Turning Shoppers Into Buyers

Wave Season, the busiest time of the year for the travel industry, is just around the corner. I challenge you to ask yourself a simple question. Will you be busy selling or just be busy being busy?

After the holidays, consumer interest in vacations increases exponentially. If someone takes the time to reach out to you, the odds are good they are actually planning a vacation. They may be just getting started in the processor they may already know exactly what they want – but the real question is, will they book with you?

If you treat new inquiries as though they are simply “shoppers,” you risk falling into the same trap that many seasoned agents have fallen into over the years and you will lose out on a tremendous amount of business. Conversely, if you assume everyone is a buyer, you will book a lot more sales – I promise you.

Don’t sabotage your own success by assuming everyone is price driven. If you always guarantee the lowest price, you will have a great deal more activity, and possibly a number of transactions, but probably not much when it comes to improving your bottom line.

Here’s what you need to do consistently to turn shoppers into buyers.

Require a valid phone number. Serious prospects will have no problem providing this information, which will allow you to prioritize them in order of importance: in-person, telephone or email prospects. If you call the prospect, you will start the important process of building rapport. If you simply email a price quote, you will have missed a tremendous opportunity. Remember: people do business with people they like. Let them get to know and like you.

Assume prospects will buy from you. Making that assumption will be one of the most powerful sales techniques in your arsenal. Treat shoppers as though they were already customers. Use assumptive tones, words and phrases as you learn more about prospects during the qualifying process.

Follow a systematic sales process to keep on track and on time. A simple sales process will help you operate efficiently and keep you on track. It may seem awkward at first, but it will quickly become second nature. Stick a post-it note on your monitor to help remind yourself of the steps.

Give them 48 hours to decide. Regardless of the option period, give potential buyers two days or less, which will create a stronger sense of urgency and work toward ensuring that you follow up in a timely manner. I find that agents tend to give prospects the same option window extended by the supplier. This is wrong on so many levels. When you try to chase them down a week later, half the time they don’t remember who you are. The two-day follow-up strategy helps keep you top of mind. It also gives prospects less time to shop your package to other retailers.

Follow these simple guidelines and you can turn busy work into profitable selling time.