businesses to provide acceptable solutions to their customers travel needs and help clients to grow positive relationships with you the professional salesperson tries to anticipate objections so they can be counted quickly and with assurance the best way to counter objections is to have a thorough knowledge of the product offering so that a solution can be found that overcomes the objection common types of objections include price risk price cost budget quality of products and service trust relationship and stall means to stop or delay when confronted with an objection laer strategies are effective for overcoming objections laer refers to the four steps in overcoming objections listen acknowledge explore and respond the first requirement is to listen this demonstrates that you are interested in their concern and care about what they have to say the next step is to acknowledge your customers concern an acknowledgement can be something as simple as a head nod or a restatement of the issue the third step is to explore the concerns underlying your customers objection it is imperative that you understand exactly what your customer meant by what they said the final step is to respond only once you have a complete understanding of your customers objection can you offer your response in the form of a recommendation an alternative a solution or a next step designed to address the client's concerns and close the transaction here is another question how do you think you can overcome these objections 1. on sociable flight times 2. price too high 3. only twin rooms available 4. transfer time too long 5. resort is too hilly 6. in the resort no kids club 7. i have travel insurance with my credit card bank account 8. the insurance is too expensive here are some suggested answers for example an objection about insurance is expressed by the client i have travel insurance with my credit card bank account the answer could be some bank credit card policies can be good but do you know what levels of cover it gives and do you have the policy wording for experienced travel consultants prepare a script and be knowledgeable of all options of the products and services available are the key to stay on top of the game after all the objections have been dealt with it's time to close the sale this should be the critical stage in which the salesperson seeks to gain the buyers commitment to purchase even experienced sales people sometimes find this part of the sales process awkward one of the best techniques is to act as though the deal has been concluded the easiest way is to ask for it muzz jones shall i go ahead with the booking a salesperson also should explain booking conditions and payments methods at this stage ask for deposits to bring the sale to a close if the prospect doesn't object the salesperson can assume that the sale has been made it is also important to write the holiday order and ensure all details are correct the key to successfully closing a sale is timing there are no easy ways to know when it's the right time to attempt to close but keep an eye out for clients buying signals verbal and non-verbal that indicates they are ready to make the purchase the signals include clients using open body language making plenty of eye contact leaning forward looking at the computer screen looking at the brochure and getting out their wallet purse finally but not at the end you also need to follow up the salesperson's job isn't over when the sale is made in fact the sale is just the start after the holiday the salesperson must make a routine check either via phone email or visit to obtain feedback on their experience this follow-up call may also be a chance to make another sale but even if it isn't it will build goodwill for the business and may bring future business repeat sales over many years or referrals should be the ultimate goal of professional salespeople finally these are three activities for this session the word document is also available if you click the links within the folder of this learning session [Music] these activities are group and role play exercises that can help learners practice personal selling and familiarize themselves with the process and strategies that's all for today if you have worked orderly with us by the end of this unit you should understand what personal selling is what kind of selling situations are normally available know how personal selling relates to promotional mix and who and how to conduct personal selling in travel and tourism thank you for listening i hope you enjoy it don't forget to click subscribe for more to come see you next time [Music] you