A mistake that many sales professionals make involves being shortsighted when it comes to seeing the overall future value of their customers.
With easy blame pointing toward a tough economy, growing competition, and too many suppliers appearing to do an end run on your customers, agents try to rush the sale to fatten their wallets. I am afraid this may be interpreted as pushy and will hurt your good intentions more often than not.
Sometimes, it just makes sense to back off…slow down…take in the big picture…and try to become the exception. Try to see each new customer as the potential annuity they truly represent.
As much as this may sound like “fake news,” the loyalty factor your current clients have with you is a lot lower than you think. Sorry. This may be a tough pill to swallow, but it happens to be a fact. It is time to give yourself a stern talking to and decide once and for all that you are going to deliver a service second to none.
I have learned through the years that anybody can sell anything to anybody…once.
It takes skill and a good product to make a second sale to the same target audience. It takes real talent and a concerted effort grounded in value to pull off a third sale.
If you are interested in brightening up your future and want to make a few changes for the better, start looking at first time buyers as potential third time customers. This infers that instead of looking at a single $100 commission, fast forward five to ten years down the road and see a $5000 potential. I don’t know about you, but five grand manages to get my attention a lot quicker than a c-note.
Treating first-time customers like they are third-timers will result in many more third-timers.
Think value. Think lifetime. Think lifetime value.
Mike Marchev freely shares his experiences, strategies and observations with travel professionals in an effort to keep them on top of their game. For a complimentary copy of his 12-Word Marketing Plan send him an email at mike@mikemarchev.com.
Mike’s daily column is made possible by AmaWaterways.
