There's an old tailor's adage: "Fit makes the man."
The idea is simple-Nice suits are nice suits, sure, but if you put a nice suit tailored for a 6'2" beanpole frame on this shorter and stockier body, it ceases to be a nice suit. The components are the same (and high quality!), but the terrible fit ruins everything.
In this scenario, it might also ruin your lunch.
The same adage has been ported over into the safety world as, "fit makes the difference." I can still see the sign from my college factory job advising us to double check our hard hats with those exact words. The best safety equipment in the world-life jackets, safety goggles, seat belts, harnesses, etc.-only work well when properly fit.
Are you jumping out of an airplane with a parachute pack that feels a little loose? Didn't think so.
Selling travel is no different: Fit makes the difference.
Selling travel is quickly becoming hyper-specialized and incredibly niche. While many of you may still find success selling wide varieties of cruise, hotel and vacation packages (and more power to you!), we also hear more and more from agents like our own Millennial Travel Agent, Jacob Marek, who only sells introverted-friendly travel to introverts.
Jacob is happy to sell a wide swath of products, but he admits to telling customers "no" (gasp!) and even giving up easy commissions (double gasp!) because it's better for his business in the long run.
Instead of giving customers a great product that will be a poor match, he passes those commissions on through trusted referrals and focuses his business-like a tailor-on making sure his customers walk away with a perfect fit.
At TravelPulse and travAlliancemedia, we're committed to helping travel agents sell better than they could have ever thought possible. The most impactful way of growing any business is ensuring good customer experience and thus maximizing potential for repeat sales as well as positive word to mouth.
Nothing does that better than providing the right fit.
Case Study: Cruise Line A is a Mass Market cruise line with generally above average reviews and a price point where it's very easy to say, "you get what you pay for" for all the wrong reasons. Cruise Line B is a luxury line with a brand new ship and you personally know (thanks to a FAM trip) they have the best food on the open seas.
Cruise Line B is better, right?
Well, objectively, sure…we can say that. But, what about the family with four kids that's just going to eat burgers and pizza anyway? What about the couple of college kids for whom a reasonable drinking package and similarly aged cruisemates will ensure a better trip? What about the recent retiree who has skimped and saved and will legitimately have no spending money for ad ons, enhancements or souvenirs from all of her dream destinations if she goes with the higher base cost?
Cruise Line B is objectively the better cruise line, and it likely will give you the higher commission, but the customers above will feel out of place, bored, stressed or otherwise less-than-wowed on what should be the vacation of their lifetime.
They're not going back to Cruise Line B, and (more importantly) they're not coming back to you.
TravelPulse was created to help you find the right fit for your customers by providing all of the information you need to make absolutely any sale. As you read about Visiting Tokyo for the First Time or 8 Reasons to Visit Maui in 2018, think about the people you know in your life who would love those trips-those specific trips.
Each and every day, we carry news, information and inspiration that should make you think about clients you know and love. "That's Kyle…Oh, but that's perfect for Jeff and Elizabeth."
Still looking for more, even more in-depth, info? Travel Agent Academy is one-stop shopping to understanding suppliers and destinations better in order to match them with the clients who need to experience them.
You know someone who would love Belize or go nuts for a Palace Resorts property.
You just have to find out who.
In a world of infinite travel options, clients still have finite resources. Travel agents can help save them money and make the booking process easier, yes (and do so!), but there is no better way to book the trip of a lifetime and provide the utmost level of customer service than finding the perfect fit for each and every client.
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