For the uninitiated, selling Hawaii may seem like a daunting prospect. There are, after all, myriad islands that offer decidedly distinct vacation experiences. For many, Hawaii is a dream destination, a trip of a lifetime and one that should come close to perfection.

Agents take heart: Learning how to sell Hawaii is far from rocket science. In fact, there are several easy steps that agents can take to get the sales ball rolling.

First, travel counselors need to educate themselves on the islands, a task made easy thanks to comprehensive programs offered by the Hawaii Convention & Visitors Bureau and individual Hawaiian islands.

Second, consider taking advantage of tour operator offerings. Hawaii operators know the islands inside and out and often pay higher commissions.

In the case of Hawaii, seeing is believing. Agents who are Hawaii experts are adamant about the importance of seeing and experiencing the islands to sell them better. “There is no way you could ever sell Hawaii without having been there,” says Susan Tanzman, owner of Martin’s Travel in Los Angeles. “It’s one of those destinations where you’re just a dime a dozen if you don’t understand the differences among the islands.”

Following are eight tips that will help you better sell Hawaii.

Get educated. For starters, agents should consider becoming Hawaii specialists with the Hawaii Convention and Visitors Bureau, says Michelle Holmes, general manager of Travel and Transport in Omaha, Neb. “They really do a great job of providing incredible information.”

After you get certification from the Hawaii CVB, Tanzman suggests becoming certified in the individual islands, noting that Maui, Oahu and Kauai have specialist programs for agents. “I would definitely call one of the neighbor islands about becoming involved in their program,” she says.

Take advantage of tour operator offerings. Using tour operators is especially advantageous for those agents who aren’t very familiar with the Hawaiian islands, says Leslie Sachs, CTA, Point 2 Point Travel, an affiliate of Travel Experts in Los Gatos, Calif. “If you work with a tour operator and you get used to one particular reservations agent — you find one who has knowledge that fills in what you don’t have — it makes a nice combination,” says Sachs.

“They know all the properties really well, so people who aren’t familiar with Hawaii can rely on the reservation agents.”

In addition to offering contracted rates with hotels and airlines, tour operators also have policies that allow cancellations for any reason. “It’s different from the insurance that I would buy for other clients, because tour operators allow you to make changes or cancel for any reason,” says Sachs. “If clients change their mind and they want to go on a different day or change their dates, there’s no airline change fee.”

Holmes notes that booking through tour operators can translate into higher commissions. “There’s generally an opportunity to earn higher commissions through preferred supplier relationships,” she says, adding that another bonus is relying on an operator’s solid reputation.

“You know they have the connections on the ground if you run into an issue and enough inventory to get you what you need,” says Holmes.

See Hawaii for yourself. “There is no way you could ever sell Hawaii without having been there. It’s one of those destinations where you’re just a dime a dozen if you don’t understand the differences among the islands,” says Tanzman, who has herself visited the islands more than 200 times.

It is very difficult to understand Hawaii if you can’t differentiate among the unique cultures of each island, according to Tanzman. “I started going in 1964, and every year I go about five times just to do site inspections.”

Visiting the islands, Tanzman says, will help agents understand client expectations for their trip to Hawaii. “Some clients want exciting nightlife. The last place you’re going to put them is on the Big Island or Kauai,” she says. “If they want exciting nightlife you’ve got Maui and you’ve got Oahu.”

First-hand experience also enables agents to paint the picture of a Hawaii vacation for clients, Tanzman says. “One of the most thrilling things in the world is sending someone to the Big Island to see an active volcano.”

And, it is only, for instance, by being there that an agent can describe what it’s like to bike down Mount Haleakala, the volcano on Maui.

“There’s nothing that beats first-hand experience,” says Holmes. “Going fairly often keeps you fresh with what is out there, as well as some of the new services that are available. Maybe the first time or the second time you didn’t know there was horseback riding on Mount Haleakala, or that the sunsets on Mount Haleakala are just as beautiful as the sunrises.”

Don’t book visits to too many islands in too short a time. “A big mistake that people make because they’re traveling so far from home is that they want to see four different islands and they only have seven or nine days,” says Judy Nidetz, a Chicago-based independent contractor with Travel Experts. “They spend more time traveling than enjoying what each island has to offer.”

Holmes counsels clients that less is more. “You have to be careful of the balance. You can hop from one island to another but you can’t do seven islands in seven days,” she says. Visiting just two islands would suffice for a week-long vacation.

Differentiate between clients from different regions of the country. Travelers from the eastern parts of the mainland often want different things out of a Hawaii vacation than those from the West, says Sachs, adding that eastern travelers see a trip to Hawaii as fairly monumental.

“It’s a big trip for them,” she says. “They want everything all planned out. They want their activities already arranged.” Conversely, West Coast travelers take a more casual approach. “They just want go and plop at a hotel and enjoy themselves,” Sachs says. “If they decide to do activities, they do it when they’re there. It’s a different mindset.”

Qualify your clients in order to set a budget. “Hawaii is expensive for food once you get there,” notes Nidetz. “A lot of time people have unrealistic expectations about what the trip will cost. Because of this, it’s important to qualify clients in the initial conversation.” If clients’ budgets are limited, determine whether they would be willing to forgo an oceanview room for one with a mountain view or whether they would be wiling to spend fewer days on the vacation to afford that oceanview room.

Visit Oahu on a day trip. Although virtually everyone wants to visit the USS Arizona Memorial and Pearl Harbor, it doesn’t mean your clients need to overnight in Oahu. Peter Friedman, a luxury travel specialist with Unique Travel in Delray Beach, Fla., suggests booking a morning flight to Oahu from another island on the last day of the clients’ itinerary. “We prearrange a private tour to take clients to Pearl Harbor and on sightseeing for the day,” he says, adding that flights from Oahu to the mainland typically depart between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m.

Advise clients not to make the drive between Hilo and Kona. If your clients want to experience the volcanoes on the Big Island of Hawaii, suggest that they avoid the drive between the Hilo and Kona because it eats up too much time, says Friedman. Rather, advise that clients split their time between Hilo and Kona — or just stay on the Kona side, opting for a helicopter tour of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.