The Secrets of Selling Luxury: Thoughts from a Pro
by Andrew Sheivachman /“Discriminating and knowledgeable buyers set their own standards and demands. What may be one man’s luxury is another person’s necessity.”
Azamara Club Cruises president and CEO Larry Pimentel echoed those words from Stanley Marcus, co-founder of Neiman Marcus, during his talk at the recent Cruise Planners annual conference in Atlantic City.
Travel agents need to have a deep understanding of how trends in luxury have shifted as customer expectations have shifted, according to Pimentel, a luxury cruise industry veteran.
“Your objective is to interpret value for the consumer,” he said. “When you can do that, they can understand what they’re about to receive and you play less of a price game if you can really articulate what the difference is.”
Here are Pimentel’s top takeaways on the style and substance of luxury travel.
‘Luxury’ has evolved
“Luxury is very pragmatic, and different to different people. Celebrate differentiation and diversity. If you can’t explain the difference between A and B, everything degenerates to the lowest price… because there is no difference to the consumer.”
A drop in formality
“The evolution of luxury has become very personalized to the extent that formality as a deliverable has gone down. It’s about enrichment and experiences. Can you articulate the experience? If you can, you’ll create more sales and revenue.”
Affluent travelers have changed too
“The affluent traveler is becoming very independent, and affluence and wealth are two different topics when you look at it clinically. Wealth is a whole bunch of money. Affluence is how we think; as a seller you have to connect the consumer to the right experience.”
Qualify your affluents
“If you’re lucky you have a wealthy client who is affluent. Did you know that when the iPhone came out, one of the biggest places it was sold in the world was inner cities by kids without a lot of money? Why? Because it was something unique. Affluence is a mindset—and the only way to find out if a consumer is affluent is to ask [him or her]. ”
It’s not about price
“Price does not determine quality or value. Some of the finest wines in the world are five to six dollars from South Africa, [but] you can only buy them from the vineyard. Quality is a function of what you do.”
Sell value
“Connect with those people you serve. If you have trust and knowledge, you are on a rising tide. So sell on value first and foremost; if you sell on price, you will lose the sale to the next lowest price . . . you have to explain why something is better, and may even have to say why something more expensive is worth it. That is a very powerful concept with a consumer.”
Believe in your sales skills
“The fact of the matter is if you don’t believe you can [sell luxury], you are correct… you have to believe you can. Selling for the affluent is a learned activity. You must have knowledge about the product and have the sales people teach you about what is differentiated. Talk quality, product and the consumer 80% of the time. You should only talk price 20%, at the very end.
Be honest. . . but imaginative
“Telling the truth is essential. Talk [the client’s] language. But the only way you can talk their language is to [ask what they’re looking for]. Do not assume that if the customer has done it a certain way for a long time, that that’s the way they’re going to do it [now].”