Selling Travel Means Selling

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Selling Travel Means Selling

The following is an excerpt from the "Home-Based Travel Agent Newsletter
Published by Kelly Monaghan

One of the things I emphasize in my home study course - says Kelly Monaghan - is that being successful as a home-based travel agent means being successful as a salesperson.

I know a lot of the host agencies out there make it sound like no selling is involved. "Make money just by sharing your love of travel," they say.

Well, there is certainly something to that. But to be successful -- truly successful -- you must approach your home-based travel business as a professional marketing and sales operation.

I believe this so strongly that my home study course has an entire section devoted to mastering the art of selling, packed with the wisdom I acquired as a sales trainer for major U.S. corporations.

Unfortunately, too many people who have never been involved in selling for a living have a distorted idea of what it means to be a "salesman" and it's a negative idea.

Here are some of the things that go into that negative stereotype of selling:

The product being sold is a commodity. That is, it's seen as basically the same as other products in its category. In travel that usually means falling into what I call the "cheap travel trap" -- something I show you how to avoid.
The concerns of every customer are seen as being identical.
Or worse -- the concerns of the customer are IGNORED.
Selling something the customer doesn't want or need is considered the height of success. Have you ever heard the expression "He could sell iceboxes to Eskimos?"
Every sales presentation is a "pitch." The same words used over and over to beat the customer into submission.
Salespeople like to call themselves "closers" who won't take "no" for an answer.
The salesperson's goal is to get the upper hand and deal with the customer from a position of superiority

I could go on, but I think you get the idea. Let me assure you that when I say that to be successful as a home-based travel agent you have to be successful at selling, that is NOT what I'm talking about!

The truth of the matter is that real selling, professional selling is not like that at all.

Just the opposite, in fact. The most successful salespeople are those who are customer-centered and who genuinely want to help the people they deal with -- even if that means not selling them something.

It is true that some people are more naturally suited to selling than others, but I believe that being a good salesperson is a skill (or more accurately a collection of skills) that most people can learn. That's because we are all salespeople without really knowing it.

Another thing that distinguishes successful sales people (high-earning travel agents among them) is that they have made a commitment to lifelong learning. They are constantly looking for that special tip or extra edge that will make a difference and boost them to the next level.

Article Copyright © Kelly Monaghan, www.HomeTravelAgency.com

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