A Fresh Approach to Groups

As is the case with most agents today, your group sales strategies are probably Old School, which leads to failure.

Here are the most common reasons why you might not be selling more groups, along with newer, smarter solutions to boost your business:

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You have not declared a specialty or niche, and so consumers have no reason to seek you out. Choosing to be a group specialist is only half the solution. Choosing the type of group travel you will target cements your business foundation. Pursue your passion so your head and heart are all-in. Branding, marketing and sales will be simpler and more successful.

You are offering “free travel” to group leaders as your sales hook and thereby obtaining the lowest-quality leads. This strategy usually nets you group leaders who care more for the freebie than for the success of the group. The Tour Conductor credit is for your business, not theirs. Leverage it only when specifically requested. Never, ever guarantee it!

You keep searching far and wide for group leaders and coming up short. Because organizations don’t necessarily have designated group leaders, it is your job to identify them. Search for great influencers! Ask your clients for leads and visit local businesses.

You send out emails with big ideas and become frustrated when prospects don’t call you back. Organizations and businesses get dozens of big ideas every day. They are all cold-call sales pitches and are quickly deleted. Don’t spill the beans in an email. Use my “get-your-foot-in-the-door” solution and make friends with prospects first.

Group leaders keep letting you down. It is not their job to hold you up. Organizations hire you to efficiently market and manage their groups—or they would do it themselves. You cannot “set it and forget it” or you will surely fail. Take and maintain control immediately. Create the all-important Group Agreement Letter to hold all parties agreeable and accountable.

READ MORE: 5 Reasons Cruising is Perfect for Group Travel

Prospects are comparing prices and you are losing groups or slashing rates. The worst strategy is to offer a bare-bones, off-the-shelf, stripped-down trip. Then your services are rendered as nothing special, your value is minimalized and you invite price comparisons. Create packages that are more inclusive to raise satisfaction and increase profits.

You have success obtaining groups but they end up shrinking or failing. Even great ideas and strong group leaders cannot guarantee that prospects will buy. Your marketing approach might include releasing pricing first. My Group Launch Sequence takes the opposite approach. Build interest in your package before disclosing the price!

Want my full group sales blueprint? My Group Sales Boot Camp will turn your business around. Out with the old, in with the new!