How Vulnerability, Honesty, and Humility Can Win You Clients for Life
Contributed By: Scott Koepf, Chief Strategy Officer (CSO)– Cruise Planners
Based on the title of this article, I may have quickly captured your attention. Or you might think you landed on the wrong page. You could even assume I’m supporting a new work-from-home trend. Some may believe I’m about to promote nudist cruises and resorts.
Take heart and relax—or for some, be disappointed. I am actually referencing a book by Patrick Lencioni called Getting Naked. The book highlights the need for those in sales and service to connect with customers by being open and vulnerable.
Lencioni says that those who get comfortable being vulnerable—or, as some people call it, naked—gain client loyalty and intimacy at levels other service providers can only dream of. For years, people have discussed relationship selling instead of focusing solely on transactions. When you build lifetime clients, you develop trust that comes more naturally if you stay honest, humble, and selfless. This vulnerability helps you win their affection and makes them depend on you.
This starts by you spending as much time as possible asking questions of your clients and not just sharing your knowledge but your full humanity. It is okay and even preferable to not know everything nor to have all of the answers at the tip of your tongue. Your advice and suggestions will be more acceptable if clients know the real you. They will appreciate your time and effort as you strive to provide the correct information.
Sometimes we think that to be a good professional travel advisor, we must complete every certification and attend every webinar. While I strongly support ongoing education, I have seen many new advisors stall. They often feel they need to learn just a little bit more before starting.
Travel is the best industry to be in because it is so diverse. It also changes constantly, which means you can never know it all. The beauty of today’s world is that advice and information are available when you need them. So, don’t use “I’ll wait until I know more” as an excuse.
Even travel advisors who have been in the industry for years lose sales on a regular basis by using this same excuse but a bit more specifically. For example, a client sends you an email saying they are interested in a cruise to Bali, and you have no experience with that destination and actually have no idea where it is on the map. So, you spend two hours researching Bali in depth as well as any sailings that visit there. By the time you respond to the email, you are ghosted, and you get frustrated and think the potential client wasted your time.
I recommend taking one minute to see where Bali is, then respond right away. Your sales improve when you connect with the customer immediately. All the knowledge in the world about Bali will not help if you never talk to the prospect.
When you call back, you can be vulnerable. Admit that you have not been there, but explain that you are part of a network with extensive experience. Show that you are excited to help them plan an amazing trip to Bali.
Now imagine this: during the follow-up call, you discover the prospect thought Bali was in the Caribbean and wanted to sail from Miami. That’s when you can “get naked” and share that you once thought the same before becoming a travel advisor.
At its core, Lencioni said, “Naked service boils down to the ability of a service provider to be vulnerable, to embrace uncommon levels of humility, selflessness and transparency for the good of a client”. Using the best sales practices and yes, getting naked, will indeed lead to lifetime clients!