Unless you’ve had your head in the sand for the past few years, you know that river cruising is the travel industry’s hottest segment. There are plenty of new ships and itineraries in Europe but also in the U.S. heartland and the Pacific Northwest. River cruising is booming on the Mekong River in Vietnam and Cambodia, and there are several new entrants in Myanmar.

“The river cruise segment continues to grow by leaps and bounds, with demand outpacing supply for peak-season dates across the majority of our products,” says Cristienne De Souza, director of national account sales for AmaWaterways.

If you haven’t sold many river cruises, know that a river cruise results in higher commissions and happy clients. So this month, as the peak river cruise season gets underway in Europe, we offer some advice on how you can start selling river cruises or increase your sales even more.

Educate yourself. Most river cruise lines want strong travel agent relationships and do whatever they can to help you sell more of their products. Most lines offer in-depth online training programs, as well as webinars and face-to-face seminars and presentations at agent conferences.

“I am a firm believer that you sell what you know, and credibility is king,” De Souza says. “I would recommend that agents take advantage of online training programs from the river cruise lines.”

Learn the nitty-gritty specifics. It’s important to know the ins and outs of each river cruise company. Most will pour complimentary wines with dinner, but do all? Or are all alcoholic beverages included in the fare? What about shore excursions? How many passengers are on board? How big is the stateroom? Does it have a balcony? Can you sit outside on it? Does it close off when the weather is bad? Is there more than one restaurant on board? Is there room service? Is Wi-Fi included? And so on.

You might think at first that all river cruises look the same, but dig deep. You want to qualify river customers the same way you do your ocean-going cruise clients.

“It’s critical to understand the differences among the different lines,” De Souza says. “This way when agents receive a new lead, they can qualify the client and match him or her with the right brand experience.”

Actually sail on a river cruise. For Candie Steinman, it made all the difference in the world. Steinman, who owns a CruiseOne franchise in Fort Meyers, Fla., with her husband, Dick, became a convert to river cruises after taking her first river cruise in December 2011. And she’s worked as a travel agent since 1986.

“I loved it so much,” she says. “I came back from that with a whole new idea of what I wanted to sell.”

She also realized that commissions tend to be much higher on river cruises. “For example, I just did a group of 13-14 couples on a four-night [ocean] cruise, and my commission was about $75 per cabin. The commission on one river cruise can be $1,500.”

Her advice to other agents is to-the-point: “If travel agents want to make money, there are two things they need to do. There is so much good training out there. Whether it’s AmaWaterways, Avalon, Uniworld or Viking, they offer really good training on how to sell river cruises,” Steinman says. “The other thing that’s so important — I guess I’m living proof — is if you want to learn how to sell river cruises, go on a fam. Invest in yourself. Yes, it costs money to get to Europe and maybe $630 on a fam trip. I know AmaWaterways offers a lot of fam rates. But the agents are going to make that back selling a couple of river cruises. Once you’ve done that, you can speak intelligently on the topic.”

If she hasn’t convinced you, then also hear what Susan Shultz, director of sales for American Cruise Lines, has to say: “Once travel agents have experienced a river cruise, they really sell it to clients. And then they can’t believe the results. Through word-of-mouth and referrals, it’s a huge success. Travel agents are definitely finally getting educated. Ten years ago, they didn’t have any idea who we were. I would walk into a panel or tradeshow and they’d say, ‘I’ve never heard of you.’ I don’t get that response anymore.”

American Cruise Lines operates four small ships, including the Queen of the Mississippi in the U.S. heartland and the Queen of the West on the Columbia and Snake rivers in the Pacific Northwest. And the company is growing: two more riverboats are expected to begin sailing in 2015.

Know the difference between river and ocean cruises. “I think river is a completely different animal than selling ocean cruises,” Steinman says. “If you’ve been on a few big ships and if you know enough geography, you can fudge between Holland America Line and Princess, or Holland America and Celebrity. But river cruising is really a different product. They’re so small, the things that go on during the day, the evening entertainment, the way they offer food service — the whole experience is completely different. I love big ship cruising, it’s fabulous, but if somebody said. ‘You can go on any cruise you want,’ I would go on a river cruise.”

Pitch river cruising to your current ocean cruisers. Cruisers often start out in the Caribbean, graduate to Alaska or the Mediterranean, and then start seeking out lesser-known or more exotic itineraries. Many experienced travelers are likely intrigued by the idea of sailing on rivers through the heart of Europe or other countries.

“Over 80 percent of our clients come from blue-water cruising,” De Souza says. “It’s much easier to fish where the fish are, and ocean cruise clients are a huge pool of potential opportunity.”

Those who have sailed with premium and luxury lines might be good prospects for river cruising, she says, as would clients who have booked higher-category accommodations on contemporary ships.

Shultz agreed that most American Cruise Lines clients have sailed on traditional big ships. “I would say most of our clients have done ocean-going cruising but have chosen to look into something different,” she says.

And her company also is a choice for those who want to avoid taking long-haul flights overseas: “Our clients can drive or take a train. We offer secured parking in all our areas. Staying here in the U.S. is in the comfort zone for a lot of clients.”

Organize groups. River cruise lines love groups. With AmaWaterways, De Souza says, a group is only five staterooms, and agents can earn one free tour conductor berth for every nine guests who sail. Guests also get a 5 percent group-booking discount. Other river cruise lines also offer TC berths and discounts to groups.

Steinman has organized a number of theme and group cruises. For example, she came up with the idea for a theme cruise with famed chocolatier Norman Love departing April 25.

She’s also working on group cruises focused on wine and the Christmas markets held along European rivers starting in November. Steinman was recognized by AmaWaterways as the CruiseOne top producer for January 2014.

Most river cruise lines offer theme cruises. Among AmaWaterways’ offerings are 21 wine cruises this year, as well as cruises focusing on Jewish heritage, knitting and even beer. “These theme cruises are also great opportunities for agents to build group programs around, all they have to do is target these niches, and we’ll take care of the rest,” De Souza says.

American Cruise Lines offers theme cruises focused on wine, lobster, Mark Twain, the Civil War and many other areas of interest. “Our group business has definitely expanded,” Shultz says. “Our small ships also make it easy for clients to charter the whole vessel and cater it to their group needs.”