Here's a question that landed in my inbox recently:
"I am wondering what the advantages are for someone to use a home-based
travel agent over a standard storefront agency. In other words, if
someone said 'Why should
I use you working out of your house, when I can go to a more
established traditional business that may seem more professional?'
What would I say to them?"
Funny you should ask. I actually deal with this very issue in my home
study course, in Chapter 18. And when I reviewed that
section, I was amused to see that I called the fictional travel agency
in the example "Traditional Travel Agency."
But before we delve into this, I want to make what I consider an
important point: I don't want anyone to think that if they become a
home-based travel agent they will somehow automatically be less
professional than that travel agency down on Main Street.
Nothing could be farther
from the truth.
Professionalism is determined by actions and behavior, not real estate.
And if you, as a home-based agent, conduct yourself in a professional
fashion, then you are just as much a professional as anyone.
I strongly believe that anyone who has taken my home
study course will always conduct themselves in a professional
manner, because they will have a sound understanding of what
professionalism means in this business and will know how to do things
properly.
Of course, that is not to say that some people may perceive you as
less professional.
If anyone does ask you this question, remember that it is a
sign that they are actually open to the idea of doing business with
you. Otherwise, they wouldn't bother asking.
They have what professional salespeople call an "objection" or a
"concern" that is holding them back. If that concern can be satisfied,
they will be ready to move forward.
Handling concerns is something salespeople do every day. It's not magic
and it's not rocket science. It's a skill that can be broken down into
simple steps.
Step 1.Empathize. The worst
thing you can do is get defensive.
Instead, let the person know that, far from being offended or hurt, you
perfectly understand their concern. In effect, you give them permission
to feel the way they do, putting them at ease and making them more
receptive to discussing things with you.
So you might say, "Jim, that's a perfectly valid question, and I'd be
more than happy to discuss it with you."
Step 2.Clarify. Now you
want to find out what's behind the concern. That means asking some
clarifying questions. So you might ask . . .
What travel agencies have you used? What sort of things have you used
them for? What did you like about them? What might they have done
better? What does 'professionalism' mean to you?
And so forth.
Step 3. Answer. Based on the
information you have gathered, you provide a response that reassures
the prospect about their concern. If there is some sort of
misunderstanding involved, set it straight. If they need more
information, provide it.
I'll talk a little more about this step, but first let's mention the
last step.
Step 4. Check for
Agreement. Did your explanation do the job? Has their
concern been answered? Ask. And if not, then you need to return to Step
2 and repeat the process.
Now there are many ways to answer a concern. Over the years,
professional salespeople have developed any number of techniques (and I
catalog them in the course). Since exactly what you will say
depends on the information you gather while clarifying the concern, I
can't give you a "canned" response that will work in every instance.
But here, in no particular order, are some thoughts.
** Questions like this are
an excellent opening for doing some "qualifying" to find out just how
good a potential client this person is.
** Sometimes you don't
want to "win." For example, if you find that this person uses
Traditional Travel Agency to book flights to Cincinnati twice a year to
visit relatives, you may simply want to say, "Y'know Jim, that's not
the sort of thing I specialize in. I think Traditional is
just the agency for you."
** And speaking of
specialization, if you have followed theadvice in my home study course,
you will have one or two areasof specialty. That gives you the chance
to ask your inquisitive friend, "Does Traditional have someone on staff
who specializesin golf, skiing, and dive travel?"
Careful! Most store front agencies have someone who specializes in
cruises, so don't use that as an example. You might want to do some
competitive research on nearby agencies to determine their strengths
and weaknesses.
Another word of caution: While I am a big believer in specializing, I
also think it's not a bad idea for beginners to try their hand at
booking a wide variety of products. This gets you familiar with the
process of research and can help you decide which areas you like best,
thus leading to a specialty. So you may want to try to get this
person's business, at least for a while.
** One of the great advantages a home-based travel agent has is the
level of personalized service he or she can render. "Will the agents at
Traditional come to your house or office? I will. Do they hand deliver
travel documents? I do. Are they available at night or on weekends? I
am."
As a very rough rule of thumb, the area of personalized service is your
best bet for differentiating yourself from your storefront competition.
** Don't be afraid the "ask for the order" (as pro salespeople say). If
you asked them "What does professionalism mean to you?" you have an
opening to say, "Jim, those are precisely the qualities
I have made a commitment to uphold in my business. Why don't we talk
about booking your next cruise so you can see for yourself how well I
live up to them?"
Another way of saying pretty much the same thing is, "If I were to live
up to those standards, would you book your next cruise with me?" (What
can they say?) Then the next step to to ask for the
booking since that's the only way they can find out.
** If they've been dealing with Traditional, there's probably something
that they didn't like or found wanting. If you can identify one or two
of those things -- and if you know you can do better -- you have found
an advantage.
** If it turns out that this person is not someone you can truly help,
there may be a way of earning some money by referring him to someone
who can. Again the
home study course provides guidance on this.
** Since I don't know your personal situation, you might want to ask
yourself why someone should use you over a storefront agency. Put on
your thinking cap and come up with some good answers.
It seems to me there are two types of answers: Reasons that are true
now and reasons that could be true in a short time, if you make the
effort.
If you go through that little exercise, you should wind up with a
pretty good to-do list.
