When it comes to sales, regardless of evolution in human behavior and expectations due to technology, there are just some things that remain a fundamental part of closing a sale in any business. If you fail to implement these strategies in your travel business, you may find yourself doing a lot of work for potential clients, only to lose them to another agent of the Internet. I will use this article to cover some of those fundamental elements that will no doubt help you in converting your leads into paying customers.

1. Reply Quickly

You will lose 100% of the leads you take forever to respond to. The customer is most interested and excited the second they hit the “Send” button on that email or quote form submission. After that, every second that goes by, is an opportunity for someone else to steal the business, or for the customer to change their mind. The minute that notification comes in, you should call that client at the soonest possible time. You should first start by having an auto-responder setup that all new inquiries receive once they submit that request, to let them know the mail was delivered successfully. This email should also contain the maximum possible time you will take to respond. That time should not be over the 24-hour mark.

2. Use The Give And Take Strategy For First Conversations.

When working with a client for the first time, the initial conversation will set the tone for what’s to come next. The give and take strategy simply means that for every piece of information you give to a potential customer, you should be collecting back some information that will be useful to not only help you service that client better but also to help you properly qualify that lead to know if it’s a good customer or not. You do not want to invest time giving useful knowledge to a client that has no intention of purchasing, and you also do not want to spend time doing research without knowing enough about your potential customer.

Some fundamental questions are: May I have your name please so I can address you by name? How did you hear about my services? What is the best email to use when I am sending you information? How soon do you want to get your trip booked? What is the best number to reach you at?

Check Out This List Of 10 Qualifying Questions You Should Ask Each New Customer.

3. Be Detailed In Your Delivery

After collecting the information necessary from your prospect and you have started doing your research and quote processing, be as detailed as possible in your execution. Your attention to the small details will stand out most to your potential customer and will be the most compelling factor in securing that deal. Go over and above to ensure you are covering most important requests made by that client, and throw in the extra where possible. Your ability to be creative and flexible is one of your biggest advantages as a travel agent over the Internet, so use it as much as you possibly can. Do not commit to anything you can’t deliver and deliver on everything you commit to.

4. Follow Up, Delivery And Close

Once you have done all your research and prepared your quote for the client, the next important step will be how you deliver the information to that customer to ensure you close the deal.

• Make a phone call to the client to let them know that the information they have requested is now ready. Be excited about the information you have put together. On this call, you want to find out from the client when they will be able to view the information you will be sending. Create a sense of urgency and have them committed to a time before sending the information. On this call, you also want to establish a time that you can follow up once they have received the quote to go over the details with them.
• Send the quote via email a few hours before the scheduled revision time the customer provided. Make sure you are using a reliable email service to send your quote, to ensure your mail does not go to junk. You should also inform the client before sending, that if the mail is not in their inbox by the given time, they should check their junk mail or contact you if it’s not received.
• Once the quote is sent the next step is where you go for the close. You should have scheduled a time with the client to follow up after they have gotten a chance to review the quote on their own. On this call, you want first let the customer know that you will first go over the details of the quote with them, and after that, you will answer or address any concerns they may have if any. This is your opportunity to sell the experience you have put together. If you did your job properly, the client should be excited, and the opportunity is now perfect for you to ask for that deposit to secure the deal. Create a fear-of-loss. Let the customer know that you can only guarantee this package after the deposit is made.

This may sound to some like high-pressure sales. That is the mindset that will cause you to lose a client 90% of the time. If you follow all the steps properly, by first qualifying the lead to make sure the client is serious about booking a trip, then putting together an excellent package according to the information given to you by the client, you should have no issues closing the deal and the customer should have no hesitations in making a payment.