TRAVEL SALES
Cruise Industry
PromotionTools
Advertising
Direct
marketing
Sales
promotion
Consistent,
clear, and
compelling
company and
brand images
Personal
selling
Public
relations
Unique Characteristics of Personal Selling
• Most effective in building buyer preference, conviction,
and purchase
• Gives voice and face to an otherwise impersonal company
• Personal and adaptable interaction with consumers
• Buyer is the most involved in listening and participating
compared to other mediums
Characteristics of Personal Selling
• Requires a long-term commitment by company
• Can´t just turn it on or off like media ads
• Most expensive
• Not a Short term strategy to sell sell sell
• Long-term market orientation, customer-focus
• Balancing volume with quality service
Nature of Hospitality Sales
Prospecting: finding new customers
Targeting: decide who to give their time to
Communication: give information about product / service
Selling: make consumer want it, purchase it
Servicing: do more than just take money
Information gathering: market research and intelligence
Allocating: which customers get product in times of scarcity
Maintaining Strategic Relationships: provide planning assistance to clients
SALES FORCE
OBJECTIVES
Sales Goal: Volume
• Cabins, pax…
• All mean the same thing: bring in as many customers as
possible
• By Segment
• By Price / Margin Mix
• Individual level: Carnival - number of rooms sold
Sales Goal: Upselling
• To higher price point category: room to suite
• Additional amenities: airport pickup service, beverage package,
insurance
• Second-chance selling
• Contacting guests who are already booked
Sales Goal: Market Share or Market
Penetration
• Most important to airlines, cruise lines, rental car
companies, major fast-food chains
• Not so important for most restaurants and hotel
companies
• At the corporate level, the big players are
concerned, but at business unit level or
functional level, occupancy, average room rate,
yield are more important
Sales Goal: Product-Specific Objectives
• Asked to bolster specific product lines
• Need to sell more…
• Suites
• Honeymoon packages
• Alcohol packages
• Holiday dates
• Specific sailing dates / ships
• TA
• Specific brands, insurance, tours, airport
transfers
SALES FORCE
STRUCTURE AND SIZE
Combination-Structured Sales Force
• Organized by product, market segment, market
channel, and customer
• Carnival sales departments
• FIT - Group
• Domestic - international
• Inbound - Outbound
• Casino
• TA
• Key accounts
Travel Agencies
• Traditional TAs
• Similar to direct company
• Sales team salaried and some commission
• Host Agencies
• Host provides websites, back-end accounting services, preferred
supplier relationships, marketing
• Agents act as Independent Contractors utilizing their own book
of business
• Part time or full time or even have their own small agency
• Negotiable commission structure
Host Agencies
Determining Sales Force Size
•1. Group customers into size classes according to annual sales
volume
• 2.
determine call frequency needed per class
• 3.
multiply number of accounts by frequency to get total
workload
• 4.
determine average number of calls sales rep can make in one
year
• 5.
divide total annual calls by average calls made by rep
Sales force size
• Company estimates national market consists of 1000 A accounts
and 2000 B accounts. A accounts require 9 calls per year, and B
accounts need 6 calls per year. The average salesperson can make
1000 calls in one year. How many sales reps do you need?
• Workload
• ((1000 x 9) + (2000 x 6))
• = 21,000 calls per year
• Number of reps needed
• Workload / yearly call total of 1 rep
• 21,000 / 1,000
• 21 reps needed
Hiring Trends
• Previously, only older, experienced travelers decided to
become TAs, almost as a retirement hobby
• Now, the bigger agencies and the cruiselines themselves
recruit at Universities looking for fresh, energetic young
people
• Don’t say “Salesperson” anymore
• Counselor, planner, advisor, expert…
SALES FORCE TRAINING
Required Training
1. Product/Service Training
• Must be an expert on the product
• Always changing with new technology in
hospitality
2. Policies, Procedures, and Planning Training
• Attention to detail
• Avoid mistakes
3. Sales techniques
Two Most Important Qualities of a Salesperson
Empathy
Ego, drive /
motivation
Pre-Sale: Prospecting
• Finding customers
• Usually done by the company
• Website registration
• Inbound calls looking for information
• Kiosks
• Trade associations
• Travel shows
• Past guests
• 3rd party marketers
• Inbound vs Outbound
Proven Sales Process
Introduction
Qualifying
Presentation
Closing
Handling objections
Sales Process: PreApproach
• Get as much info as possible about guests beforehand
• Demographics: Age and gender
• Purchase history: new or repeat
• Frequency and seasonality
• Travel with
Sales Process: Introduction
• Positive, welcoming, friendly
• Include your name and
company
• Pose a question: how can I help
you today / how can I help you
plan a vacation today
• Feel you smiling
First Contact Minimum Goal
• Best contact information
• If unwilling to give it, probably a waste of time
• Phone: In case we get disconnected, what is the best number to
reach you at?
• Direct / phone: sign up for our e-newsletter with special offers,
prize giveaway…
• Email? Post call survey
Sales Process: Qualifying
• Gather as much information as possible
• Find the hot buttons
• Food, adventure, comfort, kids enjoyment, new experiences,
relaxing, romance
• Ask the right questions
• Listen: let them do most of the talking
Qualifying a Cruise
• Have you travelled with us before?
• Yes: Welcome back!
• No: Well this may be your first time with us, but it won’t be your last
• What was your last vacation like?
• When are you looking to travel?
• Celebrating any special occasion?
• Who are you traveling with?
• Which destination appeals to you?
• What would you like to do on your vacation?
• What did you not like about last vacation?
• How many days/nights do you want to vacation for?
Presentation
Presentation
• Features and benefits
• Tells story to the buyer based on their
answers
• Emotional appeals
• Help paint the picture
• Utilize creativity, imaginative words and
description, create visuals in their mind
• Emphasis product benefits, not features
• How does that sound?
Closing
• Assumptive Close
• What credit card do you want to use?
• Do you want to put down the deposit or the whole payment?
• What email should I send the confirmation to?
Closing Strategies
• Ownership Close
• Use language that indicates the customer already owns the product
• Your vacation, your room, your view,
• Take Away close
• We have something specific chosen for you, so you don’t lose it,
shall I take it out of inventory for you?
• Without deposit, you will lose this room
Closing Strategies
• Rule of 2
• Narrow everything down to a choice between one thing or another
• Conditional Close
• If I can do this for you, will you put the money down?
• Minor points close
• You wanted the room facing the sea?
Close to the elevator? On the top
floor? With a balcony? Queen bed? Shower?
• Get used to saying YES
• Testimonial close
• I know many guests / my own friends or family / myself who loved this
• Adds credibility
• Trial close throughout
• How does that sound?
Handling Objections
«I have to talk with
my wife», or «I am
not ready»
Create URGENCY
I don’t want you to
lose the room, lose
the price by waiting
«I have to check my
kids´ school
schedule»
Price is too high
Start high, drop
low
Seasickness
Minimum goal:
to set follow up
appointment
If not now, when
Post - Sale Objectives
• Referrals, traveling with anyone else
• Servicing
• Continuing relationship management
• Welcome back
• Call every few months or when there are special opportunities
Evaluating Sales Force: Quotas and Compensation
• Carnival outbound sales
• 100 calls a day
• 3 hours talking
• 3 reservations
• Fixed compensation
• Variable: commission based on what
• Number of reservations, dollar amount of reservations
• Sliding or fixed scale