Nexion Sales Tips for Travel Agents
Written By: Cris De Souza, Vice President, Sales & Marketing – Nexion Travel Group
Networking is all about building relationships. Networking is also all about creating leads, or prospects, that can turn into clients or strategic partners. As a luxury travel advisor, your prospecting strategy should include networking as a lead generation activity.
We also know that networking can be hard work and requires a strategy. In this month’s column, I’ll share five proven networking best practices that will help you hone your luxury travel sales skills.
1. Take full advantage of networking events. Networking events require time and effort, but they can be fully rewarding if approached with a plan. Treat them like you’re working with clients; remember that everyone is a prospect, and everyone is a potential strategic partner. Be a resource and help where you can, if possible, as this will mutually benefit you and others you’re networking with. Note that educational events and FAMs, such as Nexion’s LuxTravel and Luxury specialty events, are excellent for networking. Here you can develop key relationships with other luxury travel advisors as well as key luxury preferred suppliers.
When attending an event, your pre-arrival plan should include:
2. Know your elevator speech and be ready to share it. Networking requires preparation, and every travel partner should be prepared with his or her elevator speech, especially when networking. My friend Dan Chappelle says that affluent consumers increasingly want to understand and align with the values of those they do business with. Include your values in your 30-second pitch about yourself and about the services you provide. At Nexion Travel Group, our Business Development and Education team partners with our members to craft a winning elevator pitch and develop a networking pre-plan and post-plan to maximize time and effectiveness.
3. Follow up is key. After a networking or educational event, immediate follow up is essential to your prospecting plan. Remember that everyone is a prospect or a potential strategic partner who can refer you, be a resource and help in other ways. This follow up should include:
4. Continually review your prospecting plan, including networking initiatives and events, and tweak as necessary. It’s important for travel advisors to actively network on a continuous basis through a variety of channels. A few more ideas to gain prospects and strategic partners through networking:
5. Always share your value as a travel advisor and your brand when networking. Today’s affluent travelers want exclusive, curated experiences that are truly customized, immersive and authentic. They also seek an intelligent advisor to cut through the clutter and make recommendations throughout the travel cycle. Don’t lead with the product but instead with the experiences you can provide. (Selling the product, no matter how luxurious, also makes it easy for someone to book directly with the supplier or online.)
With a bit of preparation, persistent networking and thorough follow-up, you’ll be on your way to adding more luxury prospects in no time, which then equates to personal connections who turn into loyal clients. Loyal clients, in turn, trust in your services and bring a big book of business.
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