We’ve all heard a phrase like “he picked the low-hanging fruit” in reference to something easy. Well, let me go on the record that there is nothing wrong with “easy”. In fact, I go out of my way to find easy ways to be more productive in many aspects of my personal and business life.
If I can find a tool to make me more efficient, I will use it. Scheduling social media posts and email broadcasts? Yup! Moving specific emails automatically to specific folders on my MacBook? Yup, got them too! And I also look for the easiest way to increase my revenue whenever I can with that low-hanging fruit—my existing clients.
We can all agree that finding and landing a new client is costly. There are advertising costs, onboarding costs, and then the hard-to-quantify costs of building trust. Building that trust usually does not have a hard dollar cost, but there is additional time spent learning about your client, making sure the trip is as perfect as possible, additional time and effort in assuring them they have made the best choice in dealing with you.
So, once you have it, resist ever giving it up. But use that relationship to build your bottom line and enhance your trusting client’s experience. Remember, price is rarely the top consideration for anyone when booking a trip. So, how to build the bottom line and enhance their experience?
- Fees. If you are not charging them…start! Especially in today’s market, you are working harder and putting in much more time than you were in 2019.
- In a COVID world, travel insurance is key.
- Leverage your preferred suppliers. Explain to your client why you chose the suppliers you did.
- Add-on days. Do you want to arrive in FLL and be herded onto a transfer bus and then the ship? Or maybe have a nice breakfast in your hotel, a final dip in the pool and a taxi ride to the port at your leisure?
- Add-on experiences. Tours, concerts, wine tastings, cooking classes, chauffeured tours, private transfers. All of these add to the experience and your bottom line.
- Concierge services at home. Establish commissionable relationships with pet sitters, house sitters, auto detailers, pool companies, etc. An agent I know earns $100 from a car detailer—the detailer drives the client to and from the airport in the client’s car and details it while they are gone. Another one knows the pet status of their clients and immediately offers a reputable pet sitter, so Fido does not need to be kenneled.
- Think out of the box. I know a travel pro that offered free domestic airline flights (or agency gift certificates) for clients when they hit certain tiers—spend $50K a year and earn a pair of round-trip flights anywhere Southwest Airlines flies. Assuming you are making $7,500 off that $50K spend, it is not too much of a rebate. The client likely will be more willing to up-spend to get to the level. And, if you can play your credit card points, it might not cost you anything!
There are so many ways to increase your average sale. Just go look for them. Do you have any thoughts? Leave a comment!