A Sales Guru Shares His Secrets

Regardless of the size of your business, the sales process is critical to qualifying new clients and ensuring they  book with you again.

Bob Becker, Norwegian Cruise Line’s (NCL) senior vice president of consumer research, is one of the cruise industry’s most effective salesmen as well as an entertaining presenter.

Becker shared his ideas on selling during ASTA’s recent Global Convention on a New York to Bermuda cruise aboard NCL’s Breakaway. His session was called Become a Sales Superstar – Believe It or Not, Anyone Can Be One.

Becker said his own sales training has been responsible for more than $10 billion in sales, across several categories, over the course of his career with Norwegian, Carnival Cruise Lines and Renaissance Cruise Lines.

Among his tips for stellar selling:

Understand the sales process
“What is sales?,” Becker asked. “[It’s] helping people buy what they need.

“Does anyone have a bedroom at home with no windows?,” Becker asked. “Then why are you selling an inside guarantee to a family of five? What they need is a family suite. You should come to work with the goal to help.”

Make the call
Becker called selling “a phone game.”

“When your phones not ringing what are you doing? You should make 100 outbound dials a day,” Becker said.

“Put aside an entire day every week to do outbound dials. This should yield 12 future potential clients.”

Sell first
“You are in a sales position, not customer service,” Becker told attendees.

“The people who think they are in customer service make a lot of friends, but they go belly up,” he added.

“To be a successful sales person, you must be great at customer service– but get the credit card first.”

Take control
Becker said travel agents are in charge.

“You need to take over right away; whether you call the guest or they call you, you have to be in control,” he said. “Ask open-ended questions, so it is about what your guests want and not price.”

Reach out
“When is the last time you talked to each of your past guests?,” Becker asked.

“If it’s more than 60 days, they’re not your guest anymore,” he said. “They are getting an email every day from strong marketing companies going after your guests.

“And if you guest clicks on the offers, she’s going to get a salesman who knows how to close a deal.”

Get educated
“Product knowledge is very poor in the industry today,” according to Becker.

“But if you get them thinking about the experience, they’re not thinking about price.”